Summary of spoilers and thoughts about Living Now (Dead Poets Society, film) - 2023.11.01

//Summary - Level-C2//

Set at Welton Academy, a prestigious New England boarding school, the 1989 film "Dead Poets Society" explores the transformative impact of English teacher John Keating. Breaking from traditional teaching, Keating inspires students to embrace poetry, independence, and living in the moment. Tragedy strikes as Neil, influenced by Keating, faces parental opposition to his acting dreams, leading to suicide. Blamed for the tragedy, Keating resigns, but his teachings resonate as students bid him farewell with "Oh, Captain! My Captain."

1)
A 1989 American film (released in Japan in 1990) set at Welton Academy, a prestigious boarding school in New England.
The story is about how, when an unconventional English teacher, John Keating, is appointed to the school, the students become independent and begin to dream.

2)
The film won numerous awards, including the 1989 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the British Academy Awards for Best Picture and Original Score in the same year.
The New England landscape from early autumn to winter is also fascinating.

3)
Synopsis and Story of Living in the Now(Dead Poets Society, film)

Welton Academy is an elite boarding school in Vermont, New England.
Under a school that imposes excessive discipline and parents who believe that a child's happiness lies in finding a "respectable" job in the future, the students are oppressed, robbed of their independence and forced to have dreams for the future.

4)
In 1959, English teacher John Keating, an alumnus of the school, was assigned to Welton Academy.
Using a line from Whitman's poem, Keating asks the students to call him "Oh, Captain! My Captain" runs an unconventional class where students tear up their textbooks and place them on their desks.

5)
Through this class, Keating teaches the students the beauty of poetry, the importance of always having a different perspective, thinking and living freely, and trying to convey the message of "living in the moment".
Although the students were initially confused, they gradually became attracted to his ideas and began thinking about their dreams for the future.

6)
One day, Neil, one of the students influenced by Keating, learns of the existence of the Dead Poets Society, a club that Keating belonged to when he was a student.
Neil invites Todd, Knox, Charlie and others to revive the Dead Poets Society without telling the school.

7)
Through the club's activities, they share their thoughts and dreams for the future and gradually come to value their independence.
Knox tells his crush about his feelings for her, and Neil joins a theatre group to become an actor.

8)
When his father discovers Neil's acting career, he becomes furious and tries to stop him from performing, even though it's the night before his show.

Neil consults Keating about this but is disappointed when Keating tells him to "expose yourself and convince his father with your strong beliefs and passion."

9)
Unable to tell his father what he thinks, Neil writes a false letter saying that his father will allow him to perform on stage in his name, and also lies to Keating that he has told his father about his passion and that he has his father's approval.

Neil goes on stage, but his father finds out and goes to the theatre.
Neal notices his father in the audience and expresses his feelings to his father through his character's lines, but as soon as the play ends, his father takes Neal home and tries to transfer him to a military school.

10)
Neal, feeling pessimistic about this, commits suicide with a gun found in his house.
Neal's suicide saddens Keating and his friends, but the school begins an investigation to find someone to blame for Neal's suicide.

11)
Concluding that Keating was responsible, the school forced the "Dead Poets' Society" members to sign that Keating had instigated the incident, and Keating was compelled to resign.

On the day Keating left the school, the students he had influenced climbed on his desk and said, "Oh, Captain! My Captain", demonstrating that Keating's teachings had taken root in their hearts.

Summary of spoilers and thoughts about Living Now (Dead Poets Society, film) - 2023.11.01

https://renote.net/articles/8660

Dead Poets Society Analysis | The Death of Neil Perry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNVwLgKs3ZM

Dead Poets Society(Film): What is real school education? A timeless masterpiece that powerfully teaches

https://www.tapthepop.net/scene/85147

Add info No1)

Dead Poets Society - 2021/11/16

https://www.oneup.jp/media/essays/deadpoets/

//Summary - Level-C2//

Released in 1989, "Dead Poets Society" left a lasting impact on the author, who saw it in primary school. The film, set in Welton Academy, Vermont, centres on teacher John Keating's unconventional methods of inspiring students to pursue their dreams. Characters like Neil and Todd face parental control and shyness. The film showcases standout performances, especially from Robin Williams. Director Peter Weir subtly captures Vermont's beauty. The story's pivotal scene emphasizes breaking from conventional education. Ultimately, "Dead Poets Society" advocates for stepping outside comfort zones despite potential criticism and consequences.

A)
I first saw Dead Poets Society with my family when it was released in 1989. I was in my final year of primary school at the time, so I was several years younger than the main characters in the film. Nevertheless, the film profoundly affected me and hasn't diminished.

B)
John Keating (Robin Williams) is a new literature teacher at Welton Academy, an all-boys high school in Vermont, U.S.A. In his first class, his unorthodox teaching methods captured the students' attention and inspired them to follow their dreams.

C)
But there are consequences to his departure from the norms of education. The film focuses on a diverse group of classmates: Neil (Robert Sean Leonard) has always been at the top of his class, but his domineering father controls his life (Kurtwood Smith).

D)
Todd (Ethan Hawke) is a painfully shy freshman who is Neil's roommate. Charlie (Gale Hansen) has a rebellious streak, while Knox (Josh Charles) is unexpectedly romantically attracted to Neil through a family friend.

E)
Dead Poets Society is, first and foremost, an actor's play. William steals the show with a performance that gives him the perfect blend of comic flair and understated compassion. But the film's real stars are the cast of teenage actors, largely unknown at the time, who perfectly embody their characters.

F)
Leonard is charismatic but internally torn by the restrictions placed on his life. Hawke portrays Todd's shy awkwardness with a relatable authenticity. Sadly, only Hawke went on to have a significant acting career.

