"I sound my barbaric YAWP over the roofs of the world."

[icepixie]

Showed my students Dead Poets Society tonight. Not many came (ohhhh, there's gonna be a quiz on Friday), but of those who did, I got more than a few "OMG, this is my new favorite movie!"s, which was gratifying. (Thanks for the suggestion, vallentine!) I was sort of surprised that so many of them hadn't seen it before; as I recall, we watched it at least three times in high school, and perhaps even once every year. I think we may have watched it in middle school as well. I must tell them about watching that movie with my fellow Pezzers and then going out and yawping into the night at Kenyon.

ETA: I just looked up the movie on Wikipedia, and...one of the boys grew up to play Dan Rydell on Sports Night! Ha! No wonder he looked so familiar! (Also...seriously, that was Ethan Hawke? I had no idea.)

Comments

[tarzanic.livejournal.com]

Yay, good movie! I haven't watched the movie in over ten years (wow, now I feel old), but I'm kinda surprised you might have watched it in middle school. The suicide may have stuck out for me a lot more when I saw it though. I still can't over that it's Wilson from House.

[alto2.livejournal.com]

OMG, you didn't know Josh Charles was on Sports Night? I can't look at the guy without thinking "OMG, it's Knox Overstreet!" (and what a name that is!). And dude, wasn't that Ethan Hawke's first movie? Probably also Robert Sean Leonard's?

No joke, this movie absolutely, 120% changed my life.

[nickless.livejournal.com]

You must be getting old - that's one of the first signs!! ;)

I have two problems with that movie. 1, NOT a happy ending, so I officially hate it and won't watch it unless I have to. 2, for the life of me, I can't tell 90% of the boys apart. *sigh*

My roomie's 7th graders just finished watching The Outsiders today. I always love that, just to see everyone back when they were Wee. Although it was sad this time since Patrick Swayze's gone. :(

[rowdycamels.livejournal.com]

Not many came (ohhhh, there's gonna be a quiz on Friday), but of those who did, I got more than a few "OMG, this is my new favorite movie!"s

I was gonna say, "Oh, they probably just didn't show because they've all already seen it," but... ow.

I saw it for the first time as a freshman in high school, when a teacher made us watch it in one of those mandatory self-esteem/life-skills classes. It did indeed teach life skills! With baby!Wilson!

ps - this episode of Community is based on DPS. (http://www.hulu.com/watch/99678/community-introduction-to-film#s-p1-so-i0) An amusing use of twenty minutes!

[icepixie]

but I'm kinda surprised you might have watched it in middle school

Possibly it was edited? Or maybe we didn't watch it in middle school. Go back that far and things get a bit foggy.

I still can't over that it's Wilson from House.

I don't watch House, but *jaw drops* anyway.

[icepixie]

Well, I haven't watched SN in a looong time. And I never pay much attention to actors' names, so...no, I had no idea.

No joke, this movie absolutely, 120% changed my life.

It is a wonderful movie.

[icepixie]

You must be getting old - that's one of the first signs!! ;)

Noooo! ;)

I have two problems with that movie. 1, NOT a happy ending, so I officially hate it and won't watch it unless I have to. 2, for the life of me, I can't tell 90% of the boys apart. *sigh*

Aw. I like sad endings. I'm possibly a masochist.

But yeah, even on this time through it took until the last fifteen minutes or so before I could tell all the boys apart with complete confidence. I thought Charlie Dalton and Knox Overstreet were the same character for at least the first third of the movie.

[alto2.livejournal.com]

I was kind of saying that names had nothing to do with recognizing him, because to me he has a very distinctive look, but ymmv.

And not joking about it changing my life. It literally was the catalyst that made me say, "You know, this engineering thing is insane and ridiculous and I gotta get out of here before I lose my mind."

[icepixie]

I was gonna say, "Oh, they probably just didn't show because they've all already seen it," but... ow.

Yep. I think a few had seen it and weren't there, but the majority didn't seem to have even heard of it.

I saw it for the first time as a freshman in high school, when a teacher made us watch it in one of those mandatory self-esteem/life-skills classes. It did indeed teach life skills! With baby!Wilson!

Mwahahaha! I think we saw in during those "it's after the AP exam but before school lets out, so let's watch movies!" periods.

ps - this episode of Community is based on DPS. An amusing use of twenty minutes!

Very amusing indeed! (Is it just me, or did the teacher look exactly like Shutt?)

[rowdycamels.livejournal.com]

but the majority didn't seem to have even heard of it.

Woe to the youth of America!

Is it just me, or did the teacher look exactly like Shutt?

Heh. Maybe a young Shutt?

[icepixie]

And not joking about it changing my life. It literally was the catalyst that made me say, "You know, this engineering thing is insane and ridiculous and I gotta get out of here before I lose my mind."

So you were studying/working in engineering? Wow. That is kind of a 180.

[alto2.livejournal.com]

I was doing a 5-year double-major, English and Engineering. Just the first semester. And when I saw that movie, I saw SO many things. I saw myself in RSL, I saw my dad in his father (mine's not nearly so bad, but you know how caricature is sometimes easier to see?), and I saw the kind of person I wanted to be in John Keating. I was about to fail my Calculus class and barely scrape by in Physics (it was the end of the semester when they showed the movie, but we hadn't had exams yet), and I'd started to sense that I really wasn't cut out to be an engineer, no matter how much I love to figure out how things work. Going to see that movie was like having a sledgehammer hit me over the head.

[icepixie]

I was doing a 5-year double-major, English and Engineering.

Egads.

[alto2.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's...one way to put it.

[icepixie]

Heh.

[vallentine.livejournal.com]

(Thanks for the suggestion, [info]vallentine!)
You're very welcome! It's a favorite of mine for a lot of reasons. I'm so glad that it hit a nerve with the students who showed up for screening.

Every once in awhile I have a longing to be Mr. Keating. I'll contemplate going to grad school and teaching English and being that teacher all the kids remember. Though I doubt I could ever truly be as life-changing and awe inspiring as Mr. Keating. But here's to dreaming, right?

[icepixie]

I'll contemplate going to grad school and teaching English and being that teacher all the kids remember.

Heh. Yeah, I gave that a thought for about two minutes before I realized I so don't have what it takes and went back to being snarky and sometimes encouraging and probably boring but still fairly competent.