Understanding The Graduate 50 Years Later
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- My understanding of the themes present in The Graduate, 50 years after its release
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Good essay, but no way... that ending wasn’t about them regretting the rash decision to enter a relationship. It was them realizing that it still didn’t fix their uncertainty about their future. Getting what they want didn’t make them happy. Their lives were still as plastic and empty as ever.
I like this interpretation
I agree with your opinion for the ending. Its what i saw in them as well.
@
I saw the same scenario.
I think so too. And the main thing is that it's not one of those Hollywood endings where the bride runs away to be with her true love and it's a definite, wonderful happy ending and a sunshiny future of love ("It Happened One Night", etc) After their triumphant flight from the church, Elaine and Benjamin are slowly realizing there are no happy ending guarantees. They don't know what's next.
He never left the womb until he “graduated” college. This movie represents cutting umbilical cord of living life within the confines of the theoretical (school) and in to the practical (adding actual value to society). Further insulation only prolongs one’s growth.
What an accurate and precise analysis. I look forward to seeing what else you have commented on.
Favorite movie ❤️
I've read a few of the other comments, and I think that it's just wrong to write the ending off as them realising that it won't work or that they've made a mistake. In my eyes, it's more about them realising that this hasn't fixed their problems, and realising that the fears they have had this entire time, of just moving onto their next stage in life, are still very much there. If anything they are even more uncertain and afraid now then they ever were. But really, in my eyes that's the only way to live life. And I think this is the point the film is trying to make. It's easy to live a dull, miserable life, where the only things that bring these people any semblance of happiness are their possessions, if even that. But it's much more difficult, and much more unnerving to do what truly makes you happy in life.
@08:30, I don't think they realized they made a horrible mistake, I think they realized what they did but are unsure of how to react to what just happened, and what they should do next.
Both The Graduate and Midnight Cowboy which were Dustin Hoffman's two first major films end with him riding a bus. Here he rides into an uncertain future and in Midnight Cowboy he dies in Jon Voight's arms.
Public transit isn't right for everyone
interesting arguments! thank you for the essay
I think the film's main focus isn't on the world around Ben, but Ben's mindset. He's clearly a highly successful and driven individual prior to graduating, then post graduation he has no goal left to achieve and feels lost (I think a lot of us graduates have felt that same feeling). It's only when Mrs. Robinson mentions that he is inadequate for her daughter that he sets himself a new goal, of marrying Elaine. The end scene on the bus has Ben with the same facial expression as the start of the film. Again, he now has no goal left to achieve, he is back to being lost of meaning.
No, his expression mirrors the realisation that now it’s reality not romantic fantasy
Great point re facial expressions at end signifying the let down after achieving a goal. Or foreshadowing the potential mundanity of the typical married with kids thing. Always enjoyed the interpretations from the lit classes. Film seems no different and then some!
This is one of the most relatable films I've watched. I'm a college student that's worrying about the future, I feel lonely and depressed, and I want to find love and a meaningful relationship.
holy shit man, that is exactly what i am going through. nice to know im not the only one
@@aidankerr2001 Everyone goes through those kind of feelings at this age. I'm with you guys too. ;) But don't worry, look on the bright side, and remember: things never go exactly as planned but stick to your morals and do what you genuinely love, and everything will work out. :)
~:~
I have one thing to say to you guys
Get an Alfa Romeo
I’m not in college yet but I’m still feeling the same way all of you guys do but the one thing that brings me back to reality and brings me joy is my beautiful car and 1986 Alfa Romeo spider, it may not be Dustin Hoffman’s spider but when I play Simon and Garfunkel I feel like it
Take heart. I was adrift after college for years. I ended up trying a few different careers and some dead-end jobs. I even followed my love of theater and had some limited success there. I didn’t get married or start a family until my mid 30s. It wasn’t until my 40s that I finally found my calling, and have been moving forward for the last 13 years in a career I absolutely love. I look back over 30+ years and realize that each uncertain step and seeming dead end was actually a stepping stone to defining who I am and get me to where I am now. I am happy, joyful, and content.
am i the only one who thinks that after ben went to berkeley everything felt surreal? like a dream sequence
the scarborough fair theme does it i think
@@aptonymic3014 yeah after Paul Simon said “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme” for the 50th time in 15 minutes it felt pretty surreal
Am I the only one who thinks the whole film feels surreal like a weird dream?
