D


Movies reviewed here...
Dead Poet's Society 1.
Dead Poet's Society 2.
Do The Right Thing.


Dead Poets Society

By C. Stuffmann, Pepperdine University

Dead Poets Society tells a story about the impact of an imaginative and unorthodox teacher on a conservative prep school for boys in the late 1950's. The families who send their sons to Welton Academy are old-money WASPs and these boys are as repressed as they are privileged. In this environment the burning adolescent issue is conformity vs. nonconformity, no small conflict at a time when it took impressive courage to question authority. The 1960's concept of self-realization was still a subversive notion and creative ideas were akin to treason at Welton. Robin Williams is cast as Mr. John Keating, the innovative and eccentric English teacher, himself an alumnus of Welton. Mr. Keating challenges the school's traditions of hidebound teaching with a passion for his subject and personal concern for his students. Through poetic exhortations ("Seize the day . . . Suck all the marrow out of life . . . Find your own voice . . . Fall out of step . . . Make your lives extraordinary!"), he is teaching his students not only about literature but about life.

Thus inspired, seven boys reactivate the Dead Poets Society that Keating had established as a Welton student. In violation of school rules, they sneak out at night to hold clandestine meetings in an old cave where they read the passionate language of the dead pots and begin the liberation of their own dreams and desires. When this brings them into increasing rebellion against school and parental authority some serious consequences ensue.

The second half of the film traces the unfolding of these consequences and the varying ways in which the boys find themselves able to deal with them. Some of these consequences are amusing (Knox Overstreet and his unrelenting pursuit of a local girl), some are predictable (Richard Cameron reverting to type and betraying his peers), some are tragic (Neil Perry's suicide), and some are hopeful (Charlie Dalton's often rash, but also admirable adherence to his principles).

The majority of published reviews of this movie were written primarily from an artistic perspective; they ranged from lavish praise for the acting, directing, and cinematography to valid criticisms of melodramatic overtones and one-dimensional characterizations of the adult roles. The one criticism I found that was written from a social-science perspective raised the question of dishonesty. John Simon (National Review, 9/15/89) went so far as to say that this was one of the most dishonest movies he had ever seen. His review (which reads more like a diatribe) claims the preposterousness of the characters and their absurd motivations as well as 'carelessness' with regard to language appropriate to the 1950's and the script's treatment of poetry. Mr. Simon's review is not, in my opinion, worth a detailed response; much of what he deems preposterous is clearly believable within the context of such an environment in the 1950's, while most of what he decries as careless turns out to be quite inconsequential to the film.

There is, though, one aspect of this issue that is perhaps worth some examination. The question raised is whether the ending of this film is dishonest, and the answer hinges on the interpretation of the final scene: Does the boys' farewell to Mr. Keating seek to vindicate or redeem their earlier betrayal? If this is the case, then there may be an element of dishonesty in that their actions will not affect the final outcome of the events preceding it; Mr. Keating still stands accused unjustly and dismissed and the boys are still left to confront their own acquiescence. If, however, their farewell is seen as a gesture of apology and affection, and admission that this lesser risk is all that they are capable of offering him, then the question of dishonesty is resolved.

An understanding of the character of Todd Anderson is, I believe, crucial to this issue. In many ways he is the student most inspired by Mr. Keating, and as the movie progresses we see him beginning to emerge from his shell. He is also the one most shaken by the consequences of their rebellion, by Neil's death, and by their final submission to parental pressure. We are given many clues as to the nature of his relationship with his parents; he is sent to Welton to emulate an illustrious older brother, and he has apprehensions about meeting other's expectations, of obtaining parental approval, or of developing any personal esteem. His small excursions into independence ultimately falter in the face of parental disapproval and coercion, for here is where he most clearly comes up against his own emotional deficiencies.

