Line #11 YMMV/DeadPoetsSociety


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2	* AlternateAesopInterpretation:
3	** One could argue that the message of the film is actually about finding a ''balance'' between thinking for yourself and knowing when to follow the rules. Charlie's pranks result in him getting paddled [[spoiler: and later expelled]] even after he's warned about misbehaving just for the sake of it.
4	** Given [[spoiler:Neil's suicide]], what is the film’s ultimate message about advising abuse victims? Outsiders may understandably want the victim to stand up to (or leave) the abuser— but maybe we should consider that the victim knows their situation best. Pushing too hard may have disastrous consequences.
5	** Does the film validate Knox's attempts to pursue Chris? The other characters roll their eyes at his actions, and Chris tells him she finds his excessive courting of her infuriating (whether she likes him back is irrelevant; she's telling him to stop embarrassing her) and it only ends on a MaybeEverAfter. Chris doesn't show interest in Knox until after he stops doing such extreme things and simply invites her to the play with him. She apparently did like him before he started going to extremes, suggesting that the Aesop here is that he should have simply just asked her out in the first place to get to know her better.
6	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
7	** Did Nolan fire Keating [[spoiler:after Neil's suicide]] because he honestly believed he was responsible for it? Was it an act of damage control to save the school's reputation? Or did he just use the incident as an excuse to get rid of him and his unorthodox teaching methods? Maybe some combination thereof?
8	** Was Keating an irresponsible teacher for going against the school's values and rules despite the consequences, or was he doing the students a favor by trying to open their minds and broaden their perspectives? Notably, he reprimands the students for doing anything that breaks school rules (he has no idea about the society; the kids do that on their own). In fact, when he tells Charlie not to pull any more pranks, Charlie actually ''listens'' to him.
9	** We are clearly supposed to hate Neil's dad. Yes, he is very demanding and controlling, but bear in mind that when he was Neil's age, it would've been right at the start of the Great Depression. Neil states at one point that his family is not as wealthy as most of the other kids and his dad points out that he never had the opportunities that Neil does. So, in other words, he probably had to work very hard to provide a decent life for his family, and would like to see future generations of the family live a good life as well. His father also probably fought in World War II. It's somewhat understandable that he doesn't want everything he's worked for ruined by Neil's dream to be an actor. Of course, he can also be seen as a textbook emotional abuser or at least someone who became an emotional abuser because he took his understandable reasons for wanting to see his son and future descendants succeed too far, using "everything he's worked for" as an excuse to micromanage his son's life despite Neil’s obvious unhappiness. He seems to be more worried about how everything will [[ItsAllAboutMe affect him]].
10	** Mr. [=McAllister=], the Latin teacher, is shown to be a very dry, boring instructor early on, and he advises Keating against instilling naive idealism in his students. Yet he's the only member of the faculty who remains friends with Keating towards the end, and even comes to adopt some of Keating's unconventional outdoor teaching methods. Was this because [=McAllister=] began his career as happy idealist like Keating, only to become a JadedWashout due to pressure from the school administration and/or apathetic students? In other words, did Keating give him a new perspective, or just remind him of what he was or could have been?
11	** Was Richard Cameron completely irredeemable? RIGHT at the end, although he doesn't stand up on the desks, he does look conflicted, and he is a young schoolboy, who hasn't had the best relationships with his peers. Obviously, that wasn't Mr Keating's fault, but youths do lash out wrongfully often.
12	* AwardSnub: Creator/EthanHawke's layered performance as an anxious teenager who [[spoiler: has to deal with the suicide of his best friend]] and Creator/RobertSeanLeonard as an abuse victim [[spoiler: who is driven to suicide]]? Neither were nominated at the UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s in the Supporting Actor category.
13	* BaseBreakingCharacter: Keating is a polarizing character. Some viewers feel Keating ''was'' an irresponsible teacher, encouraging the students to break the school rules when so doing could get them in trouble[[note]]He does, however, draw a distinction between thinking for yourself and obvious misbehaving, such as telling Charlie that his stunt with the newspaper was irresponsible, and advising Neil to actually talk to his father instead of sneaking around.[[/note]] but would be unlikely to rebound on him, and him encouraging his students to rip out the book introduction might be seen as censoring ideas he doesn't agree with. Others feel that the value of broadening the students' perspective and encouraging them to enter adult life with a different attitude than that endorsed by the school was in the long run worth the short-term risk of being disciplined by the school.
