Faith in Film 3, Week 1

This week marks the first for our new round of Faith in Film. Below is the worksheet for tomorrow night's first meeting. I hope everyone will make it out as we begin this exciting adventure again!

Title: “Dead Poets Society” (1989)

Starring: Robin Williams, Ethan Hawke, and Robert Sean Leonard

Synopsis: This is a film set in the 1950s at a conservative, private, preparatory school in Vermont. The institution is very buttoned-down, exclusive, and renowned for the education and opportunities it provides for its students. Among a group of senior boys that the film follows are Neil (Leonard), an overachiever with an over-bearing father, and his roommate Todd (Hawke), a quiet thinker who is trapped in the shadow of the siblings that preceded him at the school. Both boys have stores of hidden talent, but both are held back in different ways from pursuing their desired path. For Todd, the impediment is his self-doubt. For Neil, the impediment is the will of his father.

A new English teacher, John Keating (Williams), adds a new dimension to the school and the lives of his students. He challenges conventional thinking by challenging his students to think for themselves and forge their own path. More than anything, he encourages his students to start living their lives. His first speech emphasizes this as he uses the phrase “Carpe Diem,” seize the day, as a rallying cry for how he intends to teach and how he hopes to see his students approach life.

Predictably, his approach inspires students and stirs negative emotions in the school administrators and parents. Keating continues to push his students to excel, which leads to a series of events that change everyone’s lives.

Questions to Consider:

1. What would Jesus think of the phrase “Carpe Diem?” How does it apply to the Christian life?

2. What doubts about life and the obstacles you face hold you back from achieving your dreams?

3. How important is it for us to think for ourselves? Does being a Christian require independent thinking?