影視英語

1. The scene: [100』00』』-102』49』』]
  
This is a scene in Neil’s home. Neil has just finished his first play, and been taken home by his father, Mr. Perry. His father is angry about his appearance in the stage without his permission. There is a quarrel between Neil and Mr. Perry
  To know more about the typical conversation between this father and son, I will give a detailed analysis about how it related to the themes of the movie.

Lines Analysis
[ Door Opens, Closes ]
[ Clears Throat ]
 
[Mr. Perry] We're trying very hard...
to understand why it is
that you insist on defying us.
But whatever the reason,
we're not gonna let you ruin your life.

Here we can see Mr. Perry is a very strict father. They are 「trying very hard」 to understand why Neil insists on defying them, because he has never thought that Neil would be against them. They control too much on Neil and Neil also always obeys them.
 


 
I'm withdrawing you from Welton and
enrolling you in Braden Military School.
You're going to Harvard,
and you're gonna be a doctor.


When Mr. Perry speaks out the words, he is using the tone like ordering. He means 「I am withdrawing you from Welton and enrolling you in Braden Military」, and then Neil should do so. Neil should go to Harvard, and Neil should be a doctor because he himself hopes so.

 
[Neil] But that's ten more years.
- Father, that's a lifetime!




Neil is affected by Mr. Keating’s 「Carpe Diem」. He does not want to waste ten years on the thing he does not like. He wants to seize the day, and do something he wants.








 
[Mr. Perry] - Oh, stop it!
Don't be so dramatic.
You make it sound like a prison term.
You don't understand, Neil.
You have opportunities
that I never even dreamt of! - I am not going to let you waste them!

Mr. Perry’s education on his child is rude and too simply. When Neil says something out from his own mind, Mr. Perry’s response is just 「Stop it」. Neil lives a long time under such a circumstance, and he has no chance to express his own ideas. Mr. Perry thinks it is a good opportunity he creates for his son, but he does not know that he is not saving Neil’s life, but ruining his dream.
 
 
[Neil] - I've got to tell you what I feel.



Neil is inspired by Mr. Keating, and wants to make some rebellions to his father’s arbitrary controlling.

 

 
[Mrs. Perry] - We've been so worried about--
[Mr. Perry] - What? What? Tell me what you feel!
What is it?
Is it more of this-this
acting business?
Because you can forget that.
What?
[Neil] Nothing.
[ Sighs ]
[Mr. Perry] Nothing?
Well, then, let’s go to bed.

In Mr. Perry’s eyes, his son’s love for acting is worth of nothing. Mr. Perry puts his dignity as father on his face ( the light the director uses here accentuates the face of Mr. Perry, making it more powerful). Mr. Perry’s words are like draggers impaling Neil’s heart. Neil knows that explanations of his dream are all in vain before his father, so he just says 「nothing」.
 
 


 
[Neil] [ Softly ] I was good.
I was really good.
[Mrs. Perry] Go on, get some sleep.










Neil has become desperate, and he feels sorry about being forced to give up his dream. He is speaking to his mother 「 I was good, I was really good」, but in my opinion, he is more likely to speak to himself. Because he knows that in this family no one except himself could understand what does acting means to him. Mrs. Perry just says 「go on, get some sleep」 but nothing else to support his dream.