@@laiwangye8625 No you're not. That's what made me personally dislike this movie. I don't say it's bad, just that I didn't like the way it made me feel (and not feel). I hated absolutely every character in it. Everybody felt stupid, out of place, off and vile. And the moody and repetitive score by S&G didn't help. I even felt sort of relieved to see that running away didn't seem to bring the joy they hoped for, that it fell down very quickly.
@@gabymerman9005 Jesus, talk about someone who clearly doesn't get it...AT ALL.....
i feel ashamed that i cracked up when i heard "hello darkness my old friend". help. memes have ruined my life
Sound of silence *
JCV my high school film class did the same and my teacher was confused
To this day I can't help but laughing despite the poignance of that scene. I swear I try to keep it together but its borderline impossible
@@Boxman5618 Personification at its best ..”Hello darkness, my old friend “ ❤️❤️❤️🌹
pleeease someone tell me what he said in 2:53, I SO WANNA KNOW but dont understand
So the idea that Mrs. Robinson didn't want them together since she knew their young love wouldn't last seems wrong to me.
After all, she was forcing Elaine to marry Carl was likely worse and with just as much, probably more uncertainty. She didn't love him much and I doubt they knew each other for very long (after all, she only got together with him after Ben). Forcibly marrying her off seems a disturbing parallel to the marriage she herself had been forced into.
Thus, this miserable cycle of meaninglessness and lack of connection was being perpetuated by Mrs. Robinson, perhaps because she herself didn't know or understand any better alternative.
In this context, the end can be seen as a great "fuck you" to that mindset, instead representing a new, frightening but ultimately different way of living. Their expressions at the end are less a realization of how wrong hey were, and more an understanding that its up to them now, and they can likely depend on no one.
I think it possible Mrs. Robinson was afraid that Elaine could possibly wind up happier than her with Benjamin.
As an "older" woman myself, I think Mrs. Robinson was a bitter woman who was jealous of her daughter's youth. It makes sense that she didn't want Elaine to marry Ben after she had an affair with him.
I think she wanted to keep seeing Ben which wouldn't be possible if he was with Elaine. Mrs. Robinson cared deeply for her needs (sexual) and they trumped her motherly feelings. While Mrs. Robinson was smart and suave this was the 60's she was probably only seeing Ben on the side and had no back up for her needs other than him.
To this day I think Mrs. Robinson's distain towards Ben going steady with Elaine is rooted in her own loneliness. She doesn't like to idea of something she looks forward to and enjoys being taken away from her. It's out of pure jealousy.
Agree.. As Dr. J. Peterson says, if you want to understand the behavior, look at the outcome.. Mrs. R didn't want Elaine to be happy, because she was never happy. That's it.
great commentary especially about the fish tank
Hard to believe it's been 50 years since this film came out.
Dustin Hoffmann and Katherine Ross should get together for a cast reunion and interview.
Another good one, almost as old is Harold and Maude (early 70's, I think). Another older woman/younger man movie. Cat Stevens was the sound track to that one, even writing several songs especially for H&M that went on to become #1 hits. ; )
On the raft holding a beer, the can has can opener triangles instead of poptops. That is how long ago this was.
I'm in my final year of college and I still don't know what what I want to do with my life.
Luke Lichtenthal Don’t miss life while you’re waiting for life to happen.
I'm retired and I have the same question. So I just enjoy life
Don't sweat it...I'm 51 and still don't know what i want to be when i grow up, LOL...but i think "peaceful" sums it up nicely. I wasted some years trying to fit into the corporate mold only to end up working in hospice ten years later and ever since cause that's what fed my soul, but i'm still reaching, still wondering what else is out there that could feed me even more. Do what you love. I know that sounds played out, but really what moves you? is it social justice? is it nature? is it photography? graphic design? the fact you dont know maybe means you are a thinker, a free spirit not satisfied with what society says you "should" want to be and do. The world needs more you's, lol... Embrace it! I love the purple shirt, by the way : )
Good for you Duc de Richleau! That's fab you are making more out than in!! Planting and growing things sounds really fulfilling, almost spiritual!
