#imnotok

There are full on statues of Anya Stroud (and of course paintings like the one we see in the cutscenes in Jinn's office) in the main government building which makes sense because she was the founder of the new gov't.

But that's gotta be weird for Marcus and JD...and probably played a role in Marcus not wanting to ever be in the cities as he'd literally have to look at reminders of his wife all the time. And JD looking at his dead mom.

And now they have to be in that building all the time because its now the main military base. and a reminder of how far the new rulers fell from what Anya was trying to do.

a wee review, feel free to fight me in replies ;)

General thoughts

role models and teachers

to me, this movie isnt really about poetry, but rather about the impact that adults can have on young people. the last scene of the movie perfectly illustrates this point. the movie could have ended in a way that celebrated the power of literature, but instead, it highlights the impact of mr keating. the main themes of this film - coming of age, family, friendship, love, can all be illustrated by substituting a poetry teacher, with say, a tennis coach. (yes ik this is controversial - literally fight me 😭)

2. poetry, art and masculinity

that being said ⬆️, i do think that the choice to go with poetry is still meaningful, especially with the all-male cast and private boys school setting.

im sorry to contradict the tiktok edits but i think the only reason why people see the film as homoerotic is because of their misguided concepts about poetry and masculinity. these guys are huddled together reading poetry and sharing their love for literature - that HAS to be GAY, right? WRONG. i think the movie actually tries to push back against this stereotype by just how STRAIGHT the characters are.

im still split as to whether there is homoerotic subtext (spanking, phallic imagery, male school/student relationship) - although i do think there is some evidence, I don’t want to mistake bias ^ mentioned above

anyways, although i love my doomed yaoi, these tiktokers dismissing this film as JUST yaoi really subtracts from everything else it’s saying

3. villain city! (cameron & mr perry)

I LOVE how well done the ‘villains’ are in this - you can’t help but feel sympathy for cameron because most of us are camerons!! most of us wouldn’t have the guts to do what todd did, to refuse authority outright and to not save ourselves when we can. even though he’s a little bitch, hes also all of us. mr perry is also so complex - he’s actually such an asian parent in so many ways (doctor trope) but every time after neil coalesces to his requests he says something ALMOST comforting and soft (eg you know how important this is to your mother) even if it is the typical manipulation. youd best believe that if neil was asian he’d be in james ruse taking physics and latin.

Critiques

i really, really don’t like the way this movie handles women

a common thread in this movie’s portrayal of female characters is that NONE OF THEM HAVE ANY AGENCY. all the female characters are simply reacting to the environments around them (or the will of the male characters) and are extremely one dimensional. not to mention that NO FEMALE POETS are mentioned, ever.

a) Mrs Perry (neil’s mum)

she is perhaps the MOST complex female character in the film, and that’s saying a lot. she’s the typical ‘enabler’ in a lot of abusive parent relationships - she obviously loves Neil and is extremely upset at letting him go to boarding school (even crying in bed about it) yet does NOTHING to challenge Mr Perry’s judgement. yes, this could just be a part of her character, but this lack of agency and submission to the will of male characters reoccurs throughout the film.

b) chris

Chris is everything about how NOT to write a female character. She’s literally introduced as Chet’s girlfriend, and other than being pretty, she literally does nothing. like mrs Perry, she only reacts to the actions of the male characters. for instance, she only invites Knox to the party when he calls her, she literally only hangs out with him after he BEGS her several times. maybe the only time we see her exercise free will is when she visits Knox when it’s snowing, but even that is FOR A MAN.

she has NO LIFE or hobbies or interests (some might say cheerleading, and even though that’s a valid hobby i have the feeling that the filmmakers probably intended for that to fit into the ‘pretty, unattainable girl’ trope). chris literally exists for the purpose of being Knox’s love interest, and thus she’s not really a ‘person’ in the eyes of the filmmakers.

d) gloria and tina

im lowk confused by these characters bc everywhere online says that they’re ‘charlie’s friends’ but i literally thought they were hookers? they looked like literal adults but ok.

anyways, the whole ‘dead poets society’ is SUCH a ‘boys club’ - they literally sit around smoking pipes. when women are introduced, they’re not portrayed as intelligent human beings, but rather as conquests to be wooed. i understand that the whole ‘wooing women’ thing is a part of the whole boyhood/adolescence thing but couldn’t they have wooed an intelligent woman with agency??

2. neil’s suicide and mental health

I really don’t think this is a good depiction of suicide or mental illness. even the most talented artists (if they’re mentally well) don’t shoot themselves if they can’t pursue their art, especially at seventeen. plenty of people who burn with passion for art do not kill themselves at seventeen because their parents don’t let them pursue it. i think, realistically, for neil to have committed suicide, a better set up of his depression or struggle with mental illness should have been depicted for a more accurate depiction.

this movie is essentially saying to young people that killing yourself is the only thing you can do if your parents don’t let you be an artist, which is NOT TRUE. i understand neil’s passion and desperation, but i think the film should have offered a more hopeful solution to young artists with the same passion and struggles as neil.

Overall (the least important part of this post lmao)