A Marxism Approach of the Character (Neil Perry) in Dead Poets Society
A lot of films can make you cry and are inspirational but here’s one movie that will change your perspective in a student-teacher relationship. According to the movie, in my own thoughts, we see things the way we look at them, try look into it in a different perspective. The film Dead Poets Society is a drama-comedy movie and was released on June 2, 1989 in United Kingdom and was directed by Mr. Peter Weir, written by Mr. Tom Schulman, and starring Mr. Robin Williams. The film received a lot of recognition wherein the film was awarded as an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (Tom Schulman). The director, Mr. Peter Weir was also nominated as Best Director. Mr. Robin Williams also received his second Best Actor in a Leading Role nomination and it has since been widely recognized as one of the actor/comedian's best roles. The movie also won the BAFTA Award for Best Film, and many more.
Welton Academy is an all male, elite prep school whose famous for its old legacy producing successful graduates and was famous for their “four pillars”: Tradition, Honor, Discipline, and Excellence. Neil Perry is one of the main character of the movie, he is a cheerful person, an intelligent student and has a strict father who controls and makes decision about his life.
John Keating, a replacement English teacher and is a former Honor graduate at Welton Academy. He has his own unique ways on teaching a student and he does not follow any traditional form of teaching. He lets the students rip their textbooks, he climbed in his table, and even lets his students march in the fields. He wants his students to learn in their own way and follow their hearts. “Carpe Diem” is what he told to his students, encouraging them to “make your lives extraordinary”, which means “seize the day”. On the other hand, Neil Perry loves acting and his father was against it. So, he went to Mr. Keating that his father talked to him and asked him to give up his acting business. Mr. Keating’s response was to tell his father that acting is really his passion. When Mr. Keating talked to Neil Perry, he said that his father was not happy, but he gave Neil a chance to perform in his play, yet in one condition, after the play, he will go home and will not study in Welton Academy anymore. His father wants him to be a doctor and study at Harvard University. Neil tries to let his father understand that it’s not what he wants, but in the end he just sits down and replied “nothing”. As Neil’s parents was fast asleep, he took off his shirt and makes his way down at an office and pulls out a gun. Then his father was awakened by this noise he heard. So he runs down to Neil’s room and saw he was not there. And he runs fast towards the basement of their house and looked in the office. There he found Neil Perry lying on the ground, dead.
A Marxism approach is what I analyzes in the film, Marxism is a social approach where in power was used to control someone or a group of people. In the film Dead Poets Society, especially in the scene’s of Neil Perry and his father. Neil wanted to be an Actor because it is what he loves to do, but his father wouldn’t allow him to do so because his father has another dream for his son. The father uses his power to plan his son’s future and didn’t even listen to what his son wanted, and for once, he also didn’t ask what his son wants or loves to do.
Social Conflict theory views society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and social change. Karl Marx (1818-1883). The main focus of this theory is a conflict between a power and a powerless. In the movie, Mr. Perry has the power and Neil is the powerless son. He even calls his father as “sir” and scold him when he talks back to him. In the end, the inequality or the unbalance distribution of power leads to Neil Perry’s unfortunate situation, which is taking his own life and resulting to a disaster.