Yay! I've always dreamed of living off the land...growing my own food, solar power, everything as natural and simple as possible. Unfortunately, i'm making less out of corporate America than when i was in it, but I'm waaaay happier, with almost zero stress, and to me that's worth the pay cut...I'm curious as to what you farm? Data Science; What's that?
That's normal, I just got out of my 2nd job, and I still don't know what I'll do with my life.
Your analysis is good except for the ending. I don't think Ben & Elaine realize they've made a horrible mistake; they haven't. What they realize is that the crazy action at the wedding and running off on a bus doesn't solve their problems. I also don't think Mrs. Robinson cared that much about Elaine making the same mistakes she'd made. Marrying Ben is wrong but marrying Carl is not wrong?
What a great wrap up. I do not necessarily agree with the ending. I think Ben and Elaine realise they're off for a new but uncertain future, a much needed step forward in their lives.
stef It is nice to see someone interpret is so differently :)
I'm afraid I am more supportive towards a pessimistic outlook
I swear, I watched this movie for the first time in 1976. Almost as soon as the scene when Ben is banging on that glass at the church yelling "Elaine" Elaine" Elaine' it hit me all at once and I fell in love with a friend of mine's older sister. Needless to say things didn't go well because my feeling went unrequited, but the memory of this period in my life(I was 16) will never leave me. That friends sister passed away a couple of years ago and I always regretted not telling her about the connection between the Graduate and my infatuation(or whatever it was) for her. I saw this movie on TMC the other night and it hit me all over again. Sounds like a show for Dr. Phil. Lol.
Thanks for sharing, it's a beautiful story
It's weird how some movies are like an emotional time capsule. I have had similar feelings about movies that instantly take me back to a particular time.
I first saw it in 1973 or '74 I think. I was about 13 or 14. My parents took me to the drive-in one night to see "Little Big Man" with Dustin Hoffman. I fell so hard for that guy it literally became an obsession. My room was covered with his photos and posters and I wanted to see everything he had ever done, so seeing the Graduate was a no-brainer. If I thought I was in love with him after LBM, I had a lot to learn. My obsession only intensified. I looked him up in a book about movies I got from the library and discovered that he and I were born on the same day. I joined the army and one night I found out that The Graduate was going to be on TV that night but I didn't have a TV. So the guy I was dating at the time smuggled me into his barrack room because one of his roommates had a TV. So four guys sat around playing cards while I sat and watched The Graduate. I'm a grandmother now but I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for Dustin.
This is so interesting. Thanks for sharing.
I can picture you watching The Graduate on tv while guys played cards.
Dustin Hoffman is in All The President's Men. Be sure you see that.
Ben fell from grace by sleeping with Mrs. Robinson. She promises a future with Medical Student Carl. Carl is free from her sin (affair). She is a "broken down alcoholic" who seduced an innocent young man. She does not want pass her sin to her daughter. Ben is now spoiled.
Great analysis, again. From my favorite channels.
José Manuel Zambrano Supernatural is the new natural.
Fun Fact, Anne Bancrotf was born in 1931. Dustin Hoffman in 1937. She was 5 years, 11 months older than he was.
But he looked 18 and he was short so fits the role
Taylor is wrong about the ending. The film is about breaking away from the traditions of their parents and the church and society. The look at the end isn't regret, it's the realization that they have to make up their own rules and find their own way now. Their life isn't scripted. That's a heavy burden...to realize that you have to go your own way. But they're looking forward and the old people on the bus are looking back to the past. Ben and Elaine will be just fine.
I think you've got the point.
Chris Miller he’s not wrong - it’s open to interpretation, there’s no set right and wrong answer
as said above, it's an ambiguous ending
I think both interpretations are right, personally, when I first saw the movie I thought that they laugh because of what you say, but then they realized what they had done, and start to worry about their future (how they are going to live and eat without their parents support, and none of them have a job or a house, etc).
PD: sorry about my english xD
There’s no wrong way to interpret it, it’s art.