14	* ClicheStorm: Not the film itself, but the entire character of Chris. The [[TheSmurfettePrinciple only major female in the story]], a [[EverybodyLovesBlondes popular blonde]] [[AllGuysWantCheerleaders cheerleader]] [[SatelliteLoveInterest defined by her relationship]] to a nerdy guy in comparison to a BigManOnCampus as the RomanticFalseLead. It can actually be shocking for newer viewers how many passé tropes are played straight with her.
15	* FanPreferredCutContent: People generally agree that the deleted scenes of Chris and her friend Ginny should have been kept to keep Chris from being more than a SatelliteLoveInterest.
16	* GeniusBonus: Neil playing Puck in ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream'' is actually rather fitting for his role in the story. Puck is known for walking in several different worlds, influencing many different figures and yet being master of none of them. Neil likewise is TheAce who is master of his classes, his friendships, extracurricular activities and eventually acting too, but ultimately becomes master of none of them. Like Puck, he's also under the control of an authority figure, and follows the wrong instructions to shake up the status quo.
17	* HarsherInHindsight:
18	** Mr. Keating breaking down in tears after he discovers that [[spoiler:Neil killed himself]] is a thousand times worse to watch since Creator/RobinWilliams committed suicide in 2014. It also makes Mr. Keating's speeches about "carpe diem" and seizing the day before it's gone ''heartbreaking''.
19	** If the filmmakers had gone with WhatCouldHaveBeen where Mr. Keating died of leukemia combined with dejection at the loss of Neil Perry, it might have been even more tear-jerking and tragic in light of Robin Williams' suicide in 2014.
20	** The film's final scene has Keating's students giving him a touching send-off, showing their appreciation for everything he's taught them. This is now almost impossible to watch without feeling like a send-off for Williams rather than his character. However, it can be considered HeartwarmingInHindsight, since they're showing how much he meant to them.
21	* HilariousInHindsight:
22	** Neil does, in fact, [[Series/{{House}} end up as a doctor]]. Also, [[Film/MuchAdoAboutNothing1993 this wouldn't be the last time he did Shakespeare]].
23	** A [[RetroactiveRecognition young]] [[Series/TheGoodWife Will Gardner]] vying for the affection of a girl in a serious relationship with a popular guy. (Got somewhat HarsherInHindsight after [[spoiler:[[ActorLeavesCharacterDies Will’s death]], by ''gunshot'', to boot]], in season 5.)
24	** When Knox gets invited to Chris's home, "Rockin' Robin" is playing on the radio. Whenever Creator/RobinWilliams was invited to ''Series/TheLateShowWithDavidLetterman'', he'd be introduced with an instrumental version of the song.
25	** When Keating tells the class to tear out the introduction section of their textbooks, he says "Rip, shred, tear. Rip it out! I want to hear nothing but ripping of Mr. Pritchard." and "It's not the Bible, you're not going to go to Hell for this.". Sounds a lot like [[Franchise/{{Doom}} DoomGuy]], whose {{Catchphrase}} is "Rip and tear until it is done.".
26	* HoYay: Neil and Todd. It's virtually canon, to the point that most of the fanfiction centers on them.
27	* ItWasHisSled: [[spoiler:Neil]]'s death, and Keating getting fired because of it.
28	* JerksAreWorseThanVillains: Strictly speaking, Headmaster Nolan is the primary villain of the story, but Mr. Perry and Cameron are both considered [[HateSink more contemptible characters]], with the former heartlessly dictating Neil's life to the point that [[spoiler:Neil commits suicide instead of complying with his demands anymore]], and the latter [[spoiler:selling out Keating and the Dead Poets Society to save himself]].
29	* MemeticMutation: The "carpe diem" speech got a ''lot'' of play on Tumblr in the wake of Robin Williams' death. Not to mention "O Captain! My Captain!"
30	* MoralEventHorizon:
31	** Neil's father crosses it either by [[spoiler:driving his son to suicide, albeit inadvertently]] or by [[spoiler:failing to own his responsibility for the suicide and scapegoating Mr. Keating for it instead -- which gets Charlie expelled too]].
32	** Cameron was always TheFriendNobodyLikes, but [[spoiler:selling out the whole club just to save his own skin?]]
