#dead poets analysis

[poetsplay]

DEAD POETS SOCIETY: WALKING SCENE, O CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN AND CONFORMITY

when i was rewatching dps earlier, i noticed that when todd was walking up the stairs to see mr nolan at the end, he was walking in time with mr hager and it made me think back to the scene where keating had them walk in the courtyard and talked the dangers of conformity. by that point in the film, they were conforming (with the exception of charlie) by all signing the paper and laying blame on keating, and i think its cool that him walking in time with hager was a sort of hint to that. at that time, while keatings teachings would have still impacted them, neil was dead, and he was one of the first to sort of encourage them to take keatings teachings into the real world and seize the day. now that neil wasn't there to encourage them not to turn keating in, there wasn't much else they could do but conform to what the administration and their parents expected of them. but then at the end of the film, while we see how much of an impact neil and keating had on the dead poets and at least half of the class when they stood on their desks (especially todd, who started it all when he was originally the last to stand on the desk), they were still confirming in a sense. if todd hadn't stood on his desk, it's unlikely that any of the other class members would have, and i guess that also demonstrates keatings point in the walking scene, although in a much more heartfelt way where the conformity is something powerful. anyways this probably doesn't make such sense, but i just wanted to rant, and i think it's cool how it shows another impact of neil's death in a way.

[liamsyux]

i lied. put your clothes back on. we are gonna watch dead poets society and i’m gonna explain to you the relationship between todd and neil, analyzing every interaction, every mention of them, highlighting the importance of their relationship to the movie and to all the characters in general.

[migmegjam]

unpopular opinion:

I don't have any dislike towards Cameron. I don't necessarily agree with the way he reacted, but I don't hate him.

I think he's very much a product of the upbringing he and all the boys had: not questioning authority, putting emphasis on a good education and profitable career as life goals, making sure to follow rules and not stand out etc. And I feel like we need to remember that, at the end of the day, he is only 16/17. Kids at that age are very impressionable, and I honestly think it's an understandable reaction that his first instinct upon exepriencing what is a very traumatic and potentially life altering event is to turn to following his authority figures and to lean into what they're saying as truth.

I also think there must be some understandable fear that if he didn't agree with what Nolan and Mr Perry were saying, it would jeapordise his whole future. Based on the reaction we saw from other parents, it would be reasonable to assume that his parents wouldn't have been happy with him if he had supported Mr Keating, and when you've spent your whole life being told that where you go to high school and what degree you get at which university will decide your future, it would be logical for him to decide to follow the rules out of fear.

Whilst I applaud the other poets for having the courage to stand up to the school staff - it is, after all, what we know and love them for - I don't really want to persecute a kid for not having that in him. My only real hope (and personal headcanon) is that an adult Cameron with more perspective and resources would be able to look back and understand that it wasn't actually Mr Keating's fault that things went the way they did, but rather an error in the system that was perpetuated by the adults in his life.

[sketches4mysw33theart]

Dead Poets Society: Some Thoughts and Analysis

Essentially a stream of consciousness I had while rewatching the movie today. In chronological order as I was making notes!

✒️ Charlie talks so much with his eyebrows

✒️ Todd is tasked with taking minutes of the meetings, but I don't believe we ever see him actually do so (although it would have been nice if he did)

✒️ Cameron looks so much like a fisherman when he's smoking his pipe

✒️ Cameron's distaste for Charlie (and often for the rest of the boys) is evident super early on (e.g. when they walk out of Mr Keating's first class and Cameron says "do you think he'll test us on that stuff?" And, when he gets shut down, he throws a very angry look at Charlie and the poets. This happens several times, but as far as I remember we never see Cameron retaliate.) From this, while I don't like it, I understand why Cameron did what he did at the end of the movie because I think he felt undermined by the others and he was considered 'useful' and 'smart' for the school

✒️ Also, I do not accept that Cameron's name is Richard Cameron, he's pulling a Zendaya and goes by one name only

✒️ Mr Keating looks so disappointed in Charlie when saying "Thank you, Mr Dalton, you just illustrated the point"

✒️ I think Knox kissing Chris at the party, while somewhat gross, is necessary to show that Carpe Diem isn't always the right thing to do, as is Charlie putting the article in the paper  - i think maybe Chris not ending up with Knox would have hammered this home, especially because she seems perfectly happy with Chet. Of course, Chet's response to what happened at the party isn't fair, but it is definitely what I can see a teenage boy on the high school football team in the 50's doing. Don't choke on the bone, Knoxious!