The Graduate is a snap shot in time. Amazing in it's relevance at the time that it was made. How the World War 2 generation celebrated the prosperity of being the only industrial superpower that wasn't destroyed. In so their children could truly self-actualize. When you don't know if you will have a roof over your head or food in your stomach you don't spend a lot of time worrying about what you are going to be. None of them were worried about food, shelter, or the other basics of Maslow.
Where it rings true today is as a museum of a time lost to the last of the baby boomers. And to the new generations not prepared for the stark realities of Reagan's America. A place where a person who barely got his GED thinks that he is the poster child for American exceptionalism. And when the harsh reality that the world they are living in doesn't meet these expectations they end it with a oxycontin or a bullet to the brain finish.
ua-cam.com/video/EXJOjJAlEDI/v-deo.html
I think I'm going to have a very unorthodox movie marathon in the form of The Graduate -> Into the Wild -> Fight Club
Generation Gap Angst Triple Feature. Three guys who say HELL NO to what's expected of them.
@@editingsecrets It really is. That's kind of crazy, isn't it?
I feel the last 30 minutes mirror Ben's life and how there's really nothing pushing it forward except elaine
I was supposed to walk across the stage today after 4 years of working towards my degree. Because of Covid-19, my day was taken away from me. So I sat on the couch in my cap and gown and watched this movie instead, eating cake.
Fun Update: Now it’s 2023 and in August I will start my dream masters program at my dream university! Hopefully no global pandemics will get in the way of walking the stage this time.
It will be interesting to see how this social isolation experience affects Millennial & Zoomer movies in the next ten years
I like the screen name and picture.
Good luck for happy future graduation(s)!
Music, cinematography, and themes aside, his life just doesn’t seem realistic. Guy’s 21 and acting that clueless, scared, creepy, weird, and living with his parents even after graduating college? How are both love interest not put off by any of that? Artistically I thought the movie was great but the story seems so far-fetched, I was just baffled.
Just watched the film and this was a great video essay about the movie. I felt a bit of a connection with the film with being uncertain about the future.
This was the first video that I watched of yours. You have such an interesting perspective and understanding. I'm subscribing for more! Thank you for this! 😻
Good lord. Women were not owned in the 60s and smoking wouldn't have been understood as toxicity.
Also Mrs. Robinson is clearly jealous of her daughter and she doesn't want her to get actual connection out of Ben when she can't.
Maybe smoking wouldn't have been understood as toxicity, but Ben did start smoking after starting the affair with Mrs. Robinson. I think it shows the mark that Mrs. Robinson left on Ben, but that's just me.
I don't think she even wanted a connection, she was treating him like a piece of meat. No talking just sex.
@@mickmockedmack No. At the time and among those who still participate in smoking culture, smoking is/was thought of as a kind of stress reliever or stress-related habit. It's something you might do at war or while depressed or while working very hard. That's the idea. Mrs. Robinson has gotten herself into a marriage that she thinks of as a kind of unhappy soul-sucking thing. She does itlike you might do a shitty minimum wage job (granted, with a nice house and good perks, but she's unhappy) and so she smokes heavily. The fact that Ben start smoking is both her influence on him but also the fact that he has himself entered into this depressing line of work with the particular way that he's involved with her.
This is the theme of the movie. All of Ben's most immediate options in life put him right into the kind of life that his parents already lead and the kind of life his parents already lead is portrayed as empty or in some sense stressful or not suited to people. The cigarette is not some metaphor. You smoke a cigarette because times are tough, just like you go to the bathroom when you have to pee. This would have been very obvious in the sixties when smoking was extremely common.
@@prashunpcchakraborty70 Well, I think it's more complicated than that. She's unhappy in her marriage and Ben is a kind of supplement or something. I view the problem with the daughter as *some* kind of jealousy. I don't know if it's jealousy of Ben or jealousy that her daughter might get something out of been that she can't or jealousy that her daughter might get something she can't in general. I'm not sure. But very obviously her reaction to the idea of Ben being with the daughter it's supposed to be some sort of jealousy. Nothing else explains all of her subsequent behavior.
No matter how Elaine and Benjamin end up, they'll always have that the memory of that great wedding scene.
