then I saw the Congo, creeping through the black/cutting through the forest with a golden track

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keep, the vessel grim and daring:

But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up – for the you flag is flung – for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths – for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning:

Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath you head;
It is some dream that on the deck
You've fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse or will;
The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won:

Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead


~Uncle Walt~



Sometimes I think I must be very strange indeed to like Dead Poets Society ;) Basically it's the story of a bunch of boys, all essentially alike, in a prep school that wants them all to stay that way. Oh, and it's an all-boys school. All the teachers believe that boys at that age can't think for themselves and must be told what to think, not how to think (sounds like public school today, no?). There are several boys there that know each other, perhaps returning or graduates from a different school, and one new student who knows none of them. Neil Perry is the hero of our story – young, handsome, dashing, with great dreams handed down to him by his father. Of course he has his own dreams too, but those are quite secondary. Todd Anderson is the human equivalent of a Pixie Bob – he always has a worried expression on his face, and usually is worried because he doesn't know what's going on. Todd and Neil both have big shoes to fill, one left by his brother, the other left by his father.

there are five or six other boys in their "group" who somehow figure out ways to pass their classes when they never study in Study Group.

Mr. Keating is the new English teacher. His methods are a little beyond, shall we say, unorthodox. He begins the first class by walking in at the back of the room whistling, walking through the class and walking out the other door at the front of the classroom. He sticks his head back in, "Well, come on!" Here 'carpe diem' is introduced into the boys' lives. If you haven't had the pleasure of learning a dead language and don't know carpe diem, Anna will be tickled pink as a mome rath to tell you.

Later Neil and the others discover Mr. Keating's secret: he is a graduate of their same school, and was president of the Dead Poet's Society; a group of young men who met in the Old Indian Cave at night to read poetry, or rather – to let it drip from their tongues like honey. Neil revives the club.

Then it's a whirlwind of adventure and drama as Mr. Keating finds himself in over his head with the school board, and his boys discover the life in words. Neil's dream of acting comes true when he lands the part of Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Knox (or Knoxious) renames himself Nuanda and gets the girl (and a heap of trouble with him and his big head/mouth/etc.) The poet in Todd jumps out of him with the unexpected rapidity of Mr. Hyde and amazes the whole class. Cameron and egg-head get the radio to work. Dalton always gets me confused about him and Knox and which one is which – oh wait, Nuanda, sorry. It's the day before the play and everything is good.

Then Neil's father finds out.

Neil lies.

Neil goes to the play, Neil's father also comes in, at the end. Neil goes home and gets ready for ten more years of army and then medical school (after the ten years of grounding he'll probably be undergoing). His father won't ever listen.

A few short hours later he takes off his final mask. He stops acting. He can't live life like this anymore. No life is better than trying to live his father's life for hime.



He pulls the trigger.








Todd freaks out, the Dead Poet's Society is discovered and broken up. Mr. Keating is fired and English returns to Mr. J. Evans Pritchard PhD's horizontal/vertical judging scale.

Then, as Mr. Keating comes to collect his last few personal items, something snaps. He's leaving the room, he's walking through the door. But suddenly, he turns. Something has caught his ear. 'O Captain! my Captain!' Todd Anderson is standing on his desk with a last salute. One by one "his boys" mount their desks. 'O Captain! my Captain!' with the new teacher yelling all the while "sit down! get off your desks!!!" The bagpipes fade out with the tears welling in the Captain's eyes. 'Thank you boys.'






So why do I like this movie?






I have no idea.






My favorite scene in the entire movie is the desk set scene. It really brings out Neil's character as a friend and is a big part of Todd growing up:

NEIL: Todd? Hey.
TODD: Hey.
NEIL: What's going on?
TODD: Nothing. Today's my birthday.
NEIL: Is today your birthday? Happy birthday.
TODD: Thanks.
NEIL: What'd you get?
TODD: My parents gave me this. Neil looks down at a deskset sitting next to Todd, still inits wrappings.
NEIL: Isn't this the same desk set-
TODD: Yeah, yeah. They gave me the same thing as last year.
NEIL: Oh.
TODD: Oh.
NEIL: (laughing) Maybe they thought you needed another one.
TODD: Maybe they weren't thinking about anything at all. Uh, the funny thing is about this is I, I didn't even like it the first time.
NEIL: Todd, I think you're underestimating the value of this desk set. Neil picks up the desk set and begins examining it more closely.
NEIL: I mean, who would want a football or a baseball, or-
TODD: Or a car.
NEIL: Or a car - if they could have a desk set as wonderful as this one? I mean, if, if I were ever going to buy a desk set, twice, I would probably buy this one - both times. In fact, its, its shape is, it's rather aerodynamic, isn't it? I can feel it. This desk set wants to fly.

Neil tosses the desk set lightly in the air. Todd stands up and Neil hands him the desk set.

NEIL: Todd? The world's first unmanned flying desk set.

Todd flings the desk set over the side of the walkway and itfalls to pieces down below.

TODD: Oh, my!
NEIL: Well, I wouldn't worry. You'll get another one next year.


















So today after taking first at the cat show with Lil instead of Comet (who has conjunctivitis) I went to Lauren's house and we hanged out (yes, like Fagin was hanged, we hanged out, it's British Sam and not one peep out of you!) and watched Princess Bride and then we made dinner and I convinced her to read Nicholas Nickleby and the Count of Monte Cristo (among others), then she drove me home and I'm showing her which version of Nicholas Nickleby to get from the library to watch:

"Make sure it's the one with Jamie Bell. That's very important!"
"My parents snort"
"What????"
"Oh yeah, Jamie Bell……." like, *we've heard enough of this before*
"What?!? I don't think he's cute. That's *somebody else we know who shall remain nameless* I just love Smike. Smike's adorable. Jamie Bell is the most amazing actor for Smike that could be found anywhere ever!"
"But wait – Jamie Bell, from Horatio Hornblower series right?"
"Noooo, that's *sighsmile* Jamie Bamber" *'dark raspberry' takes on a new meaning as it decorates my face*
"Oooohhhh, riiiiiiigggghhhhhtttttt…" *giggle from three corners of the room*
"Hey Kacy that new shade of blush looks really good on you."
"Hey I'm not the only one! Anna and Em can back me up here. It's been scientifically determined that we all three like blondes!!!" It's amazing what late-night talks can produce in the way of scientific evidences.

*sigh* She'll learn soon enough. I'll get her to see Horatio soon!!!! Oh, but Amazing Grace first. Same main actor, anyway. just…not Jamie.