“Carpe Diem” in 2022

Dead Poets Society is a coming of age movie about a group of students that attend a boarding/preparatory school. Specifically, it’s about how their experiences with their English teacher inspired them to pursue their passions.

The movie talks about the importance of having your own voice and how your future is yours and yours only. In addition, it highlights the significance of words and how ideas have the power to change the world. 

The message this novel/movie communicates to the modern audience to live your life on your own terms and not let anyone else impact your goals. As times changed, (from the release of this movie to now), the world has been able to adopt different points of view on the structure of society. Nowadays, it seems people are choosing jobs and majors that make them money instead of something they are passionate about. People are also more inclined towards paths that include technology in order to guarantee a successful future. (what does the movie tell us Whitman quote) After John Keating quotes Whitman,

“O me! O life!… of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless… of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?” “Answer. That you are here — that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.” That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?” 

He lets us know that the fact that life exists, should provide enough for us to find purpose to exist and how each one of us should live life as it is because we all have a specific role in it. 

The reality and the characters’ goals are frighteningly different. The students in the movie were forced into a future by their parents and never had the chance to find their own voice. On the other hand, although students today have so many opportunities, they are still forcing themselves towards a certain future they may not want. This should make society worry about people who are taking life a bit too seriously when instead they should “Carpe Diem”, which entails seizing the day.