✒️ Is Charlie trying to get thrown out of school? With the article in the paper stunt, he must have known how serious the repercussions would be, so maybe already he was considering getting out of school because he felt it wasn't the right path for him

✒️ "You made a liar out of me, Neil" - Mr Perry, I hate you

✒️ Did all of the poets, minus Neil and Knox, really squeeze into Keating's car?!

✒️ Neils little face when he comes out of the curtain, and how quick it falls when he sees his father - he's like a little kid showing a finger painting to a parent who insults it, he just wants his Dad to be proud of him

✒️ Mr Keating's face when Neil drives away after the play - I think he had an idea what was coming

✒️ That zoom in on Neil's face when his father's saying "more of this acting business, you can forget that"- he knew, then, that his dad would never change and what he was going to do

✒️ I want the doorknobs in the Perry house, specifically Neil's

✒️ The first time I watched this movie, I was so on edge when Neil was standing in front of the open window, thinking he was going to jump, and when he didn't I was like 'phew', and then the thing happened and my blood sugar spiked way up

✒️ Mr Perry saying 'my poor son' - i don't know, it rubs me up the wrong way, he has a name, he is not simply an extension of you

✒️ Cameron isn't there when the poets tell Todd what happened to Neil

✒️ The lingering image of Charlie with a tear down his face is so beautiful

✒️ Knox just clinging to Todd in the snow

✒️ The comparison between the deleted scene of Neil and Todd running lines by the lake when it's sunny and Todd running towards the lake screaming Neil's name 💔

✒️ Similarly, the comparison between Todd not wanting to speak at all in the meetings, and then the deleted scene where he reads a poem after Mr Perry takes Neil away

✒️ Charlie not singing during Neil's assembly

✒️ Ave means farewell in literature, and Charlie closing his eyes when it's sang is beautiful

✒️ Charlie carries on smoking when Cameron's coming into the attic meeting - he either knows it's Cameron or doesn't care who tf catches him doing anything bad anymore

✒️ I don't think Cameron ever actually 'believed' in Mr Keating, definitely not to the extent the others did - he never called him captain, for example, except when he realised everyone else in the common room was, and air quotes the word 'captain' in the attic. So, it raises the question why he went along with everyone even so?

✒️ While I do somewhat sympathise with Cameron, that is one of the most satisfying punches in movie history

✒️ I think Todd's parents weren't that different from Neil's, Todd's dad is clearly very authoritarian from the minute or so he's on screen (and the fact that Todd signs the paper) and his Mom says nothing in his defense, but the way Todd mouths 'Mom' breaks my heart

✒️ In what universe does acting = what Neil did? All those theatre kids and their evil, satanic rituals, forcing our kids away from school 🙄 I hate you, Mr Perry and Mr Nolan

✒️ Todd's the last one to stand up when Nolan walks into Keating's classroom

✒️ Mr Nolan complimenting Mr Pritchard's introduction is so ridiculously funny to me considering what Keating made them do to it

✒️ Mr Keating's smile to Todd through the door in the classroom has the same energy as "All my love to you poppet. You're going to be alright."

In conclusion, I adore this film.

Robin Williams, O Captain, My Captain 🫡❤️

[ghostthewriter09]

Here’s one of the smaller details in dead poets society that I think gets slept on. In the scene where Cameron is talking to Neil about Todd he says “your new roommate looks like a stiff.” And then Todd walks in and he says “oops.” And walks away. Here’s what I find interesting about this scene: Neil is the only person vaguely nice to Cameron in the entirety of the movie. So naturally, Cam thinks Neil will have his back. But as the plot progresses, we watch Neil fall in love with Todd. He didn’t agree nor disagree with Cam in that first scene where they’re together. Because he doesn’t know Todd yet. Cam on the other hand is outwardly judgemental towards almost everyone. I honestly think Cam doesn’t deserve all the hate he gets. My HC is that he’s a scholarship student. His parents are poor and he’s worked his whole life to get to Welton. But no one knows this. So when Cam snitches , it’s to protect himself yes but I think it’s also to make his parents proud. Cam in my mind is a closeted gay or aromantic who just cannot process his feelings in the world the poets live in. So when he sees Neil and Todd, he’s jealous. He knows they had the life he’ll never be able to have. In the end DPS is a story of expectations and the paths we’ve been forced to take. Doesn’t everyone act in their own self interest at first?

