Carpe Diem !

************這篇影評可能有雷************

Carpe Diem

- A Movie Review in the 20th Year after the Premiere of
Dead Poets Society


It was twenty years since the first show of 「Dead Poets Society」, but the values, the moving and thoughts which it brought to us have never gone. Contrariwise, in a deeper and proper way, it penetrates the questions of our humanness, society and education and aroused us to further thinking.

The students in the Welton Academy Prep School are commonly described and expected as simply a word called 「elite」: come from the upper middle class families of New England, go to the best private prep school and be asked to get straight A from kindergarten to Grade 12. Ivy League, medicine school, law school, business schools, future banker, future lawyer and a 「bright」 future, these words form their life. The lived on the route of their parents』 arrangement, but they are not happy.

In that typical 「elite」 school, Mr. Keating won the trust and appreciation from the kids because he showed them a new lifestyle about love, poets, passion and imagination that was much more different from the route what their parents told them. 「Carpe Diem」, 「Seize the day」 this simple words imply a great life of dream for the young mans. Throw out the Chemistry, forget Harvard, forget medicine school or law school, go out and open your eyes, "sucking the marrow out of life", do whatever you want, love whatever you love, hold your own belief and lead a real life. Simply think that is really great and that’s what we lose in the corner of our heart or even we』ve never seen before.

A fantastic saying from Keating is that,」 Medicine, law, business, engineering... these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love... these are what we stay alive for.」 Look at things in different aspects; be brave and confident to 「take the one less traveled by」. This is what adults commonly ignored, at least not so sensitive to it.

Mr. Keating was an idealist. There is nothing wrong to be an idealist, in the pure occasions, without interfere of outside conditions. The stuffs that we care about like love, poets, music and democracy are great too. Idealism is a philosophy of 「perfect」. But it’s not perfect to this imperfect world. 「Only in dream can a man be truly free」. Yes, only in dreams but 「only in dreams」. Our world tends to be realistic. Bread must come first. So the only solution is to make a compromise.

But Mr. Keating was sane. After Charles played the farce of 「God’s call」, he taught them how to distinguish the braveness and foolish. Youth are impulsive and emotional. Drunk, smoking and the Charles’s fight was the best proof. But if there is no impulsion, how can our world come upon to the stage like today? So this is the case of extent. We need liberty but not totally freedom; we need a proper level of restriction but not tyranny; we love the spiritual stuffs but we do need a material basis. Wisdom to distinguish the two is what we need.

  As for the death of Neil, the headmaster put off the responsibility to Mr. Keating. Neil’s parents also shrink from the responsibility But Mr. Keating just encouraged them to think and find the self-identity. What’s wrong about that?

 Generation gap is forever a topic. Youth struggle against the tradition and their parents, but when they became parents, they got to be like their parents. It’s like a routine. 「You know how important it is to your mother.」 Kids』 effort is just sort of payback or responsibility to parents. But in case, they live for they own, not for their parents.

The ending was really moving. 「Oh captain, my captain!」 It’s the simple slogan can shows the struggle to the exacting traditional and hope to be a free man. We moved and cried because of our desire of free comes from the very recess of our hearts.

Anyway, seize the day in the rest time of your life. Don』t be regret when you are old and gray and full of sleep. Carpe Diem!