The Dead Poets Society Response Post

In the movie The Dead Poets Society, conformity is everywhere. The whole basis of the school is built on conformity and old fashioned ways of teaching. All of the old, white, male teachers look the same and the ones that we as speculators “meet” all have the same droning, monotone way of speaking.  Unfortunately, the conformities of the school have their consequences. The school’s conformity keeps the boys from going after their dreams. Neal is not allowed to aspire to be an actor due to his father’s disapproval, and the school agrees. The school pretty much says that as teenage boys, they are not allowed to dream or think. According to the headmaster, young angst filled boys are the most impressionable. This obviously means that they shouldn’t be allowed to think for themselves or make their own decisions in life. None of the boys looked at in the movie have their hearts into doing what is expected of them. They don’t only want to be doctors and lawyers and businessmen, they want to have a regular teenage life and dream about adventurous and outrageous futures. The school’s conformity does not allow for this which leads to the boys misbehaving.

 Because the boys are obligated to pretend that they are perfect, they are also forced to act out whenever possible. Creating The Dead Poets Society is just one of the boys’ ways to act out and secretly go against what they are told to believe is correct. The boys know that it is prohibited and “wrong” to create a club that the school does not sponsor or approve of. They knew that Mr. Keating hadn’t suggested that they create the club, but they still went along and created it. Another way that the boys, one boy in particular, act out is by sneaking out and seeing girls. Knox knows that he is prohibited to leave without a teacher or a teacher’s permission, let alone leave to see a girl and go to high school parties where there is underage drinking but his conformity leads to his poor lapse in judgment about women. Eventually, the boys’ acting out leads to Neal committing suicide, the biggest consequence of all. If Neal’s father had accepted him instead of trying to make him conform, Neal wouldn’t have felt like death was his only way out.

Extra Credit (T-Shirt) Post

Wearing my shirt on Monday was an interesting experience. I was actually really afraid of wearing it, for reasons unrelated to school, but I am the "bad" student who did it specifically for the extra credit. I have no problem admitting it either, seeing as up until Monday I was not a transcendentalist supporter. That doesn't mean I don't believe in being myself, it just means that I feel there are specific conformities for a reason and without these conformities than society would be lawless and people, sensitive people, would get hurt emotionally. Not only that, but there are specific social boundaries in society. Many of these boundaries we as teenagers test, and many of these boundaries keep me from getting what I want, but they are set for reasons of keeping peace and normality.
When I came to school on Monday morning I was weary to take my coat off, but I did and I went to Mr. P's class. English was no problem considering over half of the class was also in homemade t-shirts, but leaving to go to math I was worried what other people would think. I was happily surprised by the reaction from the other students, they thought it was one of the coolest things that our "homework" assignment was make a shirt dedicated to self expression. One kid on the way from my Spanish class actually asked if he could buy mine!
I was most worried because of the heart on my t-shirt. On my black shirt, a big red heart stood out like a sore thumb with ROMANTIC written in big white letters. People kept asking me why it was hard for me to put it on the shirt, and I couldn't even respond to that without being embarassed. I have never claimed myself higher than other teenage girls, but I typically am not the type to waiver in front of the...opposite sex if you will. But having this on my shirt meant something to me because of one person that would be seeing it in particular. It seems strange how it only takes one persons opinion to change a persons mind, but the fact that I almost didn't put this on my shirt due to one person is proof that it happens.
By the end of the day Monday, I felt I truly understood what Emerson and Thoreau had meant about being yourself. Even though everyone at South was more that happy to be understanding, if they hadn't it was still one of the most librating feelings wearing my shirt that told the world that I, a 15 year old girl, was still terrified of the dark. I finally feel like I understand what the true meaning of transcendentalism is, and I am so glad that I took part in this extra credit. You can be insanely different, or just like the other people around you. As long as it is the legitimate you and you are happy with it then you are an individual, and that is what transcendentalism is all about.

Modern Day Transcendentalist Post

In the modern age, there are not many people that can be considered a transcendentalist. Looking at celebrities in particular, there are not many famous men and women that are courageous enough to break the conformist beliefs of critics. However, there are few that come to mind when asked who could be considered a modern day transcendentalist. One such person is Katy Perry. Katy Perry is the perfect modern transcendentalist. She is brave and expresses beliefs of individualism, but is not so outrageous that she is considered comical.

