Control In The Film 'The Graduate'

Everyone wants to have the power, the power to change someones life or control it. In The Graduate directed by Mike Nichols, Benjamin Braddock has just graduated college and returns home. He has no control over his life, his parents still control him and then so does Mrs. Robinson. Mrs. Robinson demands control over every scene she is in and even frames of scenes she is not present in. Camera draws all the attention to Mrs. Robinson when she’s on screen. In the scene where Mr. Robinson returns home from Ben’s party and Ben and Mr. Robinson are just drinking and taking, Mrs. Robinson walks in. She is not lit well and though she is in middle screen she is also just an outline in the background. She could have easily become part off the background but she demanded the attention and power of the scene. She comes from the background to the foreground by walking in-between the mens conversation. Mrs. Robinson also shifts from out of focus to in focus. As if the character is demanding
to be seen, demanding the power of the scene. She holds the audiences attention even though she is far on the left of the screen. In one simple phrase she affirms the power when she tells Ben to sit back down and he does. Ben knew she had all the power and the audience knew it and could feel it. This scene also plays on the rule of thirds. Its a shot of two people that each have their own space and when Mrs. Robinson enters through the middle she carves out a space for herself. Making each character have a third and their own space. Mrs.
Robinson demonstrates power off screen. In the scene where Mrs. Robinson sends Ben to go get her purse from downstairs. Ben is scared and just wants to leave it on the stairs. Mrs. Robinson will not et him. Not only is her voice powerful here but the way they placed Ben. He is on the stairs, so no matter what if Mrs. Robinson is in shot or not he will always be lower than her till he makes it all the way up, because she is upstairs. Even when he makes it up the stairs he is following each and everyone of her commands. The camera angles also help with this power dynamic. The camera is at the top of the stairs looking down at Ben. This makes Ben look small, weak, and far away from the power character. Not until he reached the top of the stairs does he even get on the same level as the camera, and when he is it is only for a brief second. The viewer can tell Mrs. Robinson has al the power from the way the frame of the shot looks even when she is not in the scene and from Ben’s
actions. According to Peter Bradshaw, a film critic, “a modern audience might also, paradoxically, be much less content with the villainous role the film finally assigns to Mrs. Robinson, be more sympathetic to her midlife crisis”(Bradshaw). Mrs. Robinson tries to take advantage of Ben and uses her power to do so. Audiences back when this came out where not all found of this but today people sit and wonder if the gender roles were switched. Incense this movie is a women in the position of power not everyone sees that it is a problem, or if they do they are more understanding. The Graduate is a film that looked at through modern lens could be problematic but people still watch and celebrate this film today. This film plays on power dynamics through action, dialogue, camera angles, and frame set up. The Graduate shows many different tricks for showing somebody has more power without coming out and saying it. Who do you feel controls the power of this film weather they are on screen or not.