Actually really well done video it’s a shame it doesn’t have more views
“There’s no perfect movie”
Godfather : am I a joke to you
I think the shot with Ben in the scuba gear in the pool is more saying that he feels like he’s beginning to disappear into the obscurity of his environment.
What is obscure about it? That scene lets the viewer feel his detachment and separation from his surroundings and demonstrates how much he is being objectified by those around him, It makes us very aware that no one is getting through to him or even really sees him
I've watched this film a dozen times, and I did not realize Ben took up smoking after avoiding it in college. Also interesting he's a virgin after college. Not likely these days. Hell, not likely in the 1970s.
This video deserves soooo many more views. Well done!
Mary A thanks Mary! This is actually currently my second most viewed video, so I'm pretty pleased with it, but I'm always trying to grow the channel's popularity
If you like this one, be sure and check out Harold and Maude; another older woman/younger man cult flick of the 70's. Its kinda like this movie on steroids, lol! The Harold and Maude soundtrack is equally as awesome...its all cat stevens. he even wrote some songs in it especially FOR that movie that later went on to become #1 hits. ahhh so cool you like this stuff
K Cortani hey, I loved watching Harold and Maude, it amazes you , it's beyond the time and generation
love the J. Cole instrumental
Damn, this is what UA-cam should be for! What a well presented, interesting video!
And, it would never have been so good if it weren't for the Songwriting Genius, Paul Simon.
And Art Garfunkel's harmonies when they were still buddies
I saw the Graduate as a very religious/philosophical film. Nothing material outside of yourself can truly validate you, give your life meaning, or make you happy. The characters are all trapped in the fish tank. Only some are aware of their entrapment.
Watching this film when you're 17 is a terrible idea. Despite this it's still one of my favorites.
I'm 17 and I just watched it yesterday
I figured the pool scene had sliiiiightly less of a meaning, but I don't think that takes away from its brilliance. I thought the biggest aspect of the theme was loneliness, and trying to force that loneliness out of your life. Ben did that by allowing an affair, and then allowing himself to "fall in love" with Elaine. The pool scene, in my interpretation, was his feeling of sheer isolation from the rest of the world -- he feels like the only one going through that loneliness. The reason the scene is brilliant is because Ben doesn't know that we all connect with what he's feeling. Even if we haven't felt 100% that exact way, we know what the emotion is and the hole in your heart that loneliness creates. By the end of the film, he'd wooed Elaine into escaping with him, and she was trying to force out that loneliness as well (causing irreparable damage to her relationship with her mother in the process), and they sat down on the bus, beginning to feel the weight of their actions. Ben has the same look of loneliness on his face as he did at the beginning, because he hadn't learned anything. He hadn't filled the hole in his heart.
But that's the beauty with this film. You can see both the materialism and the lonely aspect while watching it, and it only becomes more clever upon repeat viewings. Almost more emotional as well.
One thing the director did intentionally was cast Hoffman for the sake of having a Jew in a WASP setting - which is why his parents are also waspy.
This is the main thing that I identify with. I’m a Catholic convert and a NY Jew in a WASPY Annapolis environment. Great people, but still this feeling of “something’s off.”
You should to a review of 500 days of summmer
This movie is the literal interpretation of the zombie genre. There is an emptiness in the meaning of life that is palpable in ever shot in the graduate. This movie always has left me feeling unsettled and a pit in my stomach. There is something wrong in this story. The something wrong is like a virus that infiltrates everyone that comes in contact with it. They are all emotionally void of anything real and meaningful (emotional zombies). Modern life has left us bankrupt of connections with anything that truly means something. A young man senses this and has that same pit in his stomach. One that says there has to be more to life than learning how to make the perfect martini and screw your neighbors daughter (or mother in his case).
The end implies that they think they have escaped the virus except when they got there, they realized the "zombies" were there too.
This movie could easily be compared to Dawn of the Dead. They both touch on the exact same themes. In the end, everyone thinks they escaped only to realize there was no escape. The moral of the story: modern life is actually a nightmare.
Night of the Living Dead, the first real zombie movie, came out a year later. Zombies before 1968 were just victims of voodoo.
