The Poster Memorabilia blog

The Only Secret Society I Still Want to Join

One handshake with the director, one autograph he'll never get, and a film that still holds.

By an anonymous Hollywood insider

You know, I never liked secret societies. I rarely joined clubs, and I never felt any desire to join a fraternity. Something about that whole concept turns me off. Why do you have to be in some exclusive club to do what you want? I never got the appeal whatsoever.

But if there is one that I ended up really liking, it’s Dead Poets Society. And yes, I'm talking about the movie.

Since I was around the same age as the students when I first watched it in the early 2000s, I couldn't help but relate to them and feel inspired by their journeys. Especially John Keating himself, Robin Williams. I dare say that this was his best performance ever, way better than Mrs. Doubtfire or even as the Genie in Aladdin.

“I dare say that this was his best performance ever.”

But you know who deserves just as much credit for the movie? The director Peter Weir. The movie could've ended up as a melodramatic mess in less capable hands. Weir turned this beautiful screenplay by Tom Schulman into an emotional roller coaster I don't mind riding again and again. I consider it one of the best movies ever made.

The cast was amazing too, don't get me wrong. I mean, apart from Williams, Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, Josh Charles, Gale Hansen, Dylan Kussman, and Allelon Ruggiero really did their thing here. I'm not surprised that most of them went on to have big careers in movies and TV. They deserve all their success.

I still wish I had the courage to seek them out and get their autographs when I was younger. Especially when Robin Williams was still alive. Meeting him and getting his autograph would've made my entire world. There never was and never will be an actor, perhaps even a human being, quite like him.

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Well, that's life. You never know what's gonna happen and who goes next. I just hope he's in a better place now. I'm sure he's making other people laugh out loud in the same way he did when he was here. I'd also like to think that my folks, who also loved him, are hanging out and having the time of their afterlife with him.

All of that isn't to say that I'm not grateful I met Peter Weir a couple of years ago. The Academy finally gave him the recognition he's deserved all this time at the Governors Awards in 2022. I'm still a bit bitter that it's just an honorary Oscar, but it's still an Oscar.

Anyway, at least I got to shake his hand and had him sign my Dead Poets Society poster. It's the second-best thing to getting Williams' autograph on it. And since I'm already of a certain age, I doubt I'll ever get to meet the rest of the cast, too. So this, for me, is more than enough.

Young people, do yourselves a favor and watch this gem of a movie. I'm sure it will change your life the way it did mine. It's one of those amazing films that stood the test of time.

Some things you watch. This one you keep.

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