Skip to main content

The Freedom to Be Authentic

Dead Poets Society is one of my favourite movies of all time. Released in 1989, this movie is a reminder to everyone to be their authentic selves and to allow others to be their authentic selves. Through the character of Neil Perry, it shows the turmoil of being restricted from doing something that means the world to you. Let me elaborate. And if you've not yet watched this movie, well- spoilers ahead.

Neil Perry is one of the students at an elite all-boys preparatory school. He is pressurized by his father who is always breathing down his neck to make him excel academically. But academics is not where his heart lies. It is in theatre. He has an immense love for acting and wishes to make a career out of it. But his father never understood this. So, without his father's knowledge and with the encouragement of his English teacher, John Keating, Neil auditions for a local production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. "For the first time in my whole life, I know what I want to do. And for the first time, I'm gonna do it", were his words as he dared to break his father's rules and make an attempt at his dreams. He gets through the audition but his father finds out about the play and restricts him from going to it the day before the performance. But still, Neil performs on the night of the play despite his father's warning. His father does not understand his heart and sees his actions as an act of defiance. His father angrily insists that he drop all theatrical aspirations and focus solely on his studies. Feeling trapped and desperate to assert his independence, Neil makes a tragic decision and ends up taking his own life. And oh, how my heart broke then. All Neil wanted was to do the one thing he loved to do. He had a talent for theatre and he proved it too and still, his father failed to understand and support him.

There are many Neils in this world- Neils who have something they excel at- something that they're over the top passionate about. However, they do not get the proper support system to achieve the heights they can. Some parents have a tendency to over-pressurize their children about academics. They make their child cut ties with every single one of their hobbies so that they can excel academically. They fail to understand where their children's hearts lie. They do not see how the spark in them fades away little by little by little each day.

It is one of the greatest follies on earth to restrict a person from being their authentic self. To not let them chase after their dreams and become the truest version of themselves should be criminal indeed. Physically stabbing a person leaves marks in blood. But killing someone's self-identity leaves no mark so it's not really seen as that much of a sin. But in truth, it draws out their very soul and renders them a living corpse.

Do not allow yourself to ever become a living corpse. Do not let your actions or words ever make someone else a living corpse either. 

Remember,

CARPE DIEM!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Significance of Jo March's Monologue in 'Little Women'

'Little Women', a classic novel by Louisa May Alcott was adapted into a movie under the direction of Greta Gerwig (one of my absolute favourite directors of all time) in the year 2019. It portrays the lives of four sisters- Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy- navigating love, aspirations, and societal expectations during the Civil War era. The film beautifully captures their individual journeys and the evolving dynamics of sisterhood. Jo March, who is the second of the four March sisters, is the protagonist who aspires with every fibre in her to become a well-acclaimed writer. It's even more interesting how the character of Jo is actually based on Louisa May Alcott herself, making the story sort of a semi-autobiography. Played by Saoirse Ronan, Jo is portrayed as an extremely independent woman, challenging the gender roles and the restraints placed upon women in society.  Even though the whole movie is something that strikes the very depths of our hearts, there is one particular monolo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Lost in the Waves

Beaches have always been a favourite of mine. It's almost like the sea calls my name, beckoning me to embrace its folds. To throw myself into the waters and have no care in the world is something too special to me. Because when I'm neck-deep in there, I'm nothing. My weight against the force of the waves becomes irrelevant. And I'm not just speaking of the weight of my body but of my heart too. In fact, I think my heart is far more heavy than my body ever will be. After all, it is a museum of everything I have loved and lost and loved again. And the artefacts within it weigh down on me- it makes me slump my shoulders and drag my feet while I should be floating around with ease. It makes even the easiest tasks undoable. But the moment I step into the water, I'm free of it all. Maybe it is an inherent nature of mine- to dive into something that is ragingly unpredictable. But rage is so dear to me. Unpredictability is so dear to me. It's something I've grown up...
Post a Comment
Read more

Academic Burn Out

I used to be someone who was at the top of her class. I've always had a rank above five till my ninth grade. It's not that I felt pressured to study that hard but people appreciated me best when I did. And I craved that appreciation and validation from my parents, teachers and relatives, even if it meant unending sleepless nights and constant stress. I wasn't particularly exceptional at any co-curricular activity or sports event. I was just in the middle of everything- not that poor but not that good either. Studying was the one thing that people accepted I was really good at. So I did everything to keep their beliefs intact. But in my tenth grade, academic burnout hit me and it hit me hard. I felt like I was literally draining myself too much. I lost the will to study. I barely passed my model exams. Tenth grade is believed to be a turning point in every single student's life- the phase where they're supposed to work the hardest. But I couldn't focus. I couldn...
Post a Comment
Read more