   
The conversation here exposes two themes of the movie—the conflict between idealism and realism, and the relationship between parents and son—with other details in the scene.
  Like most of the 17-year-old young guys, Neil has an unrealistic dream in his heart as well. If without Mr. Keating, this kind of dreams will be killed by the so-called 「traditional, discipline」 [by Mr. Nolan, 80』13』』]. But Mr. Keating gives them inspiration, he teaches them to be 「Carpe Diem」, and nearly all of the poetries they learn are 「romantics and some of the chapters on post-Civil War literature」[Cameron, 121』07』』], but skipped most of the realists. Mr. Keating encourages them to pursue their own dreams.
Even in the living room, Neil still keeps his dream (we can easily get this conclusion through the prop garland in Neil’s hand all the time). In this scene, if you listen carefully, you can hear the background sound—the howling of the wintry wind. It implies the mood of Neil at the moment: feels freezing cold about his father’s arbitrary ruling, and wants a rebelling to seek his own career but not fulfills his father’s plan routinely. As far as Mr. Perry considers, acting business is dramatic, going to Harvard and being a doctor should be the real life of Neil’s. The realism extending from Welton to his house, obliges Neil to give up his dream.
  Mr. Perry is a very strict person. We conclude this not only from his words, but also from his living habits. Before going to bed, Mr. Perry carefully puts his shoes abreast [103』03』』]. The director uses a close-up here to call audience’s attention. Therefore, there is no doubt about Mr. Perry’s ordering word in this scene. During the quarrelling, Mrs. Perry is just stand by Neil with tears in her eyes. She is not so strict as her husband; in the contrary, she keeps comforting Neil. But her comforts are nothing but persuading her son to obey Mr. Perry. Just as Mr. Perry speaks to Neil at the beginning of the movie, 「You know how much this means to your mother, don't you」, his mother also among the ones who want him to give up his unrealistic dreams and obey his father’s plan. These are like chains confining Neil into a certain shape, but no freedom to decide where he will go for his own life.
  Under this circumstance, death is likely to be a way out. In fact Neil even begs for his father’s understanding before they come into the living room:

If we shadows have offended...
think but this
and all is mended.
That you have but slumber'd here
while these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
no more yielding but a dream.
Gentles, do not reprehend.
If you pardon, we will mend.
And as I am an honest Puck,
if we have unearned luck,
now to 'scape
the serpent's tongue,
we will make amends ere long;
else the Puck a liar call.
So, good night
unto you all.
Give me your hands
if we be friends,
and Robin shall
restore amends. [Neil, in the theater, 96』48』』-97』30』』]

Neil expressed his idea to his father through the voice of a character in his play, and it might be the only time that Neil explained his dream to Mr. Perry. 「That you have but slumber'd here while these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, no more yielding but a dream.」 Acting was Neil’s dream, and was also like a dreamlike thing to Mr. Perry. 「If you pardon, we will mend. And as I am an honest Puck, if we have unearned luck, now to 'scape the serpent's tongue, we will make amends ere long; else the Puck a liar call.」 If his dream was accepted by his father, Neil would be so appreciated. However, after finishing the play, all the audience applauded and cheered for Neil except Mr. Perry. He was busy finding his son, and took him home to give such a lesson in the scene above.
  Therefore, gun becomes the only tool for Neil to pursue his beloved dream.

2. Symbols
  Dead Poet Society is a wondrous movie with many ingenious designs. There are many things in the movie effecting the development of the story, like the birds, the bell, the painting, the cigarettes, snow and so on. I choose two of them to analyze, 「Nuwanda」 and the prop-garland of Neil.

1) Nuwanda

  Clip 1 [68』53』』]
  This happens in the cave of Dead Poet Society. Charlie makes the decision, 「in keeping with the spirit of passionate experimentation of the Dead Poets, I』m giving up the name Charlie Dalton. From now on, call me Nuwanda.」 From this we can see that the Nuwanda is a symbol to carry out the spirit of the Dead Poets, to pursue freedom against the tradition and discipline from Welton and their parents. In other words, Nuwanda is represented for romanticism.
  Later, when Cameron calls 「Charlie」, he corrects it immediately, 「it’s Nuwanda, Cameron」. Charlie is stick on his belief for freedom and romanticism.

  Clip 2 [78』47』』]
  Charlie published an article in the school paper in the name of the Dead Poets, and he performed the God’s telephone call in the school meeting. He was given corporal-punishment. During his walking back to his dorm:

  [Neil] you kicked out?
  [Charlie] no
  [Neil] So what happened?
  [Charlie] I』m to turn everybody in, apologize to the school, and all will be forgiven.
  [Neil] So what are you gonna do, Charlie?
  [Charlie] Damn it, Neil. The name is Nuwanda.

