One Carp a Day at Walden Pond

Abstract

After a short rewiev of the stereotyped charachters of teacher in last 25 years italian and american movies, the focus is centred on John Keating, the unforgettable Literature teacher in Peter Weir ‘s Dead Poets Society, looked with suspicion of sentimentalism when the movie arrived Italy in 1990. The sources of his nonconformist teaching method are inspected, the Emeroson and Thoreau trascendantalist philosophy, the invitation to seize the day by Orazio, both exposed to a risk of being misunderstood cause of them introduction in the mechanism of media manipulation. But the movie can help the reflection about new method which are not afraid of mixing advanced studies with midcult in order to reach students more powerfully. The most important thing is to come out from the backwash which from long period of time is reproposing always the same teacher stereotype: tired, disillusioned, disastrous. A new way of storytelling can work to appreciate the job of the many of us who, in spite of adversities and short recognitions, have not give up thinking, planning, experimenting.