Starring Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke and a well selected group of supporting actors, Dead Poets Society is a movie from the late 80’s that will leave you thinking about what it means to “seize the day.”

In the Vermont Hills is the very old and traditional private Welton Academy with a student body of 300. Enrolled at Welton Academy are Neil Perry (Robert Sean Leonard) and Todd Anderson (Ethan Hawke.) On their first day, the new English teacher, Mr. Keating (Robin Williams) introduces the class to a lesser known world of poetry defined by whatever you desire it to be. While showing the students the power of vulnerability, love, humor, comradery, and “sucking the marrow out of life,” he also lets them in on a secret club that existed back when he attended the academy: the Dead Poets Society. Inspired by Mr. Keating’s contagious passion, the boys excitedly revamp the club with their classmates.

Dead Poets Society is a stand alone movie based off of a book of the same name; both of which are worthy of watching and reading. With excelling casting (most notably Robin Williams), nostalgic sense of boyhood, and heart wrenching relationships that fall together and apart, this is something I believe everyone has to see. You will find yourself cheering for the characters and their mischief by shouting “Oh Captain, My Captain!” alongside your friends. The title of the film can lead a viewer to believe that this is going to be a slow, uneventful tale your own high school English teacher would probably force you to watch and take notes on. However, that is simply not the case and it is a dead poet’s honor that you will be feeling something after this one.