In the world, society has set standards most people follow. They must dress, act, and look a certain way for them to be accepted by others. Several do not understand that they are being conformed to be someone who they are not. Some movies challenge others to look beyond the standards of society. For example, in movie “Dead Poets Society”, Mr. Keating 's teaches his students to form their own ideas and opinions. By analyzing the film, viewers can effortlessly recognize Mr. Keating’s lessons about the opportunities of freedom and the consequences of conformity is shown through Neil Perry, Knox Overstreet, and Todd Anderson. First, Neil Perry learned about the opportunities of freedom and the consequences of conformity. At the beginning of the movie, Neil obeyed his father’s every demand. He did not learn about himself and his passions until he took Mr. Keating’s class. Neil was just another student who molded himself to maintain the academic pressure his father and school put on him. He did not know who he was or what he wanted to be. Then, he gained a taste of freedom by paying attention to Mr. Keating’s lessons. Lessons such as ripping pages out of his poetry and standing on top of his desk encouraged Neil to rebel against his father’s demands. He started to take risks. The opportunities before him were endless. He could finally pursue his passion for acting and create a new path to his independence by acting in another school’s play. Then, Neil let the consequences of
Rebelling Against the Majority “It was a pleasure to burn” (Bradbury 1). Imagine futuristic America where firemen set fires rather than putting them out to save lives. Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 features a dystopian society where the government controls all information, content and distribution, and firemen burn and destroy illegal commodities, printed books. After witnessing cases of censorship and attempts at forcing social conformity during the Fascist Era and the Cold War, Bradbury decided to reveal through his writing, the dangers of such practices. Guy Montag, the main protagonist, is a fireman himself.
Chris McCandless was a man who made his own destiny, who seeked the challenges and thrill of adventure life had to offer. He was morally driven, and was not tied down by the dogma of society. McCandless’s hubris, his ultimate downfall in his quest to shake off the clashing ideals of materialistic culture, allowed him to live a life without regrets. Brought up in a home where his parents pushed their ideals onto their children, McCandless developed morals quite differently than that of his parents. His ideals clashed between that of a libertarian and a transcendentalist.
Bulman is based on why Hollywood films represent students and education in constant way that can be predicted by the actors/plot social class based on American culture. The difference among urban, suburban, and private school genres are separated and compared to find their consistencies in films. Bulman uses Durkheim’s theory of individualism (utilitarian and expressive) to indicate how individuals are dependent on one another and although it is a product of social life, it can restrict some from recognizing their connection to the social life. This foundation of individualism guides the reader as the book further breaks down how the films ‘choose’ their plots to portray a stereotyped social class. Urban schools are in need of a savior, suburban schools have student heroes and do not need education, and the private school that challenges the culture of privilege are the three sections
In Dead Poets’ Society there is a group of young men in Mr. Keating’s class who show the traits of transcendentalism under the guide of Mr. Keating. Throughout the movie the boys and Mr. Keating grow closer, and he starts to guid and show the kids how they can live their lives and to follow what their heart desires. Later in the story Neil Perry is the lead for a play even though his father specifically told him not to do it, but Neil listened to Mr. Keating and did the play. When Neil 's father saw him in the play he told him that he was gonna send Neil to military school and take him out of Welton Academy, later that night Neil took his father 's gun and shot himself. The school did a investigation on the death and in the end they said it was Mr. Keatings fault that it happened and
Todd discovers what Mr. Keating meant when he said, “Now we all have a great need for acceptance, but you must trust that your beliefs are unique, your own, even though others may think them odd or unpopular” (Dead Poets’ Society). Todd discovers what it means to be an individual. Throughout the movie, he develops all the qualities of a Bildungsroman hero, even the ones Neil never could reach. Dead Poets’ Society is the coming-of-age story of several different teenage boys; as the boys develop with each other, they all go through the development differently, but they all come out of it as individuals.
