Coming Of Age Film Essay
Growth in characters is a major characteristic of the “coming of age” film. The young characters rebel, find their “true” self, and have problems with the authority that exists. Most often these characters grow as they find the source of their rebellion and “find” themselves. Growth comes easily to the “coming of age” film because of the age of the characters and the natural mental social changes of that time. Growth is important to a “coming of age” film because it includes the four main elements of a coming of age film; retaliation by a young adult, breaking free, relationship problems, and messages from adults to the young adult. All of those four elements help the character grow from the beginning to the end of the movie. By watching The Graduate and Dead Poets Society one
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finds that while both remain excellent “coming of age” films Dead Poets Society portrays more growth in it’s young adult characters. In The Graduate Ben is the young adult character. His growth as a character is shown vividly throughout the film. This is because he is the only young adult character that the movie is fixated upon. Ben starts the movie as a nonparticipating yes-man. He does not want to talk to or be near anyone of his parents many adult friends, but subjugated to them immediately. Many of the adults in the film, including his parents and Mrs. Robinson use him and tell him what to do constantly. Ben’s actual aspirations are meaningless because every other character walks over him like a small child. Ben has told time and time again that he must do something. This is especially consistent of his parents who in one scene circle around him like sharks while he lies in the pool. Ben does not stay a yes man in The Graduate, he becomes more independent slowly before suddenly snapping. He finds what he wants to do and does it. He rushes off from the constraints that people have put upon him and follows Elaine. He stops listening to the other people that controlled him. Is Ben really growing from his brash behavior and new found passion? No, he really does not grow too much by breaking free because he does not entirely “find” what he wants. He definitely has grown enough to be able to rebel but his total vision is unchanged, he does not know what he wants. There is a telling scene at the end, after Ben has run away with Elaine, where it is the two of them sitting on the bus with blank faces. Ben knows he needs to do something but even after he did something he doesn’t know what he actually wants. Ben is free, but entirely unsure of himself through the end of the movie. Dead Poets Society differs from The Graduate in that its characters do grow completely.
Actually all of the characters exempting the red haired student are able to find themselves as unique entities outside of the system that oppresses them. One can see the characters journey as more complete in part because there are more characters and their combined journey creates a complete image of the “coming of age” experience. Dead Poets Society is based in the perfect setting for the coming of age film, strict fifties culture and a strict private school. We see the boys’ transformation from these obedient students into self thinking individuals. This happens from odd source considering the normal themes of a “coming of age” film; their teacher. It is Mr. Keating that leads them “astray” from the rigid discipline of the school. Mr.Keating is considered more odd as this source of inspiration when the views of the institution on individuality are captured by this quote from one of the teachers “Freethinkers at seventeen. Hah.” The boys transformation is aptly considered complete when they rise up on their desks in the face of the old headmaster who has persecuted them in their love of Mr.
Keating. Dead Poets Society decides to portray their characters’ growth in a more communal manor. This is most likely because of the school atmosphere. The characters learn to grow with each other into their own unique people. This contributes to the college of “coming to age” experiences that is formed. You have the rebellious Newanda who took it too far in his rebellion against authority and was expelled, you have Neil who found his passion in acting and took his own life after he was denied that passion in the romantics way, there is also a love story, and Todd the new kid who while quite the entire movie is the one who strikes the fires of rebellion and rises up first against the headmaster. This collage makes one see the entirety of “coming to age” experience. The Graduate and Dead Poets Society certainly both portray growth and the “coming of age” experience, but they do so in different ways. Ben in The Graduate grows from the nonparticipating yes-man into a rattled youth who steals the daughter of his affair, but he never finds what he is looking for. Ben makes a decision, but he does so only to make a decision. This is different from Dead Poets Society where you have a collage of the “coming of age “ experience that is complete in their journey. The characters in Dead Poets Society certainly portray more growth of character than Ben does.
finds that while both remain excellent “coming of age” films Dead Poets Society portrays more growth in it’s young adult characters. In The Graduate Ben is the young adult character. His growth as a character is shown vividly throughout the film. This is because he is the only young adult character that the movie is fixated upon. Ben starts the movie as a nonparticipating yes-man. He does not want to talk to or be near anyone of his parents many adult friends, but subjugated to them immediately. Many of the adults in the film, including his parents and Mrs. Robinson use him and tell him what to do constantly. Ben’s actual aspirations are meaningless because every other character walks over him like a small child. Ben has told time and time again that he must do something. This is especially consistent of his parents who in one scene circle around him like sharks while he lies in the pool. Ben does not stay a yes man in The Graduate, he becomes more independent slowly before suddenly snapping. He finds what he wants to do and does it. He rushes off from the constraints that people have put upon him and follows Elaine. He stops listening to the other people that controlled him. Is Ben really growing from his brash behavior and new found passion? No, he really does not grow too much by breaking free because he does not entirely “find” what he wants. He definitely has grown enough to be able to rebel but his total vision is unchanged, he does not know what he wants. There is a telling scene at the end, after Ben has run away with Elaine, where it is the two of them sitting on the bus with blank faces. Ben knows he needs to do something but even after he did something he doesn’t know what he actually wants. Ben is free, but entirely unsure of himself through the end of the movie. Dead Poets Society differs from The Graduate in that its characters do grow completely.
Actually all of the characters exempting the red haired student are able to find themselves as unique entities outside of the system that oppresses them. One can see the characters journey as more complete in part because there are more characters and their combined journey creates a complete image of the “coming of age” experience. Dead Poets Society is based in the perfect setting for the coming of age film, strict fifties culture and a strict private school. We see the boys’ transformation from these obedient students into self thinking individuals. This happens from odd source considering the normal themes of a “coming of age” film; their teacher. It is Mr. Keating that leads them “astray” from the rigid discipline of the school. Mr.Keating is considered more odd as this source of inspiration when the views of the institution on individuality are captured by this quote from one of the teachers “Freethinkers at seventeen. Hah.” The boys transformation is aptly considered complete when they rise up on their desks in the face of the old headmaster who has persecuted them in their love of Mr.
Keating. Dead Poets Society decides to portray their characters’ growth in a more communal manor. This is most likely because of the school atmosphere. The characters learn to grow with each other into their own unique people. This contributes to the college of “coming to age” experiences that is formed. You have the rebellious Newanda who took it too far in his rebellion against authority and was expelled, you have Neil who found his passion in acting and took his own life after he was denied that passion in the romantics way, there is also a love story, and Todd the new kid who while quite the entire movie is the one who strikes the fires of rebellion and rises up first against the headmaster. This collage makes one see the entirety of “coming to age” experience. The Graduate and Dead Poets Society certainly both portray growth and the “coming of age” experience, but they do so in different ways. Ben in The Graduate grows from the nonparticipating yes-man into a rattled youth who steals the daughter of his affair, but he never finds what he is looking for. Ben makes a decision, but he does so only to make a decision. This is different from Dead Poets Society where you have a collage of the “coming of age “ experience that is complete in their journey. The characters in Dead Poets Society certainly portray more growth of character than Ben does.