Abraham Maslow (Motivation and Personality, 1954) identified two basic groups of needs which are especially helpful in understanding the inconsistencies of adolescent behavior in general and Todd's behavior in particular. Maslow defines the basic needs as physiological (food, water, sleep, etc.) and psychological (affection, security, and self-esteem, for example); these are also termed deficiency needs because, if they are not met, a person who is lacking will seek to make up for the deficiency. The higher needs are termed growth needs or metaneeds; they include the need for justice, goodness, beauty, order, unity. In most cases deficiency needs take priority over metaneeds. It is fairly obvious that people who are facing questions of basic survival cannot attend to issues of beauty and justice. Nor, according to Maslow, can those who lack basic emotional security and self-esteem feel free to consistently consider fairness, trust in reciprocal respect, or resist restrictive conformity.

Seen in this light, the portrayal of adolescents in Dead Poets Society is realistic. Given their particular environment, it would be especially unusual for them to have their own act together such that they were free from their own unmet needs. Only Charlie Dalton seems able to act with the courage of his convictions, yet his actions are also believable for his greater confidence and independence has been consistently visible from the beginning of the movie. However, Todd's brief forays into personal independence have been just that-- forays; his ability to act consistent with his aspirations is nowhere near realized. Faced with Mr. Keating's departure, he is onviously in anguish; it is clear that while he regrets what he has done he is also ashamed of his inability to change it. When he shouts, "Mr. Keating, they made everybody sign it," it is offered not as a justification but as an apology. When Mr. Keating indicates that he understands, Todd stands on his desk as a gesture of respect of someone who has forgiven them their failure. Had all the boys stood on their desks, and particularly if Cameron had done so, the ending would have lacked integrity; but Todd, and for the others who followed him, the ending is honest. Their actions are also an indication that Mr. Keating has in fact made a difference. While it is true that it is only a gesture, it is also one of which they would not have been capable at the beginning of the movie; and, although Todd's risk is small in comparison to the risk he was unable to take, it is not without significance.

There is a final point worth mentioning in this regard which rests on two differing perceptions of the purport of this movie. If the film is viewed as simply a strong argument for individualism and nonconformity, then this might also lend weight to the conclusion that the ending is dishonest. There is, however, a wider view. As Mr. Keating encourages his students to find out who they are, it should also be noted that he advises caution; he clarifies his telephone stunt in the chapel, and he admonishes Neil (although in this case somewhat naively) that he must work things out with his father. As much as extoling the heady joys of individuality, this film points out the problems and potentially disastrous consequences of allowing such impulses to have free rein in a highly disciplined and restrictive society. Mr. Keating has accepted his dismissal with sadness rather than anger; as an alumnus, he must have had some sense of the risks he was taking though not of the extent. As he thanks the boys for their gesture, his expression and theirs is bittersweet--there may yet be a place for inspired teaching, and there may yet be some hope for these dutiful sons.

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Dead Poet's Society

Reviewed by Terrell A. Hayes, Middle Tennessee State University
(Teaching Sociology, Volume 18, #3, July 1990, pages 444-5)

Thinking of innovative and creative methods for teaching students in an introductory sociology course is challenging. Graduate teaching assistants, particularly, need effective teaching methods in order to gain self-confidence and expertise. Lacking the experience that many teachers of introductory sociology courses already possess, graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) often have difficulty assessing whether they are getting the course material across to students.

Exams consisting primarily of multiple choice questions do little to help GTAs appraise their teaching ability. Students find they can do quite well on exams after spending only a minimal amount of time memorizing terminology, while perhaps actually learning very little.

Films, on the other hand, allow students to take on the role of nonparticipant observers and challenges them to actually apply what they have learned, thereby providing better feedback to the instructor.

One recently released film that presents many important sociological concepts and issues is Dead Poet's Society. As a teaching tool this film delivers, through actor Robin Williams, the "song and dance" instructors sometimes need to gain their students' attention and interest.

The film is set at Welton Academy, a boy's preparatory school, in the late 1950s. It centers around the relationship of an English teacher, John Keating (Robin Williams), and several of his students. Keating has returned to his alma mater to fill a teaching position vacated by a retired faculty member. Somewhat unorthodox in his teaching style, Keating inspires in his boys a love of poetry and a thirst for intellectual freedom--an inspiration that is frowned upon by the school and which one boy's father later blames for his son's sudden rebellion against his wishes.

