Journal Review 1: “The Graduate” “The Graduate” is a film directed by Mike Nichols starring a young Dustin Hoffman. The movie follows Dustin Hoffman’s character Ben Braddock who is a recent college graduate who has yet to find his way in the world after school. After being given different choices and recommendations for his life after college from his parents and friends Ben becomes noticeably stressed. This stress is portrayed throughout the movie using darker lighting in some of the more stressful scenes with Ben. We are then introduced too what seems to be his saviour Mrs. Robinson. After initially rejecting the sexual advances made by Mrs. Robinson, Ben succumbs to her and starts an affair. This affair relieves some stress which is shown…
The Graduate (1967) is the pioneer for the modern Hollywood film, which is cooperated by the director Mike Nichols, the composer Paul Simon and Dave Grusin. It has developed new conventions for presenting song in film, conventions that ‘build upon traditions established by the “classical” Hollywood musicals of the studio era’ (Berliner, 2002). The American popular rural folk in 1950s created the old classical song "the Sound of Silence", and it aids The Graduate (1967) to achieve a magnificence…
In 1967, Mike Nichols directed the film, The Graduate, starring Dustin Hoffman. During the film, Ben, a recent college graduate, is moving back home to California. Upon his arrival, his parents throw him a welcome home party, where he gets to celebrate with all his family friends. One of those friends is Mrs. Robinson, the wife of Ben’s father’s business partner. Mrs. Robinson takes a liking to Ben, and the two begin a secret affair. During their relationship, Ben contemplates his life choices,…
The Graduate was a compelling film that portrayed the cultural and social differences evident throughout the film, as can be seen through the generational, and how Dustin Hoffman’s character acts towards each. This movie came out towards the end of the 1960’s when the social/cultural structure was beginning to change. Children didn’t want to do what their parents told them just because the said so, they wanted to do something that they saw meaning in. This can be seen as Dustin Hoffman…
Benjamin Braddock is a successful young man who graduates college from the East Coast and is now back home in Los Angeles with no idea what his future holds for him. In the film The Graduate, Ben is back home with a college degree and no clue where to go next. Ben seems to be bothered by something in his life. When questioned about it by his dad, he says that he is worried about his future. This is typical for a young man who is fresh out of college. In my research I found that the sequence when…
'The Graduate’ (Nichols, 1967) is a comedy that uses a three-act film structure and includes its major structural elements. The film depicts a recent college graduate (Dustin Hoffman), whose feeling of a lack of purpose results in his life becoming dominated by his relationship with Mrs. Robinson and eventually, her daughter Elaine. Act I establishes the key characters; Ben, his parents and their friends, including, Mrs. Robinson. The audience is empathetic towards him and likely wanting to see…
The Graduate The sequence that I have chosen for analysis is the scene after the party and Dustin is moping in his room, until he puts his hand in the fish tank to pull out his keys. The scene begins with Mrs. Robinson bursting in on Benjamin. The sound of the door is quite loud in the small space, making it much more intrusive than it might normally have been and possibly drawing a metaphor about her entry not just into his room but into his private life. Her voice is totally calm…
The film The Graduate talks about Benjamin Braddock, who has just finished college and is back at his parents' house. He's trying to avoid the one question everyone keeps asking: What does he want to do with his life? An unexpected change comes up when he is seduced by Mrs. Robinson, a bored housewife and friend of his parents. But what begins as a fun rendezvous turns complicated when Benjamin falls for the one woman Mrs. Robinson demanded he stay away from, her daughter, Elaine. The main theme…
film project that would shed light on a generation. While this film is still celebrated and discussed by film critics, Nichols himself avoids addressing and sharing his intended meaning of his controversial ending to the film The Graduate, in which two of the main characters run away together on a bus after a failed marriage ceremony. Whether these two were seeking freedom from oppressive parental figures or attempting to pursue new-age ideas of the time that is open to viewers to decide.…
The Graduate is a film centered around Benjamin during his first summer after earning his degree at college. He spends his time lounging in his parents pool, unsure of who he is and what he wants to do, much like Neil in Goodbye, Columbus. Both characters feel isolated, lonely, and trapped, eventually falling for women who feel their lives are dull and boring. Goodbye, Columbus and The Graduate are similar stories with similar themes; the difference is in how they are presented. While the former…