The main philosophy I saw in the movie was that which I call the anti-romantic romanticist, which will be explained in greater detail within this site. To truly understand romanticism and realism as I am defining them, you MUST read my section on romanticism, realism, and DPS.
The purpose of this site is to present a series of case studies on the different characters in this movie in terms of their views on life. I believe that Todd is the main character - the only "anti romantic romanticist" - while Neil, Nwanda, and Knox are symbolic of what romanticism is, and while Neil's father, the school, and Cameron are symbolic of realism.
Anyway, I hope maybe because of this page, you'll look at this movie with a new perspective, or at least you will think about whether or not the movie truly embraces the "Carpe diem" philosophy of romanticism. I personally believe the true philosophy of "Carpe Diem" in the movie stems not from a romantic view, but from an existentialist view. I chose to describe it from a romantic point of view because I believe the movie constantly combats romanticism with realism, & existentialism isn't really touched upon. (I do, however, think Peter Weir did an excellent job with the Truman Show by portraying "Carpe Diem" in an existentialist philosophy. I personally think that movie is much more thought provoking than DPS, and emphasizes to a greater extent, living life to the fullest instead of limiting yourself to a minimal existence. Of course, the movie also is the ultimate case of paranoia which was actually real; it was a leap of faith to discover truth rather than accept deception; it was a play on the power of the media, and what people will do for money; and it gave a picture of what God may be like. I could go on and on...)
Dead P ...