33	* {{Narm}}:
34	** The BigNo is ruined by the slow motion and [[spoiler:Neil's father being played by Creator/KurtwoodSmith from ''Series/That70sShow'']]. You can ''almost'' hear him screaming "[[spoiler:NEIL, YOU DUMBASS!!!]]"
35	* NeverLiveItDown:
36	** Knox kissing Chris on the forehead while she's asleep.
37	** Mr. Keating encouraging the students to rip out the poetry book's introduction is often held against him by detractors of the film.
38	* OlderThanTheyThink: The subplot of a strict 1950s father forbidding his son from starring in a play [[spoiler: and eventually driving him to suicide]] can be found in ''Film/TeaAndSympathy'', which is also set at a prestigious private school, and said boy gets encouragement from a faculty member who doesn't fit in. Of course, in that movie, the father is worried that his son might be gay, [[spoiler: and the suicide is averted]].
39	* RetroactiveRecognition:
40	** Those who watched ''Series/{{House}}'' before seeing this movie may be surprised to see Wilson as a 17-year-old prep school student.
41	** Knox's actor Creator/JoshCharles would later earn Emmy nominations for playing Will Gardner on ''Series/TheGoodWife''.
42	* RonTheDeathEater: People tend to go overboard with Mr. Keating's "inappropriate" teaching methods. It's often forgotten that he only encourages them to think for themselves and learn something while also enjoying his class. He doesn't encourage them to all become artists, and stresses that becoming doctors, lawyers, bankers, and so on are all noble pursuits and absolutely necessary to sustain life. He doesn't encourage the Dead Poets Society, as the kids do that on their own without his knowledge. When the kids start outright breaking the rules, he reprimands Charlie and reminds him that "carpe diem" is not an excuse to do stupid things or getting yourself or others into trouble. He also gives Neil legitimately good advice when he's angsting about the play, telling him to talk to his father and explain his problem, believing he'd understand if reasoned with. Neil lies to him and in fact ignores his advice, although it’s probably because Neil is convinced that his father won’t ever listen — and the fallout proves that Neil was possibly right to fear his father’s reaction.
43	* SignatureScene: The ending where the students stand on their desks to salute Keating.
44	* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Knox's character arc revolves around trying to win the heart of a pretty girl he has only met ''once'', and it is framed in a way where the audience is clearly supposed to root for him. Yet his method of courtship towards Chris involves [[DudeShesLikeInAComa kissing her on the forehead while she's sleeping]], showing up unannounced at her school after that incident to recite poetry to her in front of her friends, and then hounding her until she agrees to go on a date with him. Knox is supposed to be in a classic "nerd vs JerkJock" love story, but he comes across as an aggressive creep who won't take "no" for an answer.
45	* ValuesDissonance:
46	** Knox kissing Chris on the head when she is sleeping at the party, as such an action is often a precursor to rape in such situations and fits the definition of sexual assault. There's some DeliberateValuesDissonance here as well, as the action would be seen as charmingly romantic for the time (it's seen in the film ''Film/NowVoyager'' too).
47	** Charlie's new identity as "Nuwanda" is unlikely to get through in modern times, since it comes across as [[PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy a privileged white person appropriating African culture for kicks]]. It's made worse by the fact that "Nuwanda" isn't even a real African word.
48	* ValuesResonance: [[spoiler: Neil's suicide]] is all the more topical since TheNewTens, as awareness of mental health issues among men has become a major talking point -- spurred on, ironically enough, by the suicide of Creator/RobinWilliams himself. In addition, there's the fact that the thing that led to [[spoiler:Neil's death]] was that he couldn't deal with the immense pressure from [[EducationMama his father]] to succeed in academics, as nowadays, many students of all ages are also having trouble with that same sort of pressure.
49	* TheWoobie:
50	** Todd is TheUnfavorite who has crippling anxiety and self esteem issues -- to the point where he'd rather lie to say he didn't do an assignment than have to speak in front of the class. [[spoiler: Then his best friend kills himself]].
51	** Neil may be TheAce, but he's got a very abusive father who tries to make him feel like shit for wanting something different in life than what he has planned. [[spoiler: After being bullied by him one too many times, he feels that suicide is preferable]].

Context YMMV / DeadPoetsSociety