I have debated this ending with someone for a while. I choose to think optimistically that this is a happy ending. My take or opinion on this movie is that the couple, after realizing how hypocritical their families are, fought for each other. They chose to leave their wealthy families and not live the miserable lives their parents had lived, which was only thinking about social status.
Better to be rich and unhappy than poor and unhappy. Either way, happiness comes from within.
If you think freedom to determine one's destiny is something to be happy about, then definitely, it is a happy ending.
Nice essay. I would like to bring attention to the black and white motif/dark and light motif that is present in the art direction. Virtually every scene in the film has black and white in costume and production design - with the exception of Elaine on the first date (which is full blown color). Even his mother's swimming cap is black and white, even down to the underwear they wear in the hotel, his bedroom, the hotel room itself, his apartment. His car however is that bright red, Elaine wears pink, they park at an outside diner and the kids are technocolor...The play on light vs. dark vs. color is present consistently throughout the entire film and is no mistake. Nichols thought hard about this. The Bride and Groom black and white - get into a bright yellow bus at the end - but they are still black and white at the end.
Interesting thanks!
In my top 5 movies of all time a real classic
what are the other 4 ? Im curious
@@JohnSmith47534 so am i
@@ozdagap1809 its been 3 years and he hasn't replied
@@sameerhafeez7029 maybe if enough people show him that they're interested he just might. So do your part and show some intrigue
@@ozdagap1809 let's do it
The aquarium scene has always resonated for me.
Wow, I never got the impression that Ben and Elaine regretted their actions. They just looked like they were settling into thinking about what's next. Man, are young people really this pessimistic now?
Serai3 Then and now, ma’am, then and now
I think they felt more like they just realized that their actions, while saving them from one bad fate didn't gaurantee that they were any way on a more positive one either, they still were on an uncertain path.
movies are like art or wine...everyone analyzes them differently, according to how they were raised, what they believe and feel, etc...and only the writer (or painter, or winemaker) knows what he really meant to come across. Peace : )
I'm pretty sure that's the entire point of the movie (500) Days Of Summer. Tom, like you, misread the end of the graduate and therefore looks at love like a blissful possibility. Which is why he's so expectant in his relationship with Summer. When they go to The Graduate together and Sumemr leaves crying, Tom doesn't understand.
If the movie was meant to end with them being happy about the decision, it would basically be just another romcom. It's not though. Its outshined countless romantic comedies over more than 50 years now. It's special. Most people honestly don't see it that way, and don't see (500) days of summer that way, and that's okay. But it definitely makes both films much more meaningful. It's honestly the opposite of pessimism, it's an appreciation for the deepness of such a beautiful film.
it seemed like a great choice at time of doing it but they quickly realised that they're not really certain whether if it was the right thing to do. that's my impression
Some movies are beyond criticism, yes you can pick flaws etc but as an art form they’re almost perfect. Think Bridge On The River Kwai, Animal House, Paddington 2 and the Graduate.
I knew nothing about the movie and only watched it because I bought an alfa spider. Cinematography: insane. Acting: great. Story: I'm confused. Overall: watch it right now. Also Wes Anderson definitely watched this and liked the zooms.
I never thought I'd see a Jake Paul clip seamlessly woven into a critical analysis of my favorite movie, but after watching this video, I'm glad you proved me wrong. And I agree- The Graduate is arguably as close to a perfect movie as I've seen (I'd push for American Beauty or Forrest Gump as well). Great work, you've gained a new fan!
Does this movie actually live up to all the hype? What it is actually saying? But more importantly how did Christians let a Jewish-run Studio (not to mention a Jewish director, producer and leading actor) get away with depicting White Anglo-Saxon Protestants in such a negative light without so much as a single criticism? If it had been the other way around and WASPS showed Jews engaged in adultry, alcoholism and abuse, Hollywood and the Media would have undoubtedly labeled it anti-Semitic and burned the negative. Even Roger Ebert, who was a dyed-in-the-wool liberal, was at least honest enough to re-evaluate the film for what it truly was...shallow and borderline offensive.
www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-graduate-1997
If I had directed the Gratuate I would have been tempted to add a voiceover. But kudos to the film: they explained everything using cinematic language.
my english teacher talked about this during class so i watched it, shit was a banger 10/10 recommend. Thank you Mr.Nickel.
