Dead Poet's Society Essay

Dead Poet’s Society is a powerful film that explores how a group of teenage boys deal with traditional and disciplinary schooling. The film was directed by Peter Weir and is set at the conservative and aristocratic Preparatory Academy in Vermont in 1959. Dead Poet’s Society investigates how authority and control can be damaging to young people. This is demonstrated by the traditionalist nature of the school, its rules and teaching style as well as Neil’s over controlling father. In contrast, Mr. Keating uses his authority to teach the boys to be free thinkers and to be able to express themselves as individuals.

The stringent teaching techniques the school uses is damaging to the students and does not allow them to be free thinkers. In the opening sequence of the film the director conveys the strict and traditional culture of the school through the use of visual symbolism. The boys formally march into the school church service, with traditional bagpipes playing, holding flags with the four pillars of the school prominent. There is a specific close up on the flag with the word ‘discipline’ imprinted on it, which suggests that discipline is a large part of the school’s philosophy. The speech the headmaster makes also highlights how important success and tradition is to the school. We later on see a small montage of the students in different classes being taught in very customary ways. The shot of the Latin class repeating back a list of verbs highlights the school’s rigid but conservative learning environment created by Peter Weir. These images of the school continue throughout the film but it is not until the end that the extreme consequence of the traditional and disciplinary nature of the school is realized. At the end of the film the school forces the boys to sign a document, which states that Mr. Keating was responsible for Neil’s death. The boys are made to go against their beliefs and what they think is right. It is clear that Todd does not wish to sign