dead poets society is alive & well
i used to despise literature. i didnt just dislike it or roll my eyes when i was forced to read it in class; i despised it.
so it was just my luck last year when ms. bibb bombarded us with reading assignments on thoreau, emerson, and the rest of those ridiculous romantics. i remember it well when trevor, chad, matt rodriguez, and i had to draw and depict our very own utopia - we ended up making a joke out of the assignment with a rough sketch of jamaica that was inhabited by talking seals and little buddhas.
it wasn't that i didn't appreciate the artistic approach that these so-called great writers took. i just didn't grasp the point of what they wrote, and i found it painfully excruciating when trying to understand their hidden messages that were illustrated through imagery and nature. plus, when you're being cynical about it like i was and are looking for every possible opportunity to criticize it, the stuff is dreadfully boring.
in my mind, these guys were pseudo-genuises. they got so much credit and for what? all they did was write down any vague idea that popped into their minds as long as it wasn't explicit in the slightest, in order to leave everything up for interpretation.
i think that's what bothered me most - it was so much different from what i was used to. i had never been exposed to real literature until then. harry potter, agatha christy mysteries, and other more modern novels had always dominated my bookshelf. not to take anything away from these great books, but they aren't as open-ended or intellectual as an emerson work. they are what they are: entertaining novels that feature straightforward plots that are easily understood.
fastforward to now.
i'm intrigued by writers like the famous romantics. a complete 180 from 12 months ago. an illegal u-turn on 301. i feel like a different person. last year i could've given a rat's ass about that exaggerated, blown-out-of-proportion bullshit. now, though, i'm trying to get my hands on these great works of art. i've grown to appreciate how smart these guys really were, and i believe they actually might have known what they were talking about.
the transition didn't occur immediately, and it most certainly did not happen in room 2103 last year. really, i don't know when it happened, but i do know this - tonight put some things in perspective for me about how i've changed in the past year.
i was flipping through channels after my basketball game and came across "the dead poet's society" on the drama station. my mom recommended it saying she had seen it a long time ago and liked it. it starred robin williams, a young matt damon, and a jim carrey lookalike, so i gave it a shot.
the movie centers around seven high schooler's love for romanticism. the group meets in a small cave to read together and think about the ideas the writings contained. you're saying wow, whoopdeefreakindoo, but i think something like that would be amazing.
my goal for the upcoming week is to read a piece of work from the romantic era once each day. who knows what they'll seem like now or, more importantly, say now with a different outlook? hell, maybe i'll even try to organize a dead poet's society?
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on 1.21.2006 at 10:40 PM.
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