Dead Poet Society is not simply a coming of age story; it is a story about the human condition. Conformity with no possibility of individualism will leave to feelings of discontent, even if conformity is desired by the individual. American culture represents a struggle between the the status quo and innovation towards self actualization. This is why this film is representative of that. The human condition is one which demands options. John Keating creates an atmosphere for creative and unorthodox thinking in such a way that even those craving conformity are draw to. I believe this shows the importance for both teachers to promote students to question the norm and one’s own obligation to question standard protocol.
The students come to realize their individualism, which leads to a rethink on life. Neil Perry’s story is one I found particularly interesting. His is given an outside prospective and begins to develop strong emotion towards the concept of potential becoming an artist. Now without the prospective he simply would have gone on to practice medicine. However, being given the idea and then having the option taking away from him is simply too much. He subsequently commits suicide.
This leads to what seems to be where the plot of the story is rooted; conformity leads to menial, but productive lives that without an option can appear desirable. On the opposing side creative and passion driven lives can fulfill one’s desire to become an individual, but will be much less stable. So, the question becomes, “Do we create a great working force, or do we create individuals?”
Compared with movies like Monsieur Lazhar we see that the role a teach plays in the lives of students is not purely, or at least shouldn’t be purely academic. This has been and will continue to be a reoccurring plot in the future.
Work Cited
Dead Poets Society. Dir. Peter Weir. Perf. Robin Williams. Touchstone Home Video :, 1998. DVD.