Unlikely? improbable? preposterous? falling for a man who was intimate with her very own mother !? With romantic comedy there are moments when humor takes a back seat, the focus on a very real drama. Whether or not the triangle is credible, for the past 51 years we have taken heart in Benjamin's situation. Who can forget the dramatic, comic, climactic final scene from The Graduate? I can not imagine a popular or critically acclaimed sequel. .
The person who analyzes THE GRADUATE does not really do a good job
The best analysis of this movie is in the book IN PURSUIT OF LONELINESS by Philip Slater
Watching this movie as a young girl, my thought was, love conquers all. 50 years on, my thought is, you fools!! What awaits you at the end of that bus ride? A crappy apartment and Spaghetti-Os?
This film has dated badly unfortunately. It was considered groundbreaking especially in its subject matter but now seems almost tame.It's still funny and Dustin Hoffman is truly one of the greatest actors ever but the film is truly a time capsule by 2020.
If it was meant to be a comedy, it failed. Comedies make viewers with a sense of humor laugh out loud. This was depressing from start to finish. Even the best song, Scarborough Faire, accompanied the scene at 7:15 where he finds her at school, only to watch her pass by, then he runs into the street for some unknown reason. Weird.
This movie was a trip. Seduced by an older women, their relationship is so dry and boring. He gets along great with the daughter but it was doomed from the start because of the affair, then he stalked her and she was like ok? But damn that music score and damn that cinematic experience
Nov. 18, 2019 - Me and my girlfriend broke up so I went to the theater to sulk. The Graduate was great. Going after that girl that holds your world together, that gives your life meaning, that you can't have, prompted me to go get her back, win her heart, stop licking my wounds. We were married in 1971 and still remain married, even After many fights and breakups. Everytime we had problems, I remembered his little sports car running out if gas, his running to chapel, upto the loft and "Elaine....Elaine.....Elaine". You can look at it through your best microscope, but you will never understand the effect it has on people's lives!
No one has hit on in all the reviews; 6 months later and the movie would have been tanked. No Vietnam, no long hair, no drugs...music would be dated.
Excellent analysis-- thank you!!
The idea of "Empty" lives.
Never more relevant than today.
Taylor, thank you for your extremely enjoyable breakdown of the film. I first saw it as a 15 year old in 1972 when it came back through the second tier of theaters we had back in the day.
It has been my favorite since then. I have a very emotional attachment to the film, as I was going through that awkward teenage period at the time, and all the “adult”relationships contained within were intriguing and thought provoking.
Again, thank you!
Whatever, about the: 'Bus Scene!' The: 'Wedding Scene,' was awesome! That parents were such jerks, laughing at him, like idiots!... I feel bad, for the groom though... (See what I did there?)
Yoip
6:33 Mrs. Robinson was pregnant? Where did THAT tidbit come from? I've never seen or heard that anyone was pregnant.
No, the only reason she married Mr. Robinson was her unplanned pregnancy with Elaine
@@editingsecrets I must have missed that line. What scene does she say that in, and who does she say it to?
@@JoeDoe2 BEN
Well, wait a minute. You married
him.
(She nods.)
BEN
Why did you do that?
MRS. ROBINSON
(taking off her
stockings)
See if you can guess.
BEN
Well I can't.
MRS. ROBINSON
Think real hard, Benjamin.
BEN
I can't see why you did, unless
...you didn't have to marry him
or anything, did you?
MRS. ROBINSON
Don't tell Elaine.
BEN
Oh no. You had to marry him
because you got pregnant?
MRS. ROBINSON
Are you shocked?
... and they continue with his asking about the circumstances
Ben could have gone to Vietnam, he would have learned a few things there. He is a spoiled brat, and actually has the capability to go wherever or do whatever he wants.
The reason Mrs. Robinson didn't want them to be together is because she didn't want a former boy toy as a son-in-law. Would most mothers of the bride not care about that?
-"Is it a perfect film?"
-Well, Yes it is!
