mia

i think that's what i find so fascinating about it. in a lot of modern movies and tv shows, when confronting conformity and the systems that perpetuate it, they tear it down somehow. they make history, if that makes sense. dead poets society isn't history. nothing astronomical happened, truly—it's just a blip in time, a sequence of short events that really weren't important to anyone or anything. it won't be in any history books. no one will remember it fifty, sixty years down the line.

although we all appreciate our fantasies and delusions and fanfics and interpretations, i do appreciate how they took the more realistic route—not just the writers but the actors as well.

there was a video call interview on a youtube podcast that included dylan kussman (plays cameron), gale hansen (plays charlie), and allelon ruggiero (plays meeks). kussman made a point saying that they all talked about what would happen to their characters after the entire neil incident and charlie’s expulsion—basically after welton when they’re all adults. they all agreed that for those who went against the system that’s been made, it mostly had a bad ending or would bound to become one, cause the system is always there. it was always in-standing, and it always won no matter what. and only those who conformed to it fully or followed it closely like cameron (whether they truly believed in it or just followed it to stay out of trouble), would reap benefits cause the system was originally made rewarding for those who followed it the way it wanted.

kussman thought compared to the futures charlie and meeks would hold due to the trauma from that incident and also a combination of their parents’ expectations, cameron would most likely be the one that actually lives out a normal life. he’d be able to get a steady job and live a steady life simply because he chose to follow the rules and the system that wasn’t catered to the dead poets. and hansen and ruggiero agreed upon this, even saying how charlie was most likely to live out a life of being a banker that he didn’t like and meeks would probably be sent out to vietnam (keep in mind this is the 60s now) as a radio man and possibly die there. now would cameron actually feel satisfied by this way of life and going about things forever, always following conformity (and maybe a hint of realism similar to nolan and mcallister’s beliefs as hinted in the movie) is a completely different story. but nevertheless, cameron would continue to live on as someone who follows the rules, and the system appreciates that.

reality is, all the characters would go their separate ways. this was the event that shaped the rest of their lives, and they couldn’t go back in time and fix it no matter how hard they tried.

and nobody else outside of their class would know what happened unless they talked about it. life goes on, and the system lives on to be forever powerful and reigning.

it’s so hard to change it that only a historical revolution could spark something—could change ideas and move ways of life. but even then, there’s still a remnant of the past trauma the system has caused, and continues to live on in different ways—both subtly and not so subtly.

Re-reading books is great and good until it’s The Secret History by Donna Tartt and you realize that just like Tiberius tried to follow in Augustus’s footsteps, Henry tried to follow in Julian’s. You see Richard’s focus shift from Julian- who was at first a savior, a god- to Henry, a flawed student of his who, at his end, is held in disdain by the majority of his closest friends and is lost in the indulgence of his own perversions- his attempts (and, arguable, success) to finally live without thinking.