Driven by their curiosity to learn more about their eccentric teacher, the boys discover his former membership in the Dead Poet's Society. According to Keating, the Dead Poet's Society consisted of a group of students who were dedicated to "suck[ing] the marrow out of life" by experiencing all that life had to offer. One of Keating's' students, Neil Perry, was intrigued by the Dead Poet's Society and instigates the rebirth of the society with several of his classmates. Sneaking from the school grounds at night, the young men return to the Indian cave that served as the original meeting place to read the works of Whitman and Thoreau and to relish their new-found decadence.

The group is discovered when one of the members, Charlie Dalton, sends a letter to the school newspaper demanding that girls be admitted to Welton. Events reach a climax following Neil's acting debut in the lead role of the school's rendition of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Outraged over his son's desire to become an actor instead of a doctor, Neil's father announces his plan to remove Neil from Welton and to enroll him in a military academy. Distraught over his father's plan, Neil takes his own life with his father's pistol.

Seeking a scapegoat, the school, at the request of Neil's father, launches an investigation into Neil's death. After speaking with the remaining members of the Dead Poet's Society, the school determines that Neil's sudden change of character and the defiant acts of the remaining members were triggered by Keating's charismatic influence on the young, impressionable minds of the students.

The film ends emotionally with Keating being asked to leave the school. As he removes his valuables from the classroom and begins to leave, the remaining members of the Dead Poet's Society pay him their last respects by standing on their desks. In so doing, the students committed an act of defiance against the school's president and take up Keating's challenge to view the world from a unique perspective. The cost of Keating's triumph is high--it has been achieved only through the sacrifice of a promising young life and of his own professional aspirations. Yet this one small act by the remaining members of the Dead Poet's Society gives Keating the hope that his warnings against blind and passive conformity will stay with these students forever.

This film would serve as an excellent base for a comprehensive exam on the first eight chapters of the The Social Experience: An Introduction to Sociology by James W. Vander Zanden (1988). (See Richard Peterson's review in Teaching Sociology 17:72-73.) The film's emotional drama, coupled with the occasional comic antics of Robin Williams and a storyline with which students should easily identify, should keep the attention and interest of students in the typical introductory sociology course. If the instructor has the students read the Cookson and Persell (1986) study of elite prep schools, and provides them with a list of questions before showing the film, the students should be able to focus clearly on the important sociological issues addressed.

Some of the many questions that could be used on such an exam include the following:

  1. In your opinion, does Welton Academy act as a total institution? Why or why not? (Your answer should also make reference to the study of elite prep schools by Cookson and Persell 1986).
  2. Vander Zanden (1988) defines society as "a relatively independent, self-perpetuating group of people who occupy the same territory in a common culture." In your opinion, does the Dead Poet's Society constitute a society in the true sociological sense of the word? Defend your answer.
  3. What commonly held American values does Welton Academy try to instill in its young men?
  4. Given Neil's ascribed status as a son and his achieved status as a Dead Poet's Society member, would you say that he experienced role conflict? If so do you think that it led to his suicide? Defend your answer.
  5. Would you label the Dead Poet's Society a primary or a secondary group? Defend your answer.
  6. Recall from your text that deviance may actually facilitate social functioning by serving as a catalyst for change. Give an example from the film of how behavior exhibited by the members, or a member, of the Dead Poet's Society and defined as deviant by the school might have prompted a change in school policy.
  7. As agencies of socialization, discuss the impact you believe Neil's family, the school, and his peer group had on making him the person he appeared to be.
  8. The Thomas Theorem states "if people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences." Discuss the application of the Thomas Theorem to Neil's suicide.
  9. Give a detailed example from the film of an instance of primary deviance and one of secondary deviance.
  10. How were the actions of the remaining members of the Dead Poet's Society when Keating was leaving the school symbolic? What message do you think the students were trying to transmit to Keating and to Nolan?

PROBLEMS

One drawback to using Dead Poet's Society on an exam is the in-class time it would take to show it. At least three 50-minute class periods would have to be set aside to show it in its entirety. The only alternative would be to have the students rent the video and watch it at their leisure. However, chances are that not everyone would have access to the film.

