Oh, captain, my captain!

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  “Seize the day and make life extraordinary.”
  This is a line from the movie Dead Poets Society, a movie which is my all-time favourite. I have watched it for two or three times and every time I watched it I can deeply felt its power and inspiration. And I was always impressed with the famous line “Oh, captain, my captain!” It is a symbol of this film.
  Plot Summary
  This story takes place in 1959 and it is related to a famous preparatory school in America, which is a very conservative institution that serves as a high school for parents who insist on sending their children to the best universities. Its name is Welton. Painfully shy Todd Anderson has been sent to the school where his older brother performed really well in study. Neil, although exceedingly bright and popular, is very much under the thumb of his overbearing father. Coincidentally, they become room-mates. Todd is not accepted by others because his brother, but Neil treats him very genuinely and Todd’s heart is full of gratitude.
  Together with their friends, they meet their new English and poetry teacher Mr Keating, a really special professor. In the first class, he takes his students to a wall where a lot of pictures of their seniors are pasted. He asks his students to listen to the voice from the dead and tells them to seize the day and make life extraordinary. Then he instructs his students to rip a discourse off their textbooks, which teaches the students to understand the poetry using mathematical coordinates. He says, “We are learning poetry, not laying pipes.” He even asks the students to stand on the desk just for the purpose of viewing the world in a different direction. The teacher is determined to teach his students to live with absolute passion. Everyone is unique and EXTRAORDINARY! Inspired by Mr Keating’s philosophy of life, many of his students recreate the “Dead Poets Society”, a secret club which meets together in a cave to discuss poetry, philosophy and other topics that can stimulate their unique thoughts. The club was created by Mr Keating many years ago when he was a student in Welton. The club instructs its members to think for themselves, which is obviously contrasted to what the Welton do. Indeed, Welton students should be in their rooms, studying only the prescribed materials that their teachers assign.
  The students enjoy themselves with their teacher but the happy time can’t be prolonged. Neil wants to play a role in a drama but his father forces him to leave the school and go to Harvard. Neil turns to Mr Keating and he is advised to tell his real feelings to his father. But Neil dare not do that and he goes to the drama directly, without telling his father. The drama is unprecedentedly successful but Neil is taken back home by his angry father and they quarrel severely. Then the tragedy takes place. Neil commits suicide at midnight. Todd is extremely broken-hearted but he can’t do anything but feel total despair. Then Welton begins the investigation and unfairly all faults are ascribed to Mr Keating and he has to leave. At last, with Todd being the first, his students say farewells to their beloved teacher just in one way---standing on the desks…
  My Own Feeling
  The movie is about what happens when these students decide to pursue their own desires, and to live life with the passion that Mr Keating encouraged. Welton has four pillars: Tradition! Honour! Discipline! Excellence! But the students change them into “Travesty! Horror! Decadence! Excrement!” They minds are cornered and they want to blurt out their own thoughts. They feel compelled to challenge the status quo. Ultimately, it is about what happens when a few idealistic students find themselves confronted against conservative forces that resist all change, including the drive for personal self-determination.
  This is a most underrated film and I think its implication can tell us a lot. Hope you can enjoy it one day!