theyawper

[theyawper]

Script and cinematographic details and parallels which could mean nothing but I like to think about

When Todd is being walked up to Nolan's office at the end of the film, the "Tradition" banner and only that one can be seen by the stairs - the tenet that most influenced the restrictive system at Welton.

Similarly, when Nolan confronts Keating about his teaching methods, he says "Tradition, discipline, prepare them for college and the rest will take care of itself. He neglects to mention the "excellence" and "honor" pillars, which are more represented by his mirror, Keating, who encourages the boys to excel in all aspects of life and live honestly/deliberately.

The Pritchard essay is read aloud twice, once at the beginning and once at the st end. The first time is Neil, introducing us to some his oral skills and likely chosen by Keating who gets a sense of his natural leadership in class. The second time is Cameron reading it, more hesitantly in the presence of the recently fired by Keating, likely chosen by Nolan because he knows Cameron is the weakest link and most likely to obey at that point.

There are only a select few mentions of different schools of poetry, realists and romantics in particular. McAllister self-identifies as a realist to Keating, and Keating describes the Dead Poets Society as being made up of romantics. In the final scene of the film, Cameron notes that under Keating they covered the romantics but did not cover most of the realists.

During the shot of Todd practicing his poem in his and Neil's room, we see him walking in circles in a still camera shot. He is literally "spiraling" downwards as with each turn where we can see his face, his expression gets more upset until he tears up his poem. Conversely, during his in-class poem, the camera is rotating around him, taking control of both his mind/recitation and the camera itself - forcing it to keep up with his newfound passion as opposed to it being a passive witness to his initial spiral of anxiety.

The dock is seen three times over the course of the film (including the deleted scene of Neil and Todd rehearsing.) The first is the still shot of the bagpiper practicing, which is the intro to the shot of Todd silently pacing and practicing his poem. If we include the deleted scene, we see Neil and Todd conversing with their usual enthusiasm. Then, we see it one last time as Todd racing towards it upon finding out about Neil's death, letting out his most tragic yawp. These dock shots track the progress of Todd's character through volume - going from his silent, nervous anticipation and shame (his default through much of the movie) to being able to hold a warm conversation to the loudest that he ever gets in the entire film (being spurred into his final arch of development and bravery through the loss of Neil.)

[theyawper]

"Find your own way of walking!"

[theyawper]

Carpe Diem + Seize the Day Count

How many times do they really say it? Time to determine once and for all.

(14:12) Thank god, it was getting dire. First said by Keating in his first-day speech.

(14:18) Said by Meeks to right before he says the definition, like he's at a spelling bee or something.

**(14:20) Meeks following up the Carpe with a Seize - nerd.

(16:03) An incomplete "Carpe..." from Keating complete with disgusted look from Cameron

(16:12) Another incomplete from Keating.

(16:19) Keating finally says it!

**(16:24) An additional Seize from Keating just to hammer it home.

**(17:37) Seize technically written and not said by Todd but I think he really needs it at this point since he just got finished suffering gayly in the shower room so we'll count it.

(46:22) An iconic Carpe from Neil delivered with panache while he gets his dirty shoes all over Todd's bed.

(1:03:36) A whispered incomplete-Carpe a la Keating from Neil.

(1:03:36) And another in quick succession.

(1:12:31) An extremely misguided and uncomfortable Carpe from Knox before he gets his face rearranged.

(1:20:28) Charlie gets a Carpe and a bonus "sucking the marrow" in quick, upset succession.

**(1:29:08) A triumphant Seize the day yelled by an indeterminate poet - Knox or Charlie from the sound of it.

And while that is certainly not the last ACTION taken to seize the day, it is the last time it's said since the play is shortly after utterance number 14. One of the many ripple effects that Neil's death has on the fabric of the movie. That leaves us with 14 total!

Considering the total length of the movie, that is a Carpe Diem or Seize the Day every 9.2 minutes on average. If we look at the rate only from the beginning of the movie through the last utterance, that is a Carpe or Seize every 6.4 minutes on average for the first two "acts" of the film with none in the third.

Keating says it the most at 5 times all in the same scene, Neil has 3 - all of which are at the high of his emotional journey, and Charlie and Knox are at 1 and 2 (which has which depends on who says the final one.) Pitts (Poet with the least focus), Cameron (Poet who is most against the message), and technically Todd (actions speak louder) never utter it once. Very in character all around!

[theyawper]

What year were the poets in school?