G)
An underrated aspect of the film is its direction. Peter Weir wisely lets the story and the characters speak for themselves. His direction is stylish but unobtrusive, conveying the beauty of the Vermont landscape through the seasons and the rigorous learning environment of Welton Academy.

H)
The most memorable scene in the film is when Keating asks Neil to read a conventional introductory passage from a textbook, then tears it apart for its misguided approach to the subject.

He asks the students to rip out the chapter containing the offending passage from their textbooks to add a physical element to this lesson.

After some initial hesitation, the pupils enthusiastically comply with this request that another teacher enter the classroom and demand to know why this behaviour occurs.

I)
From an educational point of view, the Dead Poets Society teaches us never to be afraid to try something out of our comfort zone. The conventional wisdom is to do things 'by the book': following established norms and classroom learning methods.

J)
But when someone dares to step outside the norm, it can open up a whole new perspective on the world. At the same time, doing so in a situation where it is frowned upon opens you up to criticism and other serious consequences.

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The Frost AI-Generated Short Film from Waymark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QW-NFkVDfdA

All the images and actors in "The Frost" were created using generative AI.
It was made in 3 months by a staff of 7 people.

In the icy depths of Antarctica, a team sets out to investigate a strange signal, unknowingly embarking on a journey that will challenge everything they thought they knew about their past and future.

Part one of The Frost introduces a never-seen-before cinematic world crafted entirely from ai-generated imagery.

Add info No3)

Collective Responsibility Should be Treated as a Virtue

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/royal-institute-of-philosophy-supplements/article/abs/collective-responsibility-should-be-treated-as-a-virtue/1FD0F381DC73C6799599906A897EC576

Abstract

We often praise and blame groups of people like companies or governments, just like we praise and blame individual persons. This makes sense. Because some of the most important problems in our society, like climate change or mass surveillance, are not caused by individual people, but by groups. Philosophers have argued that there exists such a thing as group responsibility, which does not boil down to individual responsibility. This type of responsibility can only exist in groups that are organized with joint knowledge, actions and intentions. However, often disorganized groups without joint knowledge, actions and intentions are precisely the kinds of groups that cause problems. Therefore, in such cases, it becomes difficult, according to traditional accounts of collective responsibility to attribute responsibility to such groups. This has problematic implications. Therefore, I propose a new way of seeing collective responsibility, which is able to attribute the vice of irresponsibility to such disorganized groups. This involves seeing responsibility not as a relationship between the group and some action, but rather, as a virtue. In cases where it is difficult to establish whether a group is responsible for something, we should ask ‘is this group responsible, or irresponsible?’ This line of questioning is likely to be a more productive and philosophically legitimate way of holding groups morally responsible in such cases.

Q. Can you hold a group morally responsible?

A->
Holding a group morally responsible is a complex ethical question debated extensively in philosophy, law and social science. There are different perspectives on the issue:

Collective responsibility: Some argue that groups, such as corporations, governments or societies, can be held morally responsible for their actions. This perspective is often used when the group's actions result from collective decision-making processes, policies or shared values. For example, a company may be held responsible for environmental damage caused by its activities.

Individual responsibility within groups: Others argue that moral responsibility ultimately rests with individuals, not groups. According to this view, although a group may act as a single entity, the individuals within the group make decisions and take actions. Therefore, moral responsibility should be assigned to individuals accountable for those decisions and actions.

Shared responsibility: Another perspective suggests a hybrid approach in which the group and its members share moral responsibility. For example, in the case of institutional wrongdoing, both the institution and the individuals who acted on its behalf might be considered responsible.

Context and nuance: Attributing moral responsibility to groups often depends on the context. It can vary according to factors such as the nature of the group, the degree of autonomy and influence of its members, the clarity of the group's intentions, and the foreseeability of the consequences of its actions.

Legal vs. moral responsibility: It's also essential to distinguish between legal and moral responsibility. Legally, entities such as corporations can be treated as persons and held liable. Moral responsibility, however, involves ethical judgements that may not align perfectly with legal standards.

In summary, whether a group can be held morally responsible is debated and often depends on the specific circumstances and the ethical framework.

//Postscript//

"Can you hold a group morally responsible?"

Ultimately, I would say that it is pretty challenging to hold a group morally responsible.
Of course, this is true even if it is objectively and morally clear that there is collective rather than individual responsibility.
For example, about the tragedy of Nazi Germany and the many sarin incidents at Aum Shinrikyo in Japan.

In my opinion, I agree with the view that "collective responsibility should be treated as a virtue", as stated in the following sentence.

//Postscript No2//

Something I keep thinking about is that in the film Dead Poets Society, a student commits suicide, so I don't believe the teacher, played by Robin Williams, could have solved the problem by resigning.

Of course, unlike other teachers, he didn't just impart knowledge and get students into good schools to become elite.
More than that, he showed his students that life is full of rich and fun things to learn.
He showed them that the best part of life was finding what they wanted to do, falling in love with a woman, and finding friends to talk about life with great poets.

But in real society, they had to become elites, not actors. Or there must be a better way.
He could have gone to a good school and continued acting.

Robin Williams should also have asked for help from his students' parents, colleagues, principals and citizens rather than just introducing new ideas to his students.
Of course, there must have been many people who opposed him, but there must also have been people who supported him.

Who invited him to the elite school in the first place?
Could it be that he was sent there for some reason? He shouldn't have been fighting alone.

Could it be that the school is actually to blame for leaving him alone?
Or is there a problem with a society that recognises that elites don't need to grow as human beings as long as they acquire knowledge?

It's okay to have different ideas and ways of life; what makes each person happy is different. Getting rich shouldn't be the only purpose of life.
What's important is to have some money, a job and reliable friends and family, right?