The Graduate

The Graduate

​Mike Nichols, Calder Willingham, and Buck Henry’s portrayal of American values of the 1960s in the film representation of The Graduate highlights and tests the faults of suburban American society. ‘The Sounds of Silence’ preformed by Simon & Garfunkel, repeated many times in Nichols’ The Graduate, describes nearly word for word the inner turmoil that the characters face, Mrs. Robinson stuck on the bridge of life between adulthood and old age, young Benjamin lost and confused between college and adulthood. The film encapsulates and portrays the feelings of self-doubt, alienation, disenchantment, and unwanted pressures and expectations for a twenty-something just out of college.
​Benjamin Braddock, the main character, represents the epitome of the confused and isolated young adult male. He sits in his room or drifts in his parents’ pool. Benjamin returns home after graduating college, with no distinct plan for the future other than wanting it to, “be different.” Nichols’ directorial genius shows in the opening party sequence, setting the mood for the film, celebrating Benjamin’s arrival home. A close up of Benjamin’s face as he stumbles through the party, shows his fear of the future and distain for the parties of his parents. The camera moves in such a way that a feeling of claustrophobia comes over the viewers. The viewer, overcome by what unfolds around them, can relate to Benjamin’s feelings at the crossroad he remains stuck in. Another example, Benjamin’s arrival at the fateful hotel, plagued by the suspicion that the desk clerk aware of his plans to seduce Mrs. Robinson, reaffirms the crossroad he remains stuck in, as he opens the door to enter a room a group of the elderly exit a room. He tries to enter but a large group of high school students pass by him.
​The Graduate represents a great landmark in American cinema and the decade in which it released, sharing the same themes that Benjamin experiences throughout the film. Most American Cinema only showed...

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