The Dead Poets Society

Brogan Young

The film Dead Poets Society, directed by Peter Weir, is about the triumph of individuality over
conformity to the norm. The film examines this and why it is so. The main plot follows the lives of several
young school boys at Welton Boarding School. A new English teacher arrives and teaches the boys about
poetry. His teachings change their lives forever, for better or worse.
The first scene opens to a shot of a painting showing several school boys. The camera slowly pans
away and onto a boy who looks no different than those in the painting. It is made to show that he could blend
right into the painting- showing that nothing had changed between the years of the painting being produced to
now. Furthermore, the scene shows the ceremony of initiation for the students. Banners depicting the four
pillars of the school are marched into a hall, that resembles a church, with bagpipes playing Scotland the
Brave. The use of bagpipes shows that the school has ties to Scotland- whether the school was founded by
Scots or not is never disclosed. Importantly, the banner leading the way represents Tradition, making it seem
more important than the rest. Also, although it would not been important until later, is that Cameron is the one
carrying the Tradition Banner. Moreover, the ceremony itself is very ritualistic in its manner. It is about the
passing of the light of knowledge from Teacher to student and then student to student. It is made physical by
the Headmaster lighting a students candle and then that student lighting his peers candles. The boys
themselves wear a strict dress code and no boy is distinguishable at a distance, masking any individuality that
they have. The boys are also shot with camera angles that look down on them. This makes them seem smaller,
less significant than the teachers. As the ceremony draws to a close, Mr. Nolan the Head teacher introduces a
new English teacher as Mr. Keating. He is made to stand out from the other teachers because, as the camera
pans along the row of teachers, Mr. Keating is the only one shown that is not in his senior years. This
immediately shows that he is different from the other teachers. Overall, the scene gives the impression that
conformity is better.
The Dead Poets Societys first meeting takes place in a dark, damp cave somewhere in the nearby
forest. The scene starts with Neil finding a book on his dormitory table. On further investigation, Neil
discovers that the book belonged to Mr. Keating. Also writing on the inside cover is a poem about by Walt
Whitman about sucking all the marrow out of life. This shows that Mr. Keating is encouraging the boys to go
out and re-form the Dead Poets Society. As the boys are leaving the school, they pass the painting from the first
scene. This shows that they are rebelling against the system but also that there has always been rebellion in the
school and full of people who want to be Bohemians and strive to be individuals. As they pass, we are only
shown their shadows and not their full profile. This shows the clandestineness of their adventure and that they
do not wish to be caught in the act. Continuing on from the idea of mystery, as the boys run through the woods
they are shown in black, adding to the idea of secrecy. The music accompanying their little escapade is an
eerie, almost ethereal piece of music. It makes the quest of the boys seem even more secret but also more
forbidden. The forest is dark and the shadows of the trees loom out of the gloom. As the boys run through the
forest, their coats hoods are up and the pointed cowl gives them look of ghosts or spectres. It complements
the idea of the secrecy. But as the boys settle into their makeshift meeting room that is the cave, they begin to
show their individuality. The boys must uses torch lights to illuminate the dark surroundings, often only being
able to light their faces, making it look like they are in the spot light as the read out the poems. The only other
light comes from a small hole in the roof of the cave, only dimly lighting the cave. This makes it look like they
should not be there, the darkness and the secrecy of their escapade. Also the torch lights on the faces make
them stand out as the recite the poems, individuality. As the meeting progresses, Neil is the first to read out a
poem. It is the one that Mr. Keating wrote on the inside cover of the poetry book, a Century of Verse. Then
Dalton is the first to read out a poem he personally composed. Then Meeks ends the meeting with a poem
that gets out of hand very quickly. The boys beat makeshift drums and pluck at stringed instruments. They
march out of the cave repeating the same verse louder and louder, lost in the merriment and jocularity of the
evening. Overall, the scene shows that it is good to be an individual and stand out from the crowd and
encourages the viewers to be individuals as well, so that they can participate in events like this.