After punished by Mr. Nolan, all the other guys in the Dead Poet Society are worried about Charlie. Would he be kicked out by the headmaster? Will he give away the Dead Poet Society? In the whispering by others, our Charlie goes out of the headmaster’s office with his most graceful walking steps apart from his painful ass. Neil talks to him to show his worry. But after Mr. Dalton speaks out 「Nuwanda」 with a tearful smiling face, Neil also smiles. Neil knows that Charlie does not give up 「Nuwanda」, and he does not submit to the school’s discipline. Nuwanda is still alive, and romanticism is still alive.

Clip 3 [115』38』』]
This scene happens after Neil died. In the attic, five dead poets (Neil and Cameron are out) are talking about the consequence of Neil’s death. Cameron comes in:

[Charlie hits Cameron on his nose]
[Cameron] You just signed your expulsion papers, Nuwanda.
And if the rest of you are smart, you'll do exactly what I did!

At the beginning of this scene, Cameron still calls Charlie as 「Charlie」 [114』35』』]. However, after Charlie hitting him, an interesting transition happens—Cameron calls Charlie as 「Nuwanda」. This change really makes a difference here. At first, Cameron has thought that Mr. Nolan’s warning may affect Charlie, and he wants him to be an 「ordinary」 Charlie as before to avoid expelling. But after being kicked, Cameron knows that he is wrong. Charlie has turned into 「Nuwanda」 and cannot come back, even be threatened. So he said Nuwanda would be expulsed, but not Charlie. Nuwanda stands for the idealism, but Charlie is just a normal Welton student with tradition and discipline.

All in all, Nuwanda is romanticism, and it is the dead poets』 loyalism to idealism. On the document there are only five names, Richard S. Cameron, Stephen K. C. Meeks Jr., Gerard J. Pitts, Knox T. Overstreet, and Todd A. 安德生 [119』22』』]. Neil is dead, and Charlie is knocked out. The Dead Poet Society becomes a story in history, even cannot be written in the school’s annals. In the conflict between the realism and idealism, the former one seems to be the winner. However, Neil is dead, but his death makes him break the chains from his school and his family; what’s more, Nuwanda is just expelled, but not killed. Nuwanda is still alive in the world. Or at least, according to Mr. Nolan, Mr. Dalton becomes the first one who is successful being expelled from Welton [77』08』』]. He makes it, doesn』t he? Realism has admitted that it cannot completely oppress romanticism any more. Who becomes the winner of the conflict is still unsettled.

2) Neil’s Prop-garland in the Play.

Clip 1 [93』41』』-98』10』』]
This scene is in the theater. Neil realized his dream, and he is acting on the stage. The garland, which is one of his props, is a symbol of Neil’s dream. During this period, the garland is at its proper position-Neil’s head. It means that the garland is doing its work, and Neil is approaching his dream. The lighting music, and the warm-toned theater both contributes Neil’s excited mood at the moment until Mr. Perry appears.

Clip 2 [100』28』』-102』18』』]
This scene is in Mr. Perry’s living room. Neil comes back home with the garland in his hand. He does not leave it in the theater, or throw it to the roadside. That means he still stick on his dream. He wants to put on the garland again, and act on stage. Even during the serious quarrelling, Neil gives up explaining, but he still clenches the garland in his hand. He seizes his dream.

Clip 3 [103』35』』-104』51』』]
This is before Neil’s suicide. He takes off his clothes, stands by the window, and breathes some fresh air outside the house. He takes up his garland as if taking up a halidom. Putting it once again on his head, closing his eyes, Neil falls into thoughts. He is approaching to romanticism. He feels pitiful for his life and his dream at the moment.

