Dead Poets Society is, perhaps, one of
the most influential films I have ever seen. When the oppressed boys of Welton
Academy get a new and rather unconventional English teacher their way of
thinking is forever changed. The new English teacher, John Keating, was once a
student at Welton himself, and had also been a member of a secret group of
poets and free thinkers called The Dead Poets Society. Following Keating’s
example, the boys reinstate the society and even begin pursuing goals they had
feared to before. However, when one student commits suicide because of his
over-controlling father, Keating is blamed for the event and is fired from his
position at the academy, despite his complete innocence in the event. While the
plot and ideals presented by the film would have been amazing on their own,
they were given even greater power by the camera angles used to present them.
The
shots and angles used in Dead Poets
Society had two main effects: making the viewer feel as though they were
present for the actions taking place in the film and to add greater emotional
impact to those scenes. The former was shown mostly through eye-level shots. In
almost any conversation that took place, I felt as though I was there, standing
with the boys as they joked, fought, and conducted their secret meetings. As a
result I became more invested in and was able to more easily empathize with the
characters. The film used other tools to cause this kind of immersion as well.
One of these methods was disorientation. For instance, when Knox got drunk at
Chris’ party the camera blurred and sped up the action taking place, mimicking his
intoxication. In another example, as Todd was being spun around by Keating in
order to inspire boldness as well as some impromptu poetry, the camera spun
along with him. As it spun, I felt Todd’s nervousness and confusion, and when
the camera stopped I felt his joy and surprise at his success.
The latter, shots that cause greater emotional impact, is
caused by dynamic or otherwise unusual shots. For example, some of the scenes before
and after Neil committed suicide used a series of dynamic shots. Rather than
seeing Neil remove his shirt directly, I watched his shadow, cast on the wall
behind him, perform the action instead. I felt the impact of his lost ambitions
as I looked up at him from a low angle shot through the open, snowy window as
he put on the crown he wore as Puck in the school play. After being awakened by
the shot of the gun that Neil used to take his own life, Neil’s father started investigating
the house and, upon finding him missing from his room, began searching for his
son. Right before he entered the office in which Neil shot himself, Neil’s
father is seen through the cracked door of the office. When he first entered
the office, Neil’s body was not visible until the camera panned over to a shot of
his hand, on the floor, peeking out from behind the desk.
Another instance where dynamic shots were implemented was in
the ending scene where the students who had been most impacted by Keating stood
up on their desks, reciting the lines “Oh, Captain, my captain” to show him
their continued support in the only way they could. Not only did this scene use
low angle shots to show the boys through Keating’s eyes, but it also used a particularly
dynamic angle for the closing shot. In the final shot, Todd, standing on his
desk, is seen through the legs of another student, who is also standing on his
own desk. Not only did I see Todd as Keating saw him, but the cone-like shape
that allowed the audience to see Todd also created an almost spotlight like
effect as the scene faded to black.
Without
both its compelling story and its
clever use of camera angles, Dead Poets
Society would not have had as much power as a film. It could have had one without the other, but, in this case, neither
would have had as much of an impact without the other. However, because it does have both, Dead Poets Society is an amazing film and I regret not watching it
sooner. I highly recommend this film.
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