Dead Poets Society
“Oh Captain! My Captain” is the line that was in media everywhere, not just the traditional ones but also in social media. Pip and I were having a connecting flight in Doha and we randomly saw a message about Robin Williams’ death on TV. I made a deadpan comment about it along the lines of “Oh wow, Robin Williams is dead”. Just as I was going to make more silly comments, the guy in front of me in line was like “Yes, it’s incredible. So terrible. They say he committed suicide” which in turn made me put on a compassionate face and agree that it’s absolutely terrible. I am so glad that I haven’t said anymore; as much as I love to take serious situations with a grain of salt, I don’t want a stranger to think I was lacking piety.
The only other Robin Williams-related incident I remember was how I was on a Megabus to New York City, and I struck up a conversation with the girl sitting next to me. She was studying acting at Temple University, and adored Wong Kar-wai and Robin Williams. She thought he was the funniest man alive and was on the way to see a Broadway show of his.
Pip and I decided to see some of Robin Williams’ old films. But since I saw “Good Will Hunting” and he saw “Good Morning Vietnam” and we both saw “Mrs. Doubtfire”, it was almost obvious that we would end up picking “Dead Poets Society”. Considering that I read Kleinbaum’s book version a long, long time ago (and was quite impressed by it), it is surprising that I never picked up the film. I was actually interested but I had no idea how to get the film, it was long before I even started frequenting videotheques. With knowledge of what the film would be (mostly) about, and also knowing what was happening to Neil, I had a weird feeling watching the film. In the end, it was a straight-forward and simple film, just the way I was expecting it. If I had been younger, it probably would have deeply touched me, but from the standpoint of an adult, I am merely looking at the film with the eyes of something who has luckily survived these troublesome times of youth.
With that said, I am surprised how cute Ethan Hawke used to be. I only know him as young charming idiot in “Before Sunrise”, the irresponsible dad in “Boyhood” and other older roles, but it’s refreshing to see him in the role of the shy boy who ends up displaying a great deal of courage. I was quite smitten with the boy.
Apparently “Dead Poets Society” was something like the “Donnie Darko” of the 90s, and I can definitely see why. It’s definitely a lovely film for young people, and definitely a classic.