I just reviewed the film "Dead Poet's Society" just the other day, for the first time in a while. A proclaimed (by myself) classic. A story of coming of age, what it means to live life advantageous of its transient nature and your personal potential simultaneously, the tension between individualism and tradition, and most of all the power of a mentoring relationship. The film is moving. It makes its point--or points, rather. I've not yet tired of it. There are several scenes that are particularly thought provoking, but one of them in particular struck me more this time than it had in the past, though not until later.
The whole film is set at a boy's school called "Welton Academy" that stands for and upon the "pillars" of tradition, honor, discipline, and excellence. Mr. John Keating is new in the year of 1959--the academy's centennial--a graduate of the school, ex-president of the not very well-reputed (but dormant) Dead Poet's Society and the new English teacher. It takes a bit of time for some of his boys to catch on to him, and not all of them do. His endeavor is to teach and encourage his students to think freely and for themselves. More than anything, he encourages them to dare to be themselves, not succumbing to the stride of the "norm" but to walk with their own--or not walk at all. These were up and coming ideas in the 50's, as the second generation modernism school of thought (no pun intended) was giving birth to the next: the aptly termed era of "post-modernism", in which the world of academia still abides today.
One day during class, the man stood on his desk. His students awkwardly looked around the room at their classmates for cues on what to think and how to react to yet another one of their literature instructor's extremely unconventional active metaphors. He made each one of them take turns standing on his desk, looking around the room to note how differently things looked from that standpoint. Keating was trying to make the point that there is nearly always another way to look at things. That, not only must one always be just be open to another perspective, but such a thing must be purposefully sought out. On anything.
This was a scary point of departure from the ideal of the traditional and rational Welton approach to life, indicative of the American Way of the day, that seemingly began with everything empirical and tangible. This new ideal embarked on the ambiguous and--even more frightening--the pursuit of self-exploration. This is the point the whole film is trying to make. "Find yourself", it says through Keating: "Carpe diem." And Keating succeeds. The story's ending proves that some of the professor's students grasp finally the values that he has tried to pass on, even though he is forced to move on. It gives goosebumps, the ending. If you haven't seen the movie, go watch it. It boasts no waste of time that some Hollywood products unwittingly offer. It'll make you think, I hope.
I had a desk experience a couple of days after watching the movie again that made me think about the value and excitement in looking at things in a new way. It's nothing big, but it made me think.
I was looking at the word "overture" when I was downloading some songs from iTunes. It dawned on me where the word came from. (I give you permission to chuckle at me right here if you know me, for if you do you surely will) It comes from French. The french word "ouverture" means "opening". I know it sounds incredibly nerdy that such a small and obscure epiphany would excite over a page of loghorrea on the subject, but it made me think. Linguistic discoveries are a passion for me, but apart from that this particular small serendipity served to remind me to stand on the desk sometimes.
I had (I'm not making this up) always thought the word a strange one. The fact that the opening song of a film would have a special three syllable word dedicated to it's purpose was odd to me. But this time, when I looked at the word, and asked where it may have come from, dug a little deeper, I was rewarded. It makes total sense now!
God gives me these little moments, I think, sometimes to remind me of the things He wants me to remember. Looking at life and all people, places, things and ideas found therein in any different fashion and seeking out new perspectives on anything big or small can be immensely rewarding. Thanks to Robin Williams rendition of Mr. John Keating in the canonical film of the Dead Poet's Society (go watch it) and the no longer so strange word of "overture" I stand recently reminded to stand on my "desk" and dare to pursue new perspective.
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