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Actors: Robin Williams, Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Dead Poets Society |
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This story takes place in 1959 at Welton School, a prep school for boys. John Keating, a former student at the school, begins working in the school as an English teacher. With his unique teaching methods he inspires his students to be themselves, and act like individuals. He teaches them to think for themselves and to “seize the day.” With the boys having a new way of viewing life, they follow there thoughts, and form a new Dead Poet's Society. Mr. Keating classes drew a lot of attention from the administration. Eventually Neil commits suicide, and the school investigates into why this happened. The boys were then intimidated into saying that Mr. Keating was a bad influence to Neil, and he was forced to leave the school.
--Ricky Moson, Resident Scholar
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Painfully shy Todd Anderson (Hawke) has been sent to the school where his popular older brother was valedictorian. His roommate Neil (Leonard) is very popular and smart but is under the thumb of his harsh and overbearing father. The two boys, along with their fellow students, meet Professor Keating (Williams), their new English teacher, who teaches them about his love of poetry and tells them about the Dead Poets Society, a society that meets in a cave and has poetry readings on a regular basis. Professor Keating encourages his students to find their own voice and go against the status quo. The boys' love of poetry is inspired even more by the teachings and insights of their extraordinary teacher.
--Patti Illsley, Resident Scholar
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One special professor, Robin Williams, as Professor Keating, teaches a class full of young gentlemen that going against the status quo may be the way to fullfilment. Each student decides to start making their own decisions instead of doing what's expected and it changes their lives forever. Some in a not so good way but they learn the important lesson is to live their own life. Todd, an extremely shy young man living in the shadow of his very successful older brother; Neil, an excedingly bright student, decides to follow his passion and join the theater, against the wishes of his overbearing father. The movie is filled with a wonderful cast of superb actors to create a moving and thought provoking film.
--Brandy Todd, Resident Scholar
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The setting is Welton Academy, Vermont -- the "best prep school in America" -- in the year 1959. Todd Anderson (Hawke) is a very shy kid sent to the private school where his older brother excelled and was very popular. His roommate Neil Perry (Hawke) is bright and popular, but crushed under the weight of his overbearing and demanding father, who wants him to be a doctor, not explore the theater. These two and the other boys receive sudden inspiration from their new English teacher, Professor John Keating (Williams), an alum of the school. Keating says as a student he founded a "Dead Poets Society" to encourage appreciation of poetry and life itself, so the latest batch of students revive the club, which meets in a cave to read poems and egg each other on to "doing their own thing" in other areas. Of course, Keating's unorthodox methods get him fired, the students rebel, and an even worse crisis transpires. The rather prosaic script by Tom Schulman (who went on to do the far less earnest "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" and "What About Bob?") is reasonably directed by Australian Peter Weir, and stirringly acted by the cast.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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In Dead Poets Society, a group of private school boys in 1959 are encouraged by their unconventional english teacher to seaize the day. While one strives to follow his passions against his father's will, another struggles to win the girl he loves, who already has a boyfriend. One boy tries to overcome his shyness while the teacher yearns to break free from the conformity in the school.
--Julie, Resident Scholar
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A movie set during a period of romanticism in the first half of the twentieth century. An independent-minded teacher lets some students in on a club he belonged to in high school. The boys imitate the teacher's youth but re-forming the Dead Poet's Society and getting in touch with Romanticism...proving once again that it IS ok for boys to read poetry...A father's controlling nature pushes a boy to his limits as the stress of "all work and no play" takes its toll.
--Jaime , Resident Scholar
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A new teacher at a private school tells his students about a secret society he once had with his friends in high school. They then begin to form their own society and learn a few things about themselves.
--Diane, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Dead Poets Society |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about
books by breaking them down into many different literary
elements, all of which are searchable (click here). |
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1930's-1950's
Kids growing up/acting up?
Yes
Kids:
- fighting with parents
- general coming of age story
Inner struggle or disability
Yes
Struggle with
- (General) search for meaning/identity
Job/Profession/Poverty Story?
Yes
Job:
- teacher
Age group
- trouble in high school
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- student
- teacher/professor
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- brunette (Brown)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average
Events of movie makes character more...
- sad
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
Hair style
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) very skinny
How much in movie?
- 80%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 40%
Hair type
- (man) bald
Body type
- (man) average
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
City?
Yes
Misc setting
- school
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Movie makes you feel...
- thoughtful
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- kissing
Any profanity?
- Occasional swearing
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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