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One movie, Few observations, Many thoughts !

(Seems that this is becoming a movie review blog! But I couldn't resist posting about this!)
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I saw Dead Poet's society(DPS) recently for the second time. First time I saw it, I loved it. Second time I saw it, I loved it more!

One of the Bollywood movie Mohabbatein has its plot loosely inspired from it, although DPS is based upon topic of free will while the desi version is mostly a love story, with elements of free will, discipline, tradition etc. strewn in.

DPS is about an unorthodox professor John Keating (played by Robin Williams) in a prep school, who arouses student's love in poetry, seize the day (carpe diem) and follow their heart. As expected the school authorities and few parents don't like it. Its last 10 minutes are excellent, probably one of my favorites!

As one of the move tag lines puts it - " He was their inspiration. He made their lives extraordinary."

Few random observations and many random thoughts -

We often get so deep into things like tradition, honor and discipline, that we forget that there are few things which may not require some of these. In fact it is often too deep ingrained, or rather made to be deeply ingrained as a matter of learnings, and at times these constrain learning. And in fact it may instill fear due to use of things like corporal punishment (... although people of 'Spare the rod and spoil the kid' school of thought may not agree!)

Often there are things other decide, and often under assumption that a person is not capable of making that choice, and hence doesn't deserve the chance to make the choice.

"No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world. " - DPS

Often we tend to look in short term, probably as distant as will this activity will lead to grades or a CV points, and that all. Cliched it may sound, but in this process we often forget that there is a life beyond it. As once mentioned in Orwell's 1984 - "I know how, but I don't know why" often holds true

Once we read something, we need to look from what we think, and not just blindly what the writer thinks! And yes, there are often other views also and hence need for looking at things in different ways, putting ourselves in different shoes.

"
I Went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. " - HD Thoreau (said by John Keating in DPS)

Carpe Diem, because the days don't stand still!

Overall, an extraordinary product by an extraordinary film maker!

Although, it did not arouse my interest in poetry, but it is an inspirtaional stuff, me says !!
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DPS @ IMDB http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097165/

Comments

  1. "Seize the day" I pasted this quote above my mirror when I was in 11th standard :)

    And the movie, somehow, I couldn't watch it...So, next time, I get a chance, will definitely watch it :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yeah ... "Carpe diem" is a real good quote .. and highly inspirational!

    Highly recommended movie
    (... or maybe it is just my bias
    ... Hopefully not!)

    Maybe, till then u can enjoy the reviews on IMDB!

    ReplyDelete
  3. http://www.imdb.com/

    Internet Movie databasse ...

    U can get user ratings, reviews and many facts about a particular movie.
    However, it is still quite Hollywoodish.

    Reliability of Indian movies, may not be too high, but is fair enough!
    SO just type the movie name and get started!

    ReplyDelete
  4. The complete quote by HDT mentioned in the post
    ____

    I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, to discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and to be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion.

    Walden or Life in the Woods
    - Henry David Thoreau (1817 – 1862)

    ReplyDelete

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