I’m a newbie to Netflix.  We just joined about a month ago and have only rented a handful of movies.  But I think I really like this service.  The turnaround is insanely fast and that makes it all worth it.  If it took a week and a half to return and get your new movies it would suck.  But I put the last batch in the mail on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon the next two on my list were in my mailbox.

Late last year I read a book called And Here’s The Kicker… It was a book of interviews with 21 of the nation’s top comedy writers.  So I’ve been on a movie kick lately from all of the reference in the book.  Some were comedy, some not.  One of the movies referenced was Dead Poet’s Society.  So it went onto my Netflix queue.

Since we had bad weather last night, we popped in DPS.  Man it has been a long time since I’ve seen this movie and I forgot how great it really is; brilliant really.  This screenplay could possibly be one of the best ever written and the direction was spectacular.  I love Robin Williams in the role of John Keating and I suffered right along with him when he was blamed for the troubles.

But the best part of this movie is the poetic content and the absolute love the characters showed for art.

“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, “O me! O life!… of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless… of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?” Answer. That you are here – that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play *goes on* and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?”  John Keating

There aren’t many movies that can invoke some response in me personally, but DPS did.  I will strive to read more poetry and to understand the meaning of what I’m reading.  If only I had a teacher like John Keating.  I’ve had only one teacher inspire me and I have no idea how to contact her now.  It’s sad that I’ve had only one.  What’s even sadder is that she was an adjunct professor at a community college in Oklahoma City.  Not one professor at my university inspired me.  Not one teacher at my high school inspired me.

If you get a chance, rent this movie again and really, really listen this time.  I was 22 and stupid when this movie was released.  I’m almost 43 and still moderately stupid!  But I hope my love of literature and the arts have helped bring at least a little more intelligence into my life.

Carpe diem…

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