[rememberatyourperil]

The Poets as the Seven Deadly Sins

(Some of these are meant more seriously than others)

Todd is envy. He wants what Neil has, his charisma, his easy popularity. You say things and people listen. I'm not like that.

Greed is how Mr Perry would perceive Neil's ambition. He's given Neil so much, and Neil wants more? You had opportunities that I never even dreamed of. How dare he want choice as well?

Knox is lust, obviously.

Pride seems to fit Charlie best. He doesn't bother consulting the other Poets before he writes his disastrous article in their name, or before inviting the girls to the cave, and there's certainly a kind of arrogance in that.

Sloth seems unfair to pin on Meeks when he's clearly a hard worker - but in terms of character arc, he doesn't change, doesn't strive for anything new in the way Neil and Todd and Charlie and even Knox (for better or for worse) do. It's a feature of his position as a secondary character rather than an innate character flaw - he's not given the same room to grow - but it still kind of fits.

Cameron might be wrath, if he does what he does out of genuine anger towards Keating in the wake of his friend's death. He's certainly the one (alongside Mr Perry) who brings the fury of the Welton system down on Keating.

Pitts is gluttony (he gave us half a roll)

[prettypinkbubbless]

I see plenty of posts saying things like “how is DPS a comfort movie” or “DPS is a comfort movie it ends at the play” and I get the joke and I understand the sentiment, but to me, even with the end, it’s still a comfort movie.

Like yeah. It’s sad. It’s incredibly sad! Neil kills himself and it’s heart wrenching and watching the consequences unfold makes you feel sick. But there’s still good to be had out of it, comfort to be taken.

Most importantly, life goes on. Neil dies and the poets’ worlds are turned upside down, but life still goes on. They don’t get to shut away from the world that killed their friend; they still have to live. I know that’s scary to lots of people but I actually find comfort in that. Bad things happen and you still have to breathe and live and grow, especially when the people you love cannot. There’s still change to be made.

Also, you are loved! You are remembered! We get to see in real time how absolutely devastated the poets are when they learn about Neil’s suicide. Your friends DO care. You DO mean something to people. They would be BROKEN if you were gone. Both in context and out, that is a comforting notion.

Finally, your actions have impact. That speck of dust nihilist spiel is bullshit. Neil and his situation is most obvious, but the entire rest of the movie shows this in I think the best way. Even though Keating is leaving, we see tangibly just how he changed his class. How his ideas, simply just who he was and how he lived changed his students. You don’t have to be famous or president of the world to mean something to others. Yes, it can be for better or for worse, but you still matter in the web of life, your ripple effects still reach others, you never know how profoundly you can touch someone.

Todd, historically anxious out of his mind, defies authority and displays his beliefs at the end of the movie. That scene is so damn important! Especially juxtaposing the scenes that came before it! The movie could end sad. It could end really before that classroom scene. But it doesn’t. It ends on a scene filled with hope and triumph and rebellion. Because that is the whole point of the movie! And that’s what I glean comfort from.

TL;DR I argue that DPS is absolutely a comfort movie right to the very end with…an obnoxious amount of words.

[rockymintscollective]

Oh my god more Dead Poets Analysis

Holy fuck holy fuck holy FUCK PEOPLE

SPOILERS FOR DEAD POETS SOCIETY AFTER THIS.

I just realized that whenever it's revealed that Neil ended up kicking the bucket you can *see* how everyone else reacts. You can tell how they feel whenever you realize the stuff that went down with everything.

like especially in the scene where they're all singing. (pardon for the shitty quality if it looks bad)

Like... You can tell how they're all feeling in this scene alone.

