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“Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys.” Thoughtful, emotional, and truly rousing, Dead Poets Society is the gold standard for inspiring teacher dramas, discussing the importance of thinking for yourself, finding your tribe, and discovering the beauty in everyday life. The film was a huge critical and commercial success, launching the careers of a number of young actors including Robert Sean Leonard, Josh Charles, and Ethan Hawke.
The legendary Robin Williams plays unconventional teacher John Keating, who has returned to his former school to break the repressed students out of the confines of their rigid upbringings and instead encourages them to embrace creativity and passion to ultimately lead extraordinary lives. An affecting coming-of-age story and a tribute to the art that only humanity can create, the film will haunt you long after you finish watching it, much like the dead poets whose profound and beautiful words haunt us still.
Good Will Hunting
O Captain! My Captain! Robin Williams’ legendary career features many films where he acts as a mentor to young people, a role he perfected with his Oscar-winning turn as therapist to troubled Will (Matt Damon). Both films rely on Williams to bring his trademark warmth, humor and empathy to his characters, mixing in just a dash of the brash and zany character we see elsewhere.
The film clearly affected screenwriters Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, challenging them to rise to their potential as well. After failed auditions for Poets as young actors, they wrote their own film to star in with similar themes… only to receive Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay — the same award that Dead Poets Society had claimed years earlier. When Keating asked his students “What will your verse be?” few would have expected the answer to come in the table-standing tribute of Good Will Hunting.
Freedom Writers
The at-risk students in the classroom of Freedom Writers couldn’t be more different from the stuffy prep-school students of Dead Poets Society, but both films feature a teacher that is trying to help their students blossom into the best people they can be, and to rise above the set of expectations that have been thrust upon them. In Freedom Writers, that teacher comes in the form of Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank) who encourages her students to find their voices through writing diaries, eventually compiling them into The Freedom Writer’s Diary.
School of Rock
Jack Black takes his signature style of comedy and music to an uptight prep school where he transforms his precocious students into a band and teaches them the core tenets of what it means to rock. This is a much more kid-friendly version of the teacher-who-changes-lives trope, but it is no less effective at rousing audiences of all ages out of the doldrums of their lives. Black’s infectiously gleeful performance will have you cheering and singing along to lyrics like “I was on the honor roll, got good grades and got no soul” like you’re a teenager again.
Mona Lisa Smile
Trading poetry on pin-ups for paintings and pinafores, Mona Lisa Smile is basically a female-led version of Poets. Julia Roberts‘ free-thinking teacher Katherine Watson forces her bright students (including Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ginnifer Goodwin and Julia Stiles) to reevaluate their rigid expectations when she challenges them to aspire to more than the societal norm of just finding a husband. The enduringly relevant messages that a woman is worth more than who she marries, and that there are many paths a woman can take in the pursuit of happiness, make this film a must-see.
About Time
A rom-com might not be what initially comes to mind when you think of a match to Dead Poets Society, but this truly superior film rises above the usual tropes to deliver a powerful message about living every day to its fullest, telling your family and friends that you love them, and reading as many books as you can. About Time follows Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) on his journey to find and keep the love of his life with the help of his newly-discovered time-traveling powers. Written and directed by Richard Curtis and co-starring Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy and Margot Robbie, the film will make you laugh, cry and feel endless hope for the future. Carpe Diem indeed.
Dangerous Minds
Dangerous Minds inverts the dynamic of Poets by having unruly students and a conformist ex-marine disciplinarian teacher Louanne Johnson (Michelle Pfeiffer). Initially she struggles to connect with her students, but by employing unconventional methods of gaining their respect, like giving out candy and reciting song lyrics, she eventually wins them over. In much the same way as other inspirational teachers, Louanne comes up against an ambivalent school administration more interested in archaic rules than the genuine well-being of the students, resulting in a tragedy that almost causes Louanne to give up teaching. The film was a surprise hit with audiences upon release, buoyed by a compelling lead performance and distinctive soundtrack featuring Coolio‘s Gangster’s Paradise, despite being critically chided for its formulaic story and stereotypical characters.