Clip 4 [107』04』』-107』12』』]
Mr. Perry feels something inauspicious. He gets up and comes into Neil’s room to see if everything is all right. When Mr. Perry comes into the room, the garland is in the shot. The director uses unclear close-up here. Then the garland becomes clearer and clearer, until the shot focus on it. There is no doubt that the director wants audience to pay attention to this garland. But why does he do so? Why does Neil just put the garland on the table in his bedroom, or just take it with him to the study room? Why does Neil put it out of the window? As the discussion above, the garland carries Neil’s dream. Before going to suicide, Neil put the garland out of the window, out of the house, because he wants his dream to get rid of the controls from his family. He does not want to leave his dream still in the family after his death. When he is alive he cannot realize his dream; after he dies, he hopes his dream can fly out of the window and into the sky freely.

In conclusion, the garland represents for Neil’s dream of being an actor. When he puts it on his head, Neil can feel his dream approaching, and can feel his love for acting. But strict Mr. Perry wants him to go to Harvard and to be a doctor. Neil is performing as a dutiful son. This is the conflict between realism and idealism—under the oppression of realism, Neil kills himself; but his dream is not given up. This is the father-son relationship—no communications but orders leads to tragedy.


3. Character Development of Todd and Neil
 
 There are seven members in the Dead Poet Society, and each of them makes a great contribution to the themes of the movie. Changes happen to them during the movie. Take Neil and Todd as examples to analyze.

1) Neil
At first Neil has no difference with other students in Welton. He has gotten all A’s in every class, and obeys his father’s words [8』00』』-8』50』』]. Like other students, Neil lives in the 「Hell-ton」, but he dislikes it in his heart. They can speak loudly the Four Pillars—Tradition, Honor, Discipline and Excellence—in the school auditorium, but changes them into 「Travesty, Horror, Decadence and Excrement」 immediately in their dorm [6』42』』-6』47』』]. It proves that in Neil’s heart he deny the traditional education in Welton even from the beginning, but just secretly in his community.
Keating’s appearance inspires the impulse for freedom in Neil’s heart. He teaches Neil to seize the day, to be extraordinary, and to pursue his dream. We can choose several typical scenes in Neil’s transitional arc:

[16』46』』-16』55』』]
Neil appraises Mr. Keating’s class with 「different」, but not 「weird」 or something else.
[30』20』-30』40』』]
After hearing the Dead Poet Society from Mr. Keating, we can see hopes in Neil’s eyes. And he immediately takes measures—to rebuild the community. This is start of the climax of the story, and the origin of his pursuing for his dream.
[45』40』』-47』15』』]
Neil gets the poster of open tryouts for A Midsummer Night's Dream. He is so excited to claim that it is the first time in his life to know what he wants to do, and shouts loudly 「Carpe Diem」. But after Todd talks about obstacles from his father, Neil becomes depressed. 「Can't I even enjoy the idea for a little while」, dream soon shatters.
[93』26』』-98』02』』]
This is climax for Neil. He is fulfilling his dream without his father’s permission. All of the audience cheer for Neil’s excellent performance, except Mr. Perry.
[100』02』』-102』24』』]
This is the last resist for Neil to against his father. But before his strict father, that makes no difference.
[103』29』』-107』41』』]
This is the end of the teenager’s dream. There is no possibility for Neil to realize his acting dream in such a family, so he chooses death.