Charlie isn't even singing. He's not even participating in this. You see Cameron in the back participating but it seems like he's thinking about something and you can tell it's probably not something good. Same thing with how you see how torn Meeks is.

Like of course they all are close in their own ways. Not even a few seconds later you see the light hitting Todd's face just right to show that there's snot on his upper lip (showing that he's still been crying) and how Knox and Pitts are singing with their full lungs and chest.

There's such a vast array of emotions in this it's literally suffocating?? In an odd sense. Like it feels like there's too much and not enough emotion in it at the same time.

Also??? When you see keating??? A few frames later and how sad he is??? Oh my god??? /lh /aaughgh???

You see him looking away. Not even at Mr. Noland like the other teachers and administrators are, but he's actively looking away and almost in a dissociative-like state. Like oh my god??? Holy shit???

Adding onto this, the scene afterward where Charlie chews out Cameron for finking??? I love to imagine that the reason Cameron said "Nuwanda" instead of "Charlie" (like his actual name is) is because of the fact that he's genuinely putting his foot down this time. Like they did when Charlie outed out this DPS to begin with.

You see it in his eyes that he genuinely means what he says here. Like when he says "You just signed your expulsion papers, Nuwanda." you can tell that he's just pissed.

ALSO. A SMALL DETAIL I NOTICED EARLIER. Could be an entire coincidence and I could be so SO wrong, but look at this.

I want you to focus on Pitt's signature for a moment. Stay with me here.

You see that?

Remember what the the DPS "signature" looked like?

If not, here's a reminder:

Now I could be so very wrong. I could be so off. But I do imagine Pitts had more of an attachment to the DPS than we saw because of this. You could at least tell in the signature (in my eyes at least) that he clearly cared a lot about this shit.

Anyway rant over my bad I got really passionate here this time. But oh my god I'm in love with this movie

[itsacruelsummerwithyou2]

true eldest daughter culture is loving your dad’s favorite movies, but trying to explain to him why those movies are, in fact, gay

[lunixiscool]

The way some people talk about Neil and Todd's relationship make me think we didn't watch the same movie.

Todd didn't ruin Neil nor did Neil become unhappy by being friends with Todd. Todd wasn't a burden to Neil. The reason Neil was so unhappy was because of his father and the expectations of others on him.

Neil doesn't see Todd as "an experience" and I think that claim really undermines Neil as a character. I understand why some people believe that but Neil is a very genuine character and doesn't create bonds with any of the poets "for the hell of it". Neils the type of person to show up at your front door if he hasn't talked to you in 3 days. Watching their scenes together, watching the relationship these characters develop, even the way Todd reacts to Neils death. It shows there's a lot more than what the camera showed us, especially when Todd screams at Cameron about Neil loving acting. Although obviously everyone knows that Neil loves acting, that part alone just showed there's a whole lot more conversation that we missed betweens these characters and whole lot more than an "experience"

TLDR: People mischaracterize the hell out of Neil

[sweaty-toothed-mad-woman]

I know nothing about filming stuff BUT

I noticed how the people standing up to cheer kinda hid Mr Perry and that kinda shows how the applause made Neil forget about his father for a hot second like we see how happy he is in this next shot

because he kinda forgot his dad was there and then when he remembers his face goes from

to

and it makes me wanna sucker punch Mr Perry all the way into the sun

[aylinhadtimeforthis]

okay I'm gonna need the dps fandom to put on their critical thinking hats for a second 👀

imagine you live in a time before social media. before mutual friends on apps and before being able to search up someone's instagram profile after you meet them to follow them and maybe say hi.

imagine you just met someone you REALLY LIKE and you don't know anything about them, except when you talk for a little you find out what school they go to. and you want to talk to this person again. what would you do?

if the answer is "well, I'd probably ask around people I know for their phone number, and go to their school in my free time hoping to run into them so we can talk", then I regret to inform you but that is actually a very normal and appropriate answer!!!

however for some reason some of y'all think knox doing that in the movie counts as "stalking" apparently!!!

like. this is not the modern day? just showing up to someone's school trying to talk to them is not "weird" because it is one of and if not the ONLY OPTION!

