Dead Poet's Society: Leaving Lasting Marks

         The desire for understanding and being seen is something we can all relate to. For most of my life I struggled with the inability to put into words my emotions and thoughts. I wasn't able to even fully grasp many of the emotions swirling about in my mind. That's when, in about my sophomore year of high school, I really discovered films. Of course I was aware of them before, but this was the first time I became aware of the power that they could have over a person. I found out the ability of films to tug at your heartstrings and stir up feelings previously untouched by the world around me. Not every film has this ability for me, but over the course of these blogs I hope to share some of the films which do. 

    My name is Jacob, and for me, films allow us to see pieces of ourselves or who we want to be. They take messages that could be deeply personal, or exceedingly universal and bring them to life on screen in an all engrossing story beyond what exists in the real world. For each of these posts my hope is to show a movie that has impacted my view of the world and share what I see in it. All of these movies are important to me, but this first one is the one which began it all: Dead Poets Society.  

    This film takes place at a prestigious boarding school in the American Northeast following a group of friends as they begin the year with the tutelage of the new professor John Keating (Robin Williams). Throughout the year, Keating encourages the boys in his class to think for themselves, to live life with purpose and intention, and to find the beauty in things that we often write off as pastimes including art and poetry. This message is one that nearly any high schooler can latch onto. Especially one who often felt he was above the paltry task of analyzing poems or engaging in the open mindedness of art appreciation. The earnestness of his beliefs, and the growth shown in his students as young men rather than simple student machines conveys the power of art which we seldom allow ourselves to feel.

    Keating's major idea is best summed up in a speech he gives at the beginning of their poetry unit. I won't bore you readers with the whole thing written out but the line which I felt I had to write down is this: "law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for". 

    This sentiment is one I had always laughed at. Art was too subjective, too amorphous. However, John Keating showed me that art is what fuels us all. Art reminds us of who we are and can be. Just as his tutelage helped his students in the film grow it has helped me become a more complete version of myself. Without this film, my appreciation for others would likely be nothing compared to what it is today, and my love of art and what it brings out would be nonexistent. So, we must all take a lesson from his book, one I have tattooed on my arm, and seize the day. Carpe Diem!