One of the most important scenes is the film is that depicting Neils death. The scene is set during
winter, foreshadowing Neils demise. Neil is in a play, playing one of the central roles as well. He does this
even though it is against the wishes of his father, and his father made it quite clear that Neil was not to do the
play. Mr. Keating nevertheless encourages Neil to take part in the performance, defying his father and showing
him that he is good at acting. Mr. Perry enters the theatre to see his son. The speech given by Neils character
Puck is almost directed at Neils father. While not outright saying that it is to his father, the words seem
appropriate, asking for forgiveness if any wrong doing was done and saying that he will make amends. But
Neils father is not changed by the speech and once the play is done he hurries his son out of the theatre and
into a car. Mr. Perry gives little to no time for Neil to talk to his fellow actors or to the friends who came to
support him. The Perry household is introduced by a shot of a family photograph surrounded by a cigarette
and an alcoholic drink. This shows that there are troubles in the family, particularly that the mother is stressed
by the conflict between father and son. As Neil and his father enter, an argument almost breaks out
immediately, with Neil on the defence. The argument is centred on the father and son. The mother is shown
to be in the back ground, not taking part. She is also placed in the middle of the two disputers, placing her
allegiances with neither her son nor husband. She is also blurred and out of focus, centring the viewers
attention on the father and son. During the argument, Neil stands up to his father, literally and the cameras
view doesnt look down on him as much. It shows that in this act of defiance, Neil has grown in stature.
Unfortunately, he cant find the correct words to say and is forced to sit back down and allow his father to win.
However, as everyone sleeps, ethereal music strikes up and it foreshadows something sinister. Neil stands
isolated and alone. The crown he wore during the play was made of twigs and other natural things. As he wears
it, he gives the look of Jesus when he wore the crown of thorns before he died. It brings forward ideas of death
and sacrifice. Neil creeps down and into his fathers study. With a stolen key, Neil opens a desk drawer and
takes out an object wrapped in cloth. We cant fully see the object but the edge would appear to be the muzzle
of handgun. We dont hear the gunshot but as he cut to a shot of Neils father, we see him awake with a start-
probably from the sound of the gunshot. After searching Neils room, he climbs down the stairs and into his
study to discover the body of his dead son. We never fully see Neils body (nor would you really want to) but
we only see his hand and a pool of blood. This scene gives the idea that conformity is safer than individuality as
it was being an individual that pushed Neil to kill himself. But to some people, Neils death shows that
conformity leads to people feeling that there is no point to life and that they cant go on. Neils suicide is his last
act as an individual, showing what he was willing to do to avoid conformity. It is down to personal
interpretation.
Throughout the film, Mr. Nolan the Headmaster is made to seem important by the camera angles
used. Whenever the boys are in his presence, his is shot with an angle looking up to him. We see this from the
very first scene, the indoctrination ceremony. Mr. Nolan is looked up you and the students (and the parents)
are looked down upon, although this does change near the end of the film. In the final scene, Mr. Nolan takes
over the class from Mr. Keating. As Mr. Keating leaves the room for the last time, the students begin to stand
on the desks. For the first time, the camera looks up to the students. Mr. Nolan is seen to break his usually
calm demeanour and runs frantically between desks. We look down upon Nolan as he does this and the boys
are shown to have risen above the headmaster. They have triumphed.
In conclusion, I think the students triumphed over the system but only marginally. Nothing is shown
to have changed in the system due to their efforts. However, they have become better people, more confident
and sure of themselves. In that respect they have triumphed. When Mr. Keating leaves, we are shown that life
will carry on as normal, nothing having changed in the system. But it is the boys themselves that have changed
and triumphed over themselves. They have become almost totally different: Todd is more confident, Dalton is
more expressive and Knox has a way to show his feelings. They are different. This is effectively shown by
Dalton taking Mr. Keatings teachings and making them his own- changing them so as he is not just copying.
Knox is shown to get the love from Chris that he couldnt have done otherwise. Todd, a once shy, self-
doubting boy becomes a confident individual. He is the first- and for a while the only- student to stand on his
desk and show Mr. Keating respect- his salute to Mr. Keating. All in all, the students become different people,
individuals, and they no longer follow the norm.