Comments on: Richard Cameron and Groupthink

By: rogue1

rogue1 — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 07:01:34 +0000

I think you all have rather interpreted this section of the movie wrong.Cameron has no mind of his own.He is a follower. He follows the person who has the highest authority to ensure his own safety,so that his life is not affected in any way.He is selfish and betrays the most admirable teacher or person in the movie,Mr Keating.He does not solve the message Mr Keating has left for his students and does not “seize the day”.He does not work out his own passions and free himself,but rather follows the schools conduct of tradition.

By: Imanza

Imanza — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 13:06:13 +0000

I agree that Cameron was in fact trying to save his skin by staying seated when Mr. Nolan was telling the boys to sit back down, however I don’t believe it was Mr. Keating’s intention to create a cult mentality in which the boys forgo all forms of authority or discipline and think and act completely independently. After Dalton/Nwanda’s stint with the phonecall during the school assembly, he is lightly reprimanded by Mr. Keating who says “sucking the marrow out of life doesn’t mean choking on the bone. There is a time for daring, and there is a time for caution. A wise man understands which is called for.” I believe that Mr. Keating, being a graduate of “Hell-ton” himself, knew all too well the oppressive doctrines imposed upon the students by the rigid school system, and wanted to encourage them to challenge this established system by valuing their own values and perspectives of the world. This doesn’t mean he wanted to overthrow tradition altogether, he simply wanted to introduce a new way of thinking which deviated from the convention of the time and which could be observed while still paying respect to old doctrines when appropriate.

By: Elie

Elie — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 13:36:59 +0000

Amanda-I’m not sure I agree with your interpretation. It seems to me that in the above scene, Cameron was actually clinging to conformism, by behaving in a manner that would receive the approval of Mr.Nolan and the great majority of Hellton. I’ll admit though, it is ironic that Keating, in his quest to destroy conformism, in fact encouraged it. Namely, he attempted to ensure(rather successfully) that the boys in his classroom only think for themselves, and not submit to the decisions of others. He forgot that true free thinkers are able to consider their options, and do not rigidly adhere to a certain class of opinions.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 14:04:23 +0000

It’s worth noting, though, that Cameron demonstrates that he IS capable of resisting groupthink when all the other boys stand on their desks and he remains seated. Although he is certainly an unlikable character, he is the only one not to fall in love with the image that Keating projects and not to fall into what might arguably be called the “cult of Keating.” The term groupthink does not and should not apply only to “the man,” it applies to Keating as well.