One of those things you probably have a headcanon for but was never really confirmed. Now I know there is likely no canonical answer to this, but that's not the point. The point is shaking a bunch of mismatched puzzle pieces together in a box like a happily distracted toddler and sharing niche information that means little but makes me happy. Let's look at what we know and can interpret.

The Opening Ceremony: now I might as well throw this out because if I was the cinematographer, of course I'm going to opt for multiple shots of Cameron carrying the Tradition and Neil carrying the Excellence one because it's so so juicy with subtext and foreshadowing, continuity or logic or intention be damned. But if we do look at this, multiple of the Poets having such an important role in the ceremony definitely points them to being upperclassmen and likely seniors, given the significance of the flags to the ceremony - it's the kind of role you give your best and oldest. But also, who really knows - there's so many age groups involved in the opening ceremony and we have no indication of Welton's traditions regarding who gets to do what besides putting your generally shiniest boys in. Maybe juniors have to carry the flags while a single senior is chosen to wail on the pipes. No real info here.

Todd's Arrival: The fact that Todd moves from Balincrest to Welton is a decent clue that they might be younger than seniors; why bother moving your kid just for their last year of school? Especially a kid that you already consider a disappointment and don't really care about. However, this is the Andersons and a class-focused society at large. If you can get your kid into Welton, that's a big deal and a big help for them in the academic arena. Maybe this was Todd's parents' last big push to try and get him into an Ivy League and live up to their expectations, even if he just had a year left. The Andersons' complicated family makes this a bit of a moot point.

Discussions of College: this one I think it's one of the biggest pieces of evidence that the poets are juniors. College is obviously a huge sword over the head of Neil in particular, but no one talks about it with any huge sense of urgency. Neil has always known he is expected to go to Harvard, but we don't really see him having to apply or treating it like it's happening soon, necessarily. The only other mention we get is that Pitts "might be going to Yale. But he might not..." which doesn't sound like someone who has even applied yet. The fact that there is so *little* urgent discussion of college, just vague and slightly pressing feelings of parental expectation, is one of the biggest implications.

The Threat of Military School: this one is a bit of a mixed. Like with Todd above, why would you both sending your kid to a different school for just half of their last year, especially a school that's a downgrade? Mr. Perry is not known for rational decision making, however, and he believes his son is in mortal danger of becoming, God forbid, some sort of artist so it's possible he wouldn't care about the sense or the cents involved in a transfer that late in the game. But to counter, Neil also remarks that if he goes on the medicine track that there will be "ten more years"; if Neil is just talking about schooling, then 4 years of undergrad and 4 years of med school leaves 2 years of high school he's accounting for as well, indicating he is probably a junior. If he thinks it'll only take him 10 years to become an actual doctor, he is probably underprepared/educated for how long his internship and residency will likely take him, another of the many ways the adults in his life have failed him. Anyway, I read this as being junior-leaning evidence.

Cars: just contextually, the fact that none of the Poets are seen driving is a little crumb. This is a locked down private school, so it's possible that none of the kids are allowed any vehicles so they can't get off the grounds, even if they own them. But the fact that it's never mentioned as any kind of option could indicate that the boys are juniors, since they would be 16 going on 17 - just around the age they would've been able to get licenses, meaning most of them would be car-less since it's new for them. Todd even specifically mentions (the lack of) getting a car for his birthday in the desk set scene, indicating he is around the age where he might be receiving his first one. This one is pretty thin though, since there's many plausible reasons that none of the boys drive anywhere outside of being junior-aged.

Classes: this one is also sort of a bust. American high schools usually teach the same subjects every year, but math and science do tend to be sequenced with different, escalating classes each year. We see the entire group in Chemistry class (even though Neil mentions taking chem over the summer...); if Welton uses the popular bio-chem-physics sequence, then it would make them at the junior level. We also see some of the boys in Trigonometry - again, following convention, this would be put at the junior level (having already completed algebra and geometry, now completing trig before moving to calculus in the senior year.) However, this is a private school and they could do whatever they want, so there's no reason to think they would follow common class sequencing conventions - I'm also no expert on the exact curriculums of this era. Since this is a movie about English class, not a lot of evidence to work with in this area.

I'm guessing there is no canon answer to be had, given that it has little bearing on the actual movie (unless someone dropped it in some obscure interview somewhere over the years), but from the vibes in the film I say juniors or at least upperclassmen - and definitely all the same age.

[theyawper]

"I always meant to tell you but/I didn't know how/Too much time between us and/we're all grown up now/I wish that I had stuck around"