Anyone else notice that the number on the bus "4522" can be interpreted as the year 1967? (45+22=67)
All I need to understand is than Anne Bancroft was a queen and dam beautiful
Insightful analysis! I had all of these feelings about the movie and all of its symbolism but I could never articulate it the way did! Everytime I watch this film there is another aspect I can try to analyze myself (with a push in the right direction😅) but I definitely agree with the Graduate being a near perfect film, it's my favorite movie for a reason:)
I disagree with the film not being about the 60s. Ben is a huge Boomer, having easy access to a comfortable life and not wanting it. Having the older generation yelling at him for not taking it seriously that he can just have this stuff with some effort and it being true is a near alien experience for millennials and even gen X; the sort of “go to good schools, buy a house, get married, have kids, smoke a pipe” cookie cutter lifestyle isn’t available to us - we did all that stuff and work hard, and for most of us this isn’t a possible reality without inheritance. For the boomers, they could treat it as nothing important because they were going to inevitably get it with a very short exertion of effort.
Yes, there’s a generation gap, but the angles are very different, and it’s not so sharp that there’s a complete misunderstanding between the generations. Also, this film doesn’t feel very modern because of how taboo sex is (not the affair part, but the fact Ben hasn’t even considered having sex outside of marriage before, and not in a 40 year old virgin kind of way where simply no one wanted him, but in a “you’re not supposed to do it outside of marriage” kind of way).
Another thing, the idea that parents control their adult offspring is also completely alien to virtually anyone in mainstream western culture after the sexual revolution of the late 1960s. If any of our parents tried something like that, we’d laugh at them, because it’s absurd.
I don’t think a film needs hippies to be a 60s film. I can’t even think of a film from the 60s that has hippies in it, most of those were made in the 1990s or later and are extremely hyperbolized (like Austin Powers). Also, The Graduate takes place in the mid-1960s and was made in 67, while hippies are more associated with the late 60s, particularly the Summer of Love (which hadn’t happened yet when this film was being made) and 1969.
I agree. I'm in GenX and I always saw this as a VERY 60's Boomer Questioning Life type of movie.
masterpiece film 👌
The Graduate 2, The Graduate 3, The Graduate now they are Grandparents?
That was nice. Thank you.
good work man!! thanks for a really good synopsis. i definitely learned something new.
I'm 65 and I'm sure I wanted something when I was young but I could never figure out what.
@You F'coffee You probably needed to do some introspection or even meditation & be more upfront & expressive with the people you were close to or something like that.
Love this! I had a hard time piecing together why his stalking was so unnoticed. You broke this down perfectly
That song is so good
Is it generally well known that Ben is in EVERY scene so, for example, there's no scene just between Mrs Robinson and Elaine or between Elaine's and Ben's parents ?
Just wondering.
The story is only when Ben could have known personally.
Got it at the flea market on VHS got home and my VHS player is broke
Send Benjamin to Vietnam
W review for a W movie
How did he gradueted from collage at 21?
I like how you said thank you at the end
Fantastic insightful analysis, and a great video overall. Thank you!
Holy shit this is soooooooo good
I came here because of a korean movie
Ive just watch ot for the first time, and i dont get why its viewd as sucj a classic. Boring and eventless, the only good thing is the great performance by the actress who plays Mrs Robinson.
Did anyone else pick up on the background music being false prophets
PLEASE lose the constant, competing soundtrack. At one point, you even have it playing over a sample of the movie soundtrack. It makes it impossible to focus on what you're saying and frequently merges with your speech. You don't have to have sound playing through the whole video -- you can use it for an intro and then split the audio track and fade it out just like you would any other visual intro clip. I'd hate to give up on your channel entirely, but there's no point if you are not going to provide clear speech or even subtitles. I've noticed you have some videos where the sound is at 50% of normal as well. You might want to check your editor's defaults, because what you're hearing is not what we're hearing, and also not normal for UA-cam.
How does anyone know what their future holds?
woah this was pre-covid
They went on to marry, have gen X then leave them to raise themselves as they continued their search for "fulfillment", divorce, remarry then have millenials they hovered over too much.
this is my favorite movie, i didnt like the ending though it was a cliff hanger
Its what makes it so good