The Emperor’s Club
The ability to expand young minds and widen the possibilities inherent in students’ lives is a motivation for a lot of teachers. William Hundert (Kevin Kline) is no exception, relishing his role as a professor of history at a private boarding school for privileged young men. He proffers a similar question as Keating to his students: “What will your contribution be? How will history remember you?” He hopes to inspire his young pupils to grow into principled and dignified men, only to come up against a rebellious teen (Emile Hirsch) whose wealth and privilege have overshadowed the need for virtue and knowledge. The Emperor’s Club shows us that not every student is receptive to the power of an inspiring teacher.
Tolkien
Finding your tribe and collecting a group of peers who understand and love you is a feat to behold. J.R.R. Tolkien and his brilliant group of outcasts formed their own society in their youth, the TCBS or Tea Club and Barrovian Society. Their brotherhood grows as they grow until, much like the society formed in Poets, tragedy strikes and the remaining members must grapple with the consequences of lives cut heartbreakingly short. Given this history, it is not surprising that The Lord of the Rings contains one of the most famous incarnations of male friendship ever created.
Boyz N The Hood
Coming of age is a lot harder when the bullets are flying, as we discover during this tale of three friends growing up in inner-city Los Angeles. Tre Styles (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) Ricky (Morris Chestnut) and Doughboy (Ice Cube) all have different approaches to their tough lives, finding salvation in academics, sports and gangs respectively. Although Furious Styles (Laurence Fishburne) is determined to bring his son up to be a forward-thinking and respectful citizen, Tre still cannot escape the gang violence and shootings occurring around him, resulting in tragedy for the trio of friends. The film is thematically rich and pulls no punches, opting for realism over sentimentality despite the emotionally-charged events that occur.
Mr. Holland’s Opus
While we have seen a slew of films where teachers dramatically change the lives of their students, Mr. Holland’s Opus flips the trope and shows us a man whose students dramatically change his life. Glenn Holland (Richard Dreyfuss) initially takes a teaching job just to make ends meet while in his spare time he works on his true goal: composing a truly great symphony. However, as the years unfold he discovers the truly great work he is destined for is not composing, but instead sharing his passion for music with his students.
The Belier Family
Recently re-made as the Academy Award Best Picture-winning Coda, the French-language original, The Belier Family, also strikes a chord. The film rises above what could be a formulaic entry into the coming-of-age genre by having our young protagonist find her voice both literally and figuratively. Paula is the translator for her deaf parents and brother, the only person in her family that can easily communicate with the outside world. Paula’s family rely heavily on her to run their business and get by in the world, so when her teacher discovers her fantastic singing voice and suggests she audition for an elite choir far away from her family, Paula is torn between her duty and her passion. The film rises to a heartwarming crescendo, leaving audiences with a tear in their eye and a song in their heart.
To Sir, With Love
In a role worthy of his Oscar-winning talents, Sidney Poitier plays Mark Thackeray, an engineering graduate who takes a job teaching out of sheer desperation. It is not the job he had imagined for himself, and he soon discovers the kids he is teaching are wild and rebellious. Determined to show the students how much potential they possess despite being from the slums of London, Thackeray treats them with respect and demands that they do the same in return. The film strikes at the heart of what it means to be a teenager, and how hopeless it can feel when the world feels as though it is against you.
Stand and Deliver
Based on the true story of Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his role), is the story of a high school math teacher for students who have been written off by the system. Using unconventional methods. he inspires his would-be dropout and gang-member students to incredible marks in the advanced placement tests in calculus… only to have them accused of cheating by the Educational Testing Service, who finds their marked rise in grades and similar errors highly suspect.
Much like John Keating, Jaime Escalante is a rousing teacher and role model; someone who can affect the lives of students well after they have left the classroom. In the end it doesn’t matter whether the teacher is real or fictional, as we can all relate to having someone inspiring in our lives, someone who challenges us to suck out all the marrow of life, and make our lives extraordinary.
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