REFERENCES
Cookson, P. W., Jr., and C. H. Persell. 1986. "The Price of Privilege." Psychology Today 20 (March): 31-35, 123-124.
Vander Zanden, J. W. 1988. The Social Experience: An Introduction to Sociology. New York: Random House.

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Do the Right Thing

Reviewed by J. Mark Wehole, Central Missouri State University
(Teaching Sociology, Volume 19, #1, January 1991, pages 127-8)

Do the Right Thing, arguably the most controversial film of 1989, is one of only a small handful of movies released in the past two decades which seriously addresses the issue of racial and ethnic antagonism in American life.

Spike Lee, the 32-year-old film-maker, whose earlier efforts include She's Gotta Have It and School Daze produced, wrote, directed, and starred in Do the Right Thing. Lee maintains that his motive was to provoke open thought and discussion about the "madness of racism" and individual prejudices which "are hurtling us as a nation into a descending spiral of hate." The film is honest, fun, and sure to provoke reaction from students enrolled in an upper-level race and ethnic relations course.

This multiple-character portrait of an ethnic community is the "story of a day in the death of the American dream" (Corliss 1989). It transpires on the hottest day of the summer on a single block in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. The sepia tone of the film accurately captures the sweltering heat and humidity of summer as well as the tense racial climate of the community.

The story itself is relatively simple and straightforward. Sal's Famous Pizzeria is the setting for mounting racial tensions which ultimately escalate into violence. Sal, played by Danny Aiello, is confronted by the belligerent character Buggin' Out as to why there are no "brothers" on the restaurant's wall of fame, a wall covered with pictures of Italian-American celebrities. Buggin' Out attempts to organize a boycott of the pizzeria in an effort to force Sal to honor black Americans. Joining Buggin' Out in the boycott are Smiley, a seemingly retarded young man, and Radio Raheem, a glaring, inarticulate giant who blares Public Enemy's "Fight the Power" unendingly from his huge boom box. At day's end, Buggin' Out and friends once again confront Sal and his two sons about the wall of fame. A fight erupts, the police are called, and Radio Raheem is killed by a white police officer's chokehold. In response to Raheem's death, blacks riot and burn down the pizza parlor.

Did the movie's central character, Mookie, the delivery boy (Spike Lee), do the right thing? This is the principle question in the film. Torn between racial loyalty and an ambivalent relationship with his employer, Sal, Mookie initiates the destruction of Sal's 25-year-old business. Did he violate his employer's friendship, or did he actually save Sal's life by diverting the crowd's wrath to an inanimate object?

Critical reaction to Lee's effort was swift and often caustic. The film has been described as simplistic, irresponsible, facile, fascist, racist, and politically and intellectually incoherent. Many see the movie as a "call to violence" over superficial issues. Lee, on the other hand, denies that it was made to incite riots, but rather to "promote discussion about racism, something people do not want to talk about." Nevertheless, it is apparent that on the issue of violence Lee is torn between the philosophy of Martin Luther King, Jr. and that of Malcolm X. The movie's credits quote King: "Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral." Malcolm X is credited with "I am not against using violence in self-defense; I call it intelligence."

Critics complain that the film is unrealistic in its portrayal of this black under-class in Bed-Stuy. Omitted are references to poverty, drug abuse, homelessness, prostitution, and crime in a community characterized by high rates of unemployment and drug related homicides.

Students have been critical of excessive stereotyping in the movie. Black men are perceived as long on talk and short on action, so preoccupied with loud music, sex, Air Jordan sneakers, and street corner conversations that they are irresponsible as fathers and employees.

Students have also been disappointed that Lee fails to offer solutions to the problems of racial prejudice and discrimination. They feel that the film, much like sociology, raises more questions than answers. Lee contends that he is a film-maker, not a politician, and therefore, has no such responsibility to his audience.

The film is provocative and is an excellent resource through which to illustrate concepts such as race, ethnicity, prejudice, stereotypes, individual vs. institutional discrimination, assimilation, cultural pluralism, police malpractice and brutality, urbanization and ghettoization, unemployment, poverty, the black under-class, and the language of prejudice which permeates society. Do the Right Thing has tremendous sociological relevance and is highly recommended for use among upper-division students enrolled in race and ethnic relations courses.

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