Message

The film Dead Poets Society (1989) directed by Peter Weir has several messages.

The most important message is ‘Carpe Diem’ (Seize the day). Keating tells the boys that the Dead Poets Society was founded with this purpose in mind. The boys all encourage themselves with this message before doing something risky that might cause them to be reprimanded. Knox says it before he calls Chris, and Neil says it when he decides to try out for A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The message to seize the day must be understood as taking full advantage of life’s opportunities, not acting recklessly which might lead to losing future opportunities. Keating realizes that boys may misunderstand the principle of seizing the day as acting on impulse and corrects that misconception by telling them to be wise and assess the situation before acting. From this perspective, seizing the day means making full use of life’s opportunities to realize your full potential. The message could be understood also in the context of tradition versus nonconformism, as it shows that sometimes traditions prevent one from living life to the fullest. 

Another message that can be taken from the film is that words and ideas can change t...