“O Captain! My Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning.”
- Walt Whitman
I woke up this morning to the news that Robin Williams was no more. A bit of my childhood died with him. The Wikipedia page promptly updated to Robin Williams was an American actor and stand-up comedian. The bagpipes were playing; the boys were standing on their desks and the classroom door closed for one last time. “Thank you, boys. Thank you.” And as the closing scene of Dead Poets Society played in my head over and over again, I realized what an impact Robin Williams has had on an entire generation. The Captain had left the building; he left us with memories. Memories of being a nine year old and watching Mrs. Doubtfire at New Empire Cinema in Calcutta. Where the popcorn was sold in plastic bags and stored for days. Candy floss was served aplenty. Where vendors would walk down the aisle yelling what was on sale, items on a tray. The 90s were a fun time to grow up and Robin Williams was my go-to-go person.
The only time we went to see a movie as an entire class was in 1995. Jumanji it was. The La Martiniere School for Boys, Class of 2002-03, in shorts and in junior school! We laughed and screamed and behaved terribly, boys will be boys. And, the teachers had a tough time keeping the noise level down but every time Williams showed up on screen, we watched in admiration and cheered him on. How difficult was it to control a board-game? Well, go watch Jumanji. And as we strolled out of the movie hall, we all hoped to be Robin Williams. Not a superhero but a funny guy who made us laugh with his mimicry, comic timing and larger than life presence. We relayed random lines from the movie and found it funny, somehow an association, childish yet acceptable. My earliest memory of Robin Williams is a walk down Nostalgia Avenue, and there’s a huge hoarding on that street, a smiling face promising nothing but happiness. Ironically we lost our Captain to a battle, the battle of depression.
Good Morning, Vietnam, Good Will Hunting, The Birdcage, Patch Adams. Fabulous! Magnifico! And, Dead Poets Society which was made in 1989 and though I only saw it years later, it’s the only movie on my desktop. In a world of hard drives and external hard drives and USB sticks, I am petrified of losing movies and music that I have collected over time. Yet, there’s only one movie that finds its way into all of these drives that I own, Dead Poets Society. So scared of losing it that it remains well and truly backed up on my laptop.
Much like Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Dead Poets Society had a deep impact on me, first as a teenager and then later as an adult. And as I take first steps into a world where I am surrounded by students and find myself interacting with impressionable young minds everyday – I ought to wonder what John Keating (Robin Williams’ character from DPS) said:
“"To quote from Whitman,"O me! O life! Of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?" Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?"
What will your verse be?
Thank you Robin Williams, I will associate happiness with you. Now and always…