Dead Poets Society - Cinematic Techniques

657 Words3 Pages
How does the director of the film Dead Poets Society, use cinematic techniques to convey the central ideas? Peter Weir, director of the film Dead Poet's Society, has used several cinematic devices to convey the main themes of the film to the audience. Dead Poets Society follows the lives of a group of boys in the 1950s whose new English teacher shows them the importance of standing up for what they want and seizing the day, instead of conforming to what others think is right. Dialogue, mise en scene and different camera angles have been used by Weir to express the ideas of being an individual and not conforming to what other people are doing, conformity and expressing your individuality and the importance of being your own person. In the scene that introduces each of the teachers at Welton Academy, Weir has used the character Mr Keating to develop the idea of being an individual and not conforming to what other people are doing. In the scene, Mr Keating's dialogue and acting style shows him as very different character in comparison to the other teachers, this therefore labels him as an individual. Mr Keating's dialogue is juxtaposed to the other teacher's through cutting the clips of the lessons with each of the teachers. This technique assists to show the audience how casual Mr Keating is around the students, rather than strict and formal like the other teachers. The acting style of Mr Keating also shows his individuality, as he walks through the classroom and whistles to himself as he passes through. This shows individuality, as instead of standing in front of the class and talking, as the other teachers do, he takes a completely different and more casual approach. The techniques of dialogue and acting style have been used effectively by the director to convey the idea of being an individual and not conforming to what other people are doing to the audience.
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