Dead Poet’s Society Through the New Hollywood Lens
Dead Poet’s Society can be considered part of the New Hollywood film movement because of its counter-cultured theme and use of new film techniques that enthrall a younger audience. The director, Peter Weir, uses distinct camera angles, mise-en-scene, and strong stylization to create this riveting masterpiece.
The New Hollywood film era saw a clear break from classical narrative forms with chronological storylines, “twist” or even bleak endings, and blurring lines between good and evil in which the world was depicted in infinitely more shades of grey. Peter Weir, envelopes these ideas through the counter-culture theme of “Carpe Diem”, or “Seize the Day”, and characters that go against the grain of archaic teachings. Mr. Keating inspires his band of students throughout the film with his constant “Carpe Diem” attitude. On the first day of classes, Mr. Keating takes the boys to the alumni photo case and has them look at the pictures of students passed, whispering “seize the day” as the camera zooms in on the old photos. He states that the men in these photos are now “fertilizing soil”, emphasizing how important it is to seize the day while the boys are young and able. Back in the classroom, he has the students rip out the first pages of their textbook, as its teachings are blasphemy to the real art of poetry and analyzing it in such a way, as the textbook preaches, ruins poetry’s effect. He says to them, “You cannot measure poetry. You will learn to savor words and language…Poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.” He quickly inspires the boys to become more passionate human beings, and to do what is right, even if it has consequences. The boys interpret this ‘seize the day’ attitude in different ways. One of his students, Charlie, submits an article that is published in the school newspaper, arguing for allowance of girls at Welton, but the article has extremely negative consequences. Charlie justifies his actions by categorizing them as taking action, something the society values, however, his mates are not pleased. Charlie says to Mr. Keating that he thought he would be proud of him as well, but Mr. Keating replies that in order to truly ‘seize the day’, you must know when to act, and when to stay silent. Mr. Keating represents a push against the grain of the archaic teachings of the preparatory school the boys attend, as he angers several of his employers with his strange methods, much as the New Hollywood movement pushed against the Old Hollywood era and its techniques. Mr. Keating truly grasped the attention of the young boys in a way that hadn’t been done before by any of their other teachers, and inspired them, just as this movement did to its new young audience.
The director also uses distinct camera angles, another new technique in the New Hollywood era, in order to help emphasize emotions and relationships between characters and with the theme. Weir uses stylized mise-en-scene shots to capture the convolution of wondering minds, most prominently is his use of the spinning camera. In one scene, Neil steals Todd’s poem and they begin to chase each other around the room, and other boys join in. The camera is centered in the room and, using a tracking shot, follows the boys in circles as they jump and run around on the beds, showing the playful relationship between the group of friends. In another scene, Mr. Keating brings Todd to the front of the class and has him profess his “barbaric yawp”, then covers Todd’s eyes and has him create a poem out loud, prompting him with his photo of Walt. The camera circles Todd and Mr. Keating in a single shot during this moment, emphasizing how frantic Todd is feeling while forced to speak in front of the class, his biggest fear. The free circular movement of the camera creates a rapturous sense of velocity, speed and vertigo. This is a crucial turning point for Todd where Keating uses a technique of imagination for Todd to spill out spontaneous and unconscious words out of a dramatic psychological transformation. The spinning of the camera effectively captures Keating as a compelling figure, as well as the moment Todd struggles to show his flourishing capacity for self-expression. Likewise, after Neil’s father smells the gun smoke in the room and finds him on the floor, the camera only allows us to see the gun on the floor, and then a hand lying next to it. This camera angle allows us to infer what Neil had done, after him and his father fight about his future, and dramatically emphasizes the gravity of the scene. High camera angles, the body language of the actors, and the composition all contribute to the audience's understanding of the conflict between Neil and his family. The camera angles and positions of the actors also suggest the power struggle between Neil and his father. In one of the final scenes, as Mr. Keating is retrieving his possessions from the classroom, the boys begin to stand on their desks and repeat, “O captain my captain” in support of him. The camera angle is shot from above and shows Mr. Keating, as if from the boy’s view on top of the desks, alluding to a previous scene in which Mr. Keating had made the boys stand on his desk in order to ‘see things from a different point of view’. A low angle point of view reveals Todd’s face adjacent to a huge light and the faces of other boys. With this final interchange of viewpoints, close-ups and symbolism, Weir deftly depicts complex emotions, which suggest an authentic view on the contemporary society. This shot directly emphasizes the relationships between Mr. Keating and his students, and how much they admire him for what he had taught them. The New Hollywood era saw new film techniques such as this, and cultivated a younger, more “cine-literate” audience, which gave rise to ‘art films’ with themes just like ‘Carpe Diem’. These techniques and this theme helped to attract a younger audience that wanted to fight against archaic teachings and look at things through a new lens, just as Mr. Keating’s teachings had done for the society of boys.
The mise-en-scene plays an essential role in Dead Poet’s Society, contributing to the New Hollywood style of film by rendering different spaces and atmospheres. The most distinct way is the careful selection of location and objects. The school chosen to shoot the film at, with its pseudo-style gothic style and authentic artifacts, repeated interior, constricted compositions, and narrow point of views give impression of integrity and verticality, and assembles a rigid social order. Likewise, the dull colors of the preparatory school represent the uniformity and bleakness within its walls. By contrast, the primitive cave of the Society dislocates it from the contemporary world. The wood-fire and moonlight give realism to the cave, and the dripping water adds naturalism to its small space. Objects and props including torches, a saxophone, and a pornographic poster set contrast to the candle lights and bagpipes that appear earlier in the school assembly, proclaiming the free spirit of the Dead Poet’s Society. The use of spatial transitions figuratively captures the social and individual change in positions and perspectives under the influence of Keating. In the very first sequence of a school day, after a dismal view of chemistry, Latin, and trigonometry classes where a static way of teaching took place, the scene cuts to Keating’s dynamic class. Keating leads the boys out of the classroom to the trophy case, rendering a change from a rational space to abstract space. Where their usual professors teach with rationality, rote learning, and precision, Keating uses a feminist approach, which consists of humor, emotion, and passion to create an imaginative space for the boys. With no coercion but emotional tenderness, Keating effectively revives the democratic self-actualization and pronounces the declining paternal authority.
In making Dead Poet’s Society, Weir along with his director of photography, John Seale, combined their distinctive formal elements of filming with improvisation and spontaneity, which rendered the poetic visuals of atmospheric and hallucinatory moments of different time and spaces, as well as intimate emotional and psychological transitions. This film authenticates a powerful platform that ultimately formed into shape during the New Hollywood era, by transforming a melodramatic script into a cinematic spectacular with stylization and a counter-cultured theme.
