Change Your Image
BluebirdSeventeen
Reviews
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Includes a short inspired poem. Your verse.
Swim against the stream
What this film did for me? I found myself 'standing up on that desk' to remind myself that I should be constantly viewing the world with new perspective.
A magical film, and despite it being made in 1989, still completely and maybe even more relevant to today's society. In a world of mass conformity, largely created by social media and smart phone technology, especially among the young and teenagers, it is ever more important to be inspired by and pursue what this film teaches us.
We need to find our own voice among the crowd. Make your life extraordinary.
It renews, inspires and restores a feeling of passion for words, poems, literature and life! Passion for learning and excelling / expressing ourselves. Keeping your eyes open, looking backwards and forwards, never down. Life is not 1 dimensional. Life is about expression; expressing those many layers and dimensions which make up the fabric of life. This film completely encompasses that sentiment. Striving to find your own voice. Finding words and meanings to best depict the inner workings of your life and mind.
"We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And 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."
You can learn a lot from this movie. In society/ schools nowadays we are constantly being bombarded - told how to do things, why, and what they mean. we are filling up our brains with junk yet we have a world of knowledge, quite literally, right at our fingertips. Yet have we lost a sense of curiosity? Have we stopped asking why?
My favourite scene was the one in the dormitory room, when the boys are playing, jumping across beds and desks, chasing each other round the room, round and round in circles. I think the directing and camera work is fantastic here, with the camera positioned in the middle of the room shooting upwards and following the boys in a rather dizzying way - it completely encompasses the ultimate freedom and spirit of the film.
Powerful directing. Magical visuals- autumnal lake scenes and old New England buildings. Dead poets society made me both laugh and cry a lot. Almost a therapeutically good movie. It will stay with me for a long time to come. Robin Williams was wonderful too. RIP.
10 out of 10 and I want to watch it again already.
Remember you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play *goes on* and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?
Oh, one extra thing.
Here is my inspired 5 min poem:
Your verse?
Quick fast tick tock, Skim swipe tick tock, Glowing face tick tock, Head down tick tock, Marching stomp tick tock.
Each day tick tock Faced with a question tick tock, Your verse tick tock, Two roads tick tock, Diverging
Follow your path tick tock, Open your eyes tick tock, Face the world tick tock, Seize the day tick tock, Listen
One day tick tock, Lie with the daffodils. Food for the worms. Forever, Tick. Tock.
Thank you for reading my short verse. Post a reply in the message boards if you too felt inspired.
(Oh also I'm not claiming to be Tennyson here....just an enjoyable way to spend a Sunday morning reflecting on this wonderful film I watched last night. Think of those boys at the front of the class before you choose tear it apart! :-) )
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Fantastic film - heavy but moments of great humour
I watched this movie last night for the first time. Today I just can't get this movie out of my head! It was completely brilliant - superbly acted, fantastic script, and priceless humor mixed with some real hard and tormenting messages about the treatment inside the mental health institute.
Jack Nicholson was riveting to watch. He played the pragmatist, Mr McMurphy. Ultimately he was incredibly genuine, broke all the boundaries, and brought out his comical humour to slice through the most troubling and tense of moments.
Mrs Ratched - I didn't know what to think of her at first... it took me a while to work out what her intentions were. I thought it was brilliant how the director, Milos Forman, gradually revealed this antagonist's true colours, because on first impressions you believe she is just doing a difficult job. Well at least I didn't realise what a sour sweet she was!
But the one word I came away feeling to describe her - suffocating. Watching this movie you feel trapped, dominated and oppressed by her unreadable expression, her persistent interrogating techniques used in "therapy", and her need for total control. You get a very uncomfortable feeling of powerlessness to her robotic, squashing and crushing demeanor. Very hard to watch in some places. Her group "therapy" with the stuttering Billy being one which sticks out in my mind. Enough to make you need therapy! Was she pure evil, incredibly ill-informed, or a dictator on a power trip?
Must say my favorite scene was the basketball match with the "deaf and dumb" Indian giant, Chief, running up and down the court, completely annihilating the opponents as he put into practice the 'arms up' movement that Jack Nicholson had taught him early. A great cinematic moment!
10 out of 10.