I've decided not to spend too much time talking about graduation since I really have nothing to say about it other than I feel totally and utterly relieved. I know college will be a lot of work, but for once I'm not thinking about next year's high school activities and classes. Clean slate. Don't get me wrong; I did enjoy high school, but the idea of a clean slate is exciting for me, mostly because I've never had one before. During graduation, I sat next to people I had known since Kindergarten and possibly before, and though I will miss all of the people smiling next to me in the countless photos, it'll be interesting next year.
Wow, look at this. Nostalgia's already made me its bitch.
Anyway, Dead Poets Society, since Joon did request it. I suppose I've been meaning to watch this, especially after I watched a clip of it during Film Studies last year. (Can I call senior year "last year?" This is weird.) Do you ever see something that you don't realize has meaning until later on? I suppose the clip that I watched in Film Studies should've ruined the whole movie for me; if you've watched it before, you'll know it's the one that makes you cry like a baby. I did not cry that day in Film Studies, though, because although it was a very sad scene, there was no background behind it, no context. I didn't understand what was going on, and I didn't think much of it until I watched it again within the movie.
Dead Poets Society is about a snooty American all-boys prep school that teaches boys to conform to societal rules and that they are basically not fit for individual thought until they "become men." Then all of a sudden, along comes Mr. John Keating, the English teacher who shows the boys in his class a different way of looking at the world and at themselves, demanding that they treat their passions with respect and that they "seize the day." It's a back and forth battle between this crushing and ever-pursuing society and the rebellious and ambitious boys, and whether or not society wins is entirely up to you.
As I watched, my Film Studies teacher's slow snarl popped in my head like an informative little commentator, and I remembered what he had said about this movie. The theme is pretty blatantly stated as conformity, or rather the effort of some to destroy it in order to encourage young people to think for themselves. I could see a lot of ways in which this movie could've been aggravatingly cheesy (I almost said "very cheesy" but Mr. Keating would've been quite ashamed), but they somehow avoided these cliches and made a story that will work those tear ducts.
If you've read any of the other blog posts I've written, you'll know that I have some issues with overactive authority figures. This may effect my biased opinion as I tell you to watch this movie nownownow, but I assure you it is a good film. Some of the camerawork was confusing. It was just a little jarring to me, but considering the scenes in which it were jarring, I'd say it fit. The acting, of course, was excellent... for a movie made in 1989. I will warn you that there are cheesy spots, but only the kind to make you smile, not cringe. Unless you don't smile at adorable 1980s romance. Cynic.
Comment on this post or any other if you have a movie or book you want me to review... Otherwise I will consider reviewing Fight Club, Perks of Being a Wallflower, and The Casual Vacancy, which is basically how I spent this weekend. Summer is such a glorious thing.
P.S. Just one more thing. The word "nice" used to mean "stupid." Here's a snippet from www.dictionary.com:
"Nice, it turns out, began as a negative term derived from the Latin nescius meaning “ignorant.” This sense of ignorant was carried over into English, and for almost a century, nice was used to refer to a stupid, ignorant, or foolish person... By the late 1500s, nice was used to describe refined, polite society."
Oh, how did you know I'm an English nerd? What gave it away? The coffee stains? It's always the coffee stains...
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