Ethan Hawke is shown here in his progression between his time in Dead Poets Society and our modern day.

The film Dead Poets Society is set in the 50s, specifically 1959. In some interviews, the young actors talk about how Peter Weir prepared them for the roles, acquiring them 50s styled haircuts and asking them to listen to the greatest hits of the time. Just for some movie goers, this made some of the actors who played the students (Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, etc.) range from about 17-19 years old. Robin Williams was nearing 40. 

In his interview with the University of California, Tom Schulman (the writer), gives us an idea of the timeline, saying, "I wrote it in '85, and they started liking it in '87 and then liked it enough to make it in '88. Four years felt like a lifetime back then, but I think it's a lot of luck just to get it all made. Four years is pretty quick."  The film was released in 1989.

1989 was a significant year in US history, with the fall of the Berlin Wall, signifying the end of the Cold War. During this time period, the nation was extremely anti-communist, producing propaganda against the ideals of communism and conformity. With the nation barely recovering from this fear of being spontaneously detonated, it was easy for individuals to feel small and insignificant in the grand scheme of two nations at each other's throats.

Dead Poets Society - Script to Screen. Dir. Matt Ryan. Perf. Tom Schulman. UCTV. Department of Film and Media Studies, University of California. n.d. Web.