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Ceaseless Watcher, turn your gaze upon this wretched thing.
Queer subtext in dead poets society
Formality sucks I'm never writing anything this formal for you lot again /nm. I had more points and then I got stressed out and upset and I didn't want this to become worse than I already think it is. There is no conclusion! Sorry! I will bring up my future points in future posts with a more rambly style because I am clearly not made to write stuff like this. I have tried my very best to do this as well as I can considering my current circumstances so I hope you all enjoy it!
The 1989 film “Dead Poets Society,” directed by Peter Weir and written by Tom Schulman, is a coming-of-age film that follows the stories of a group of boys at an American all-boys school in 1959. It explores themes of individualism, conformity, the pursuit of passion, and living a good life. Many fans believe “Dead Poets Society” has strong queer undertones and queer subtext, particularly following the two main characters (Todd Anderson and Neil Perry). I believe that the thought of queer subtext adds to the depth of the narrative and adds to the beauty of the story it is telling. In this essay I aim to dissect the queer undertones present throughout the story.
Narrative themes:
As previously stated, the themes explored within the film are individuality, conformity, the pursuit of passion and living a good life - Or rather “seizing the day” - but how do these themes link in with the idea of being queer?
The themes of individuality and conformity pose a significant contrast to one another. We see this juxtaposition several times throughout the film. Individuality is shown through the rebellion of the boys and Mr. Keating’s unorthodox ways of teaching, while the theme of conformity is shown through the presentation of the school and how the other teachers, as well as the parents, act. At the beginning of the film, we see the school’s four values, one of these being tradition. Some may argue that tradition is a confining value, preventing these boys from expressing themselves authentically. Mr Keating, on the other hand, is pushing them to have some degree of freedom and to accept who they really are. This could symbolise the conflict between heteronormativity and homosexuality.
Mr Keating is a key part in the breakdown of traditional values for his students. He is encouraging them to pursue their own interests. In Neil’s case, this is theatre. Mr Keating wants these boys to be individuals and to explore their own identity, ignoring the rules that are put in place for them. This is what queer people have been doing through history.
Filming and writing decisions:
We know that in this film everything is of importance. This is shown through the consistent foreshadowing (such as the shot of Neil as Mr Keating is explaining that everyone will die). So, if everything is of importance, why would a shot of Neil Perry staring at Todd in such awe be included? This film constantly shows through foreshadowing that everything is important, so to include such a shot for no reason would seem unusual. With the closeness and the longing looks shown between both Todd and Neil, it would seem there is something more than just a friendship between the two of them.
As well as this, the extremity of Todd’s reaction after Neil’s death is quite peculiar. Todd had the most intense reaction out of all the poets towards Neil’s death, despite having only known him for a couple months. This suggests that there was something much deeper in the boy's relationship than just friendship.
Cultural references:
Throughout this story, Walt Whitman is mentioned consistently, posing a significant purpose towards the story. Out of all the poets mentioned and referred to, he is the most often brought up. Whitman himself is notoriously known for writing homoerotic poetry. This could symbolise the queerness of characters within the film with lines such as “I’m being chased by Walt Whitman!” spoken by Neil, in direct reference to Todd.
I apologise greatly for not being able to do an amazing essay. There's lots going on for me at the minute so the stress and upset that it started to put me through was simply not worth it. I will continue to share my thoughts and ideas but good lord they will not be formal. This took a lot of my energy and I'd rather write in a more talkative tone, as I would normally! I hope you guys understand.
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