From the growth line of Neil, we can see the motivation-conflict-character growth. Neil wants to be an actor. He loves acting since he was young, and he even wanted to try some summer stock auditions before [46』12』』]. This is his out motivation. Why does he want to be an actor? All for this are nothing but his love for the acting career. Because of his love, he can keep his dream complete even under the pressure from his study and his family. To realize his dream his can give up everything, even his life. This is the inner motivation for Neil to pursue his dream.
But there are conflicts. His parents want him to go to Harvard and to be a doctor in the future, but not to do the acting business. He carries hopes from his parents and teachers. That does not permit his to stand on the stage. This is the outer conflict. And Neil himself, as Mr. Keating says, is 「playing a dutiful son」 [85』47』』]. He is accustomed to obey his father’s orders, and does not have the courage to explain his ideas to his father. He does not have the confidence to clarify the misunderstandings between father and son. But in his heart he has strong love for his romantic goal. This makes him trapped. This is the inner conflict for Neil.
Enlightened by Mr. Keating, Neil knows that one should sacrifice something to fulfill his dream [84』50』』-85』07』』]. With the inspiration from Mr. Keating, Neil knows what he really likes, and what he really wants to do. Acting becomes no longer a thing just hidden in his own mind. Neil can speak it out. He takes actions—attends he interview of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and gets a part in it. When his dream is threatened by his father, he tries to carry out it secretly but not give it up. This is the faithful for his dream. After the quarreling with his father in the living room, he reconsiders about his dream and his life. He choose the former one, because after the battle with realism, he know even clearer that it is the dream that he cannot deserted. He knows his family, his school is going to banish him from his dream land, and he knows more about the love for acting in his heart.

Todd
  In the movie Todd can be regarded as one who changes most from the beginning to the ending. At first he comes to Welton with the hope from his family and his new school. 「Mr. 安德生, you have some big shoes to fill. Your brother was one of our finest.」 [Nolan, 4』52』』-4』58』』] This add more burden on Todd’s shoulder to force him behave well in the traditional Welton. In fact he is among the most timid guys at first, and always prefers to stay by himself instead of joining the study group.
  Some typical transitional arcs:
[9』35』』-9』39』』]
There is a detail here. After Todd puts down his luggage and sits on the chair, the first thing he does is to adjust his clock and watch to the School Time. This proves that he wants to keep pace with the cadence of Welton. He wants to be another Mr. 安德生 who is the finest.
[32』00』』-32』50』』]
Neil wants Todd to be in the Dead Poet Society, but Todd does not want to go. Todd has too much worry, and he dares not to read poetries before others.
[56』18』』-58』00』』]
Neil is asked to come to the front of the classroom to give his poetry. Even having prepared in his room, Todd still does not have the courage to speak out. Mr. Keating helps him to speak his voice. Todd received applauds from the staff in the classroom, and he smiled. This is an importance transition for Todd. He gradually overcomes the fear in his own body.
[66』08』』-67』50』』]
It is Todd’s birthday, but he receives the same present from his parents as last year. Neil comforts Todd, and encourages him to throw the desk set for fun. This is another important transition—Todd begins to challenge his blind worship for his parents.
[109』00』』-110』20』』]
In a snowy day, Neil’s death becomes the fuse of Todd’s burst later.
[123』22』』-125』24』』]
This is the climax of the movie, and the most touched scene. The most timid and traditional student—Todd becomes the first one to break out. We know that Neil died, and Nuwanda expelled, but romanticism and dreams are still alive.

From the transformational moments for Todd above, we can see a realistic and traditional good student grow to be a romanticist. Neil never tells us what he wants to be, and in my opinion his goal generate gradually during the movie: first just want to be a good student for Welton and his family, and then he wants to speak publicly; at last, he becomes another 「Neil」 or 「Nuwanda」, to think freely, to speak his own voice, and dare to say no to tradition. This becomes his outer motivation. Why does he want to be so? Because he has a barbarian in him after all [Mr. Keating, 46』41』』], and he also want to be free from the dull discipline and live his own real life. This is his inner motivation.
  Todd wants to be free, but this is against his parents and his teachers. As we have said, Todd’s brother is the finest of Welton, and his family and school need another traditional Mr. 安德生, but not a free-thinking Todd. This is the outer conflict. Todd knows his parents』 hopes on him, and he is also a coward person. He wants to be free but he is not brave enough to break the chains from tradition. This is his inner conflict.
  But with the help from Mr. Keating, encouragement from Neil and other dead poets, Todd is more and more romantic.