Katy Perry has many ways of showing her transcendentalist beliefs, and one way is through her actions and style. At the 2011 Grammy Awards, not only was Perry sporting a pair of large, white wings, she was also supporting her 90 year old grandmother who she had brought with her. Perry did not care what others thought of her decision to wear wings or bring her own “Grammy” to the red carpet. She followed her beliefs and did what was right for her.

2011 Grammy Interview

Katy Perry also shows her belief in being an individual through her music. One of her songs, Firework, expresses many transcendentalist beliefs. In the chorus, Perry states “Come on, show ‘em what you’re worth.” This is a very non-conformist idea, to show others exactly who you are and nothing less. Emerson himself said that as a human, it is ok to change your mind as long as you do not say that your beliefs have not changed only to remain constant. “You’re original, cannot be replaced”, in the second verse, couriers an even more transcendentalist belief. The line stresses the importance of the individual, a strongly held belief of every transcendentalist that ever lived. If the lyrics were not enough, the music video only pushes the point further. It shows a larger girl stripping down into her undergarments and jumping in a pool, she does not care what others think of her anymore because she is being herself. It shows a boy walking up to another male and kissing him, he does not care what others think of him anymore because he is being himself. Individuality is the core belief of transcendentalism, and both Katy Perry and her song Firework express it perfectly.

Firework Music Video

Everything considered, Katy Perry is the perfect image of a modern day transcendentalist, and she shows it through every aspect of her life.

Walden Essay

    “Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature…” (Thoreau 493) were words of transcendentalist, Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau was a firm believer in transcendentalism, a practice that’s core belief is that man should be one with natur4e and live life simply. In 1845, Thoreau ventured into the woods for a two year isolation period. He returned to society a wiser man in 1847, but many were very skeptical of his beliefs. He believed that with the progress of man would come the destruction of nature. Thoreau lived during the Age of Reform, a time where industrialism in America was rising, but he could never have foreseen the progress the human race would have in the modern age. Men such as Thoreau may argue that progress is the support of destruction, but without progression man can have no hope of gaining more knowledge and opportunities.
        With every reaction there is a counter-reaction, progress’s is destruction. There is no doubt there cannot be progress without some minute form of destruction. Even Thoreau himself had to destroy a piece of land, no matter how small, in order to progress in his philosophy and literature. Thoreau believed that in the future, industry would take over and the forests would be cut down to expand the growth of American cities. Contrary to this, as industry increased there was destruction, but with every tree cut a new tree would grow in its place. The cycle of life goes as such that with everything that is removed from its place on the planet, another object will take its place. Man must progress, and if the price is as small as minor destruction then the opportunity of progress should be taken. Only with slight destruction can humans expand and grow in their knowledge.
       As manufacturing grows globally, there is an increased demand for better products. There is also an inward competition to produce the best goods the quickest. This causes man to push against his creative and intellectual boundaries. Always doing this allows humans to produce such products as smart phones and I-pods which in modern society are considered a “necessity.”

I-pod

Although a simpler, non-materialistic life would be easier, items that have recently been released increase productivity in the average American. Laptops and smart phones have allowed people around the globe to talk daily, eliminating location barriers, and trade thoughts and ideas. What a teenager in America posts on Twitter can affect what actions a rebellion group in Libya takes. Progress allows people of all countries and backgrounds to expand their thoughts and grow, which also opens more doors for their futures.

         Progress is the key to opportunities otherwise not available to certain groups of people. If America had not progressed, neither women nor African Americans would have acquired the right to vote. Progress such as this is a perfect example of opportunities that can become available. Likewise, with new factories and companies created, more jobs are created. Though forests are cleared, people and their necessities are more important than the few trees, that can be replanted, that are destroyed. Without opportunities, people would never aspire to better themselves. They would have no incentive to better themselves and they should not have one if there is no reward for doing so.

         Finding the morale of progress is very difficult. Thoreau once said “We think that that is which appears to be” (Thoreau 493). This explains progress quite precisely. On the surface, progress seems only positive, but in the center destruction is a major component of progress. The decision of whether progress is good or bad can only be determined by weighing what people will gain compared to what they will lose. Progress has its downside, destruction alone, but when against all of the possibilities progress holds destruction seems very minute. Without progress, man and society would regress. Whether good or bad, for certain progress is more than just progress. Progress is not just destruction or expansion, progress is hope. Hope for a better life, hope for a chance to have a say. Progress is the hope for a better future.

 What is Progress?