Dead Poets Society is a 1989 American drama film starring Robin Williams and directed by Peter Weir. Set at a conservative andaristocratic boys prep school, it tells the story of an English teacher who inspires his students to change their lives of conformity through his teaching of poetry and literature.
The movie's line "Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary." was voted as the 95th greatest movie quote by the American Film Institute. Also, the film was voted one of the 100 Most Inspiring Films of All Time by the AFI.
In chapter 2, Seize the Day, we're introduced to Mr. Keating whose introductory lesson to the boys is to make their lives extraordinary by being ever present & self-aware. He does this by showing them Welton students of the past that are now long since past. The boys are at first very clueless as to the ends that their teacher hopes for them to strive, but much like any endeavor worth pursuit, proper perspective must first be attained and then constantly reminded of.
Hebrews 12:1-3 (The Message)
1-3Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
In chapter 3, Understanding Poetry, Mr. Keating rebels against the notion that poetry can be measured in some analytical sense and infers that words duly matter because they are attached directly to motives such as passion, love & feeling. Our christian walk resembles this sentiment greatly in that we live our lives not out of an analytical attempt to please our God, but that we strive to show Him most glorious in our lives with every fiber of our being.
James 2:14-17 (The Message)
14-17Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?
In chapter 7, Find Your Own Walk, Mr. Keating gives yet another valuable lesson on conformity & the basic human need for acceptance. Unbeknownst to themselves the boys are tightly versed in conformation and Keating illustrates as such through a simple example of walking. Our own walks of faith due very well to be governed by personal relationship w/Christ than thru rules of conformity w/fellow believers.
Galatians 2:15-16 (The Message)
15-16We Jews know that we have no advantage of birth over "non-Jewish sinners." We know very well that we are not set right with God by rule-keeping but only through personal faith in Jesus Christ. How do we know? We tried it—and we had the best system of rules the world has ever seen! Convinced that no human being can please God by self-improvement, we believed in Jesus as the Messiah so that we might be set right before God by trusting in the Messiah, not by trying to be good.
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