and if anyone here says "but he didn't even go talk to her! he just stared at her from far away which is creepy." my SIBLING IN FELLOW DPS ENGAGERY!!! SHE WAS GOING TO AN AWAY GAME!!! SHE IS A CHEERLEADER! THEY DO THAT! knox literally LIVES IN A BOARDING SCHOOL. he does NOT know much about the goings-on of the outside world because they seldom get free time and he literally has to SNEAK OUT of the grounds without an escort just to go socialize. he DIDN'T GO UP TO HER because she was GETTING ON A BUS!!!!!!! his ass does NOT know the schedule of ridgeway high's football game attendances 😭!!!!

and if people bring up why he went back after the party, that was to APOLOGIZE. imagine if he never even tried reaching out to say sorry??? like yeah I know he got flowers and a poem and that's not the most "correct" apology in that circumstance but I guess he was trying to clean up his image/reputation a bit which tbh not a bad thing to do after f#cking up THAT horribly.

I seriously don't want anyone calling (movie) knox a stalker or a creep in a non jokey way because as bad as you believe what he did in the party scene is, this one thing at least is just not true.

and yes he literally never sought out chris again after apologizing. I don't know what to tell you man like this is just the reality of what happened

[thiamblogger]

the reason dps is so loved is because of how real it feels, how much we can relate to wanting to find our true self whilst living within societal norms.

the boys each have their own real personalities, and they do human things that any seventeen year old boy would do.

the debate between which poet, cam or knox being the most hated is so fueling because, who would 'betray' their friends like that but also who would go out of their way to chase a girl who has made her feelings clear??

it's not just them though, because even though i've talked about how relatable it is, the boys cling to one another, showing their deepest praises towards eachother - it's also the other boys around them.

the school has all kinds of different age ranges, and whilst you see the younger kids crying, not wanting to leave their parents, being jostled around.

you can see the older kids doing the jostling, messing around with one another (imagine a highschool if you will - year 7s and year 11s - freshmans and seniors).

knox literally grabbing that little kid and moving him aside, spaz's friends in the bathroom with the kazoo, hopkins, and his friends can also be seen teasing each other within the classroom.

mr keating is a new teacher, a teacher who is a free thinker compared to the other, the boys in his class reactions that differ are all very real.

fighting one moment to being friends again - a very common thing amongst boys.

i just- i don't know!! i really love this movie!!

[starkillersunseeker]

The Cadance of Part-time Poets

spoilers for chapter 46

No because this is exactly what I mean when I say wolfstar are soulmates. The way Remus gets distracted by Sirius not listening to his girlfriend unable to look away.

The way he’s desperate to hear hear Sirius play, pleading and the way Sirius feels it- going to play.

And Remus noticing that he’s in pain. Only Remus notices.

Remus almost inaudibly gasping but Sirius hearing it.

They’re simultaniously so in sync with each other while being so increadibly dense miscommunicative.

And I love them.

This was so beautifully written

[adriwithae]

One thing I really did enjoy about the Dead Poets Society book (even if I still don't like it more than the movie) is the emotion in it. The first scene with Neil's father feels uncomfortable in the book and its compelling. The anger, Todd's inability to comfort him, especially the early on mention of Neil hurting himself when upset. Then later on in the book, with the deskset scene, how helpless it feels. Neil wasn't a boy who could make everyone feel alright again, and I admire that about the book. (Because its more relatable) He was just a kid struggling to regulate his emotions. To explain them would have been impossible. The sudden bond between Todd and Neil also makes much more sense in the book because Todd is the only one who recognizes it. They were both so neglected it shaped them as people, even if it was different for both of them.

Also rip Neil Perry you would've loved gay marriage and therapy

[l-bluebirdblues-l]

Something I love about Dead Poets Society is that you don't necessarily have to look at Neil and Todd romantically. What you see Neil doing when it comes to Todd is seeing someone more shy than he is and having the unending need to include him. I feel that. I think the movie means a lot more when you look at it like boyhood. These are the best friends all of them are ever going to have and they are going away fast, savering them while them can. Friends are so overlooked when you look at everything romantically. Platonic soulmates are still soulmates. This idea is so integral to girl friendships but it doesn't seem to exist in male friendship to other people, especially in media. I don't know.