I had the chance to see the Dead Poets Society last week as part of the Friday Rose movies series. For me, this film dealt with the conflict of established tradition and the revolution of free thinking. We are presented with an elite all white male boarding school that prides itself in its ability to prime young men for elite higher education. Tradition and pride in the establishment are rampant and especially marked in all the professors save John Keating played by Robin Williams. Keating advocates for a novel way of looking at poetry that does not adhere to rules set by some academic but rather those that resonate more personally with the reader through individual interpretation. Excessive tradition and dogma hinder the growth of the mind by limiting the way it can branch, grow and develop. Keating advocates for Carpe Diem and for his students to move beyond the limits of the institution to explore the world by their own will and through this to develop an appreciation of literature as a medium for personal expression. While the movie does end in tragedy, the final scene shows the impact Keating has had on his students as they rise in defiance of the institution to give one final salute to their mentor that taught them more than any book ever could.