In Dead Poets Society, A Death of a Salesman, and Unbroken, the theme of "battle against conformity" is expressed through the main character's reactions to overwhelming societal pressures, the reasons behind conformity, and the consequences of characters willingness to forsake their individuality. (Thesis) In various literary works, a character's reaction towards conformity and societal pressures often leads them to forsake their individuality effectively taking away the unique aspects which wanes their distinctiveness. Essentially, conformity causes one's eccentricity to be molded into universal concepts or ideas shared by the masses. This level of thought is proven true in Death of a Salesman through the ongoing conflict between the
Sociology Analysis Paper Sample Analysis: The Breakfast Club The Breakfast Club is a film detailing a Saturday intention involving five very different students who are forced into each other’s company and share their stories. All the students are deviant in their own way and eventually are able to look past their differences and become friends. The film also offers detailed observations of social sanctions, peer pressure, control theory, and the three different sociological perspectives. The first principle seen in the film is a stigma, which is an undesirable trait or label that is used to characterize an individual. Each of the characters is associated with a stigma at the start of the film.
Throughout the movie, Neil went to a cave away from people. Furthermore, Neil’s friends joined him to have fun with the Dead Poets Society, a group Neil recreated after hearing that his professor, Mr. Keating, had been involved in when he was a student at Welton. Overall, Neil Perry was a great example of transcendentalism throughout the entire movie. One transcendental quality Neil possessed was his love for the beauty of words. Neil Perry was a good student; he wanted to do what was best for him and not what his mom and dad wanted.
In the play Antigone and the movie Dead Poets Society, the consequences of pressure, control, and a lack of understanding in father-son relationships are illustrated through the mental health of Haimon and Neil. Playwright, Sophocles and screenwriter, Tom Schulman are able to effectively demonstrate the immense pressure that can be put on children in father-son relationships through Mr. Perry and Creon’s interactions with their sons. When Mr. Nolan speaks to Mr. Perry regarding his high expectations for Neil, Mr Perry addresses his son, claiming that “ he won’t disappoint us. Right Neil?” (Schulman).
Although some of Christopher McCandless' decisions portray him as an anti-hero, his personality and determination demonstrate the qualities of a tragic hero, one who makes mistakes but still tries to follow his beliefs and ideals. Christopher McCandless is often described as a sociopath, and although he did hurt those around him, he was aware of what he had done and was beginning to reconcile with the idea of returning to society. McCandless had walked away from his parents and the life they had built for him. His father comments upon this, saying how he didn’t know how “‘a kid with so much compassion could cause his parents so much pain’” (104).
Throughout the entire movie one of the main characters Neil Perry is seen trying to embrace his decisions against his father 's which makes them fight very often making Neil want to become a nonconformist to not only his father but against society. Neil’s father always
Neil felt like his father’s prisoner, and he sacrificed his life to escape. “Maybe it was an act to break free from his father’s control, but in trying to gain that control over his life, he sacrificed everything to escape”
John Keeting tells his students to cease the day and he teaches his English classes in an unconventional manner. Throughout the film Neil’s father pressured his son to attend Medical School and become a doctor, but, Neil had his own aspirations of becoming an actor. Through this pressure Neil approaches Mr. Keeting to inform his father about his dreams, which, leads to Neil disobeying his father and therefore leads to him been enrolled military school. Neil eventually could not deal with his controlling father and he commits suicide. Mr. Keeting is blamed for the death and is fired, however, his words do have a positive effect on Todd Anderson.
In the movie Mr. Keating made many students become more independent in their decisions they make. In the movie he made Neil one of the main character more independent, Neil’s dad, Mr. Perry seems like he was controlling Neil. By telling him what he should and should not do. He became
Mr. Keating is viewed as rowdy and rebellious to the conservative structure the preparatory usually implements. Neil’s parents are viewed as dominating Neil’s life. Neil parents are overbearing about what Neil needs to do and who he needs to become. Todd thinks his parents favor his brother. They are always comparing him to his brother that previously graduated.