The Graduate Film Analysis

“There’s a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?” said by Mr. McGuire to Benjamin Braddock, the main character. The film, The Graduate, directed by Mike Nichols in 1967 shows the audience how hard it is to stand out in a “plastic” world through the uses of screenplay, performance, cinematography, music and sound.
Nichols wanted us to feel what Benjamin felt as well as be engaged in his decisions. Nichols achieved this by using subjective shots in the film. The cinematography in this film shows many symbols that are often the protagonist’s point of view which caused the audience to feel a sense of support and empathy for the protagonist.
In the opening scene of the film, the camera is zoomed up on Benjamin’s face,
Robinson’s daughter. Mrs. Robinson isn’t okay with Benjamin because she thinks that, yes, he’s good enough to have sex with but not good enough to date her daughter. The theme of this movie is fitting into a plastic world. The plastic industry was on the turn of the century and everyone was working at a plastic factory because it was the “it” thing. The clash between two different generations was obvious in the film. First you would see that the older generation is more materialistic, old school and about older ways where the new generation of kids graduating from college are more about living in the moment. They don’t need a million dollars in order to have a successful
Robinson as well as Benjamin and Elaine. For example, the scene where he’s talking to Mrs. Robinson in the hotel room when they were arguing about Elaine showed that Benjamin cared about Mrs. Robinson’s feelings. Benjamin seemed to also want to honor his family’s request in him going out on a date with Elaine. But when Benjamin goes out on a date with Elaine, he realizes that he loves her and he shows her who he really is. At this point in the film, the audience can tell that Benjamin has finally found himself because of Elaine. “Are you going to Scarborough Fair?” Lyrics from the song Scarborough Fair, written by Simon and Garfunkel evokes alienation and depression in Benjamin when he realizes that he just lost the love of his life. The song suggests that the writer loves someone and will only be with them if they do the impossible. This relates to Benjamin and Elaine in a way. For example, Elaine doesn’t want to be with Benjamin for the sole reason that he slept with her mom. Benjamin basically interrupts Elaine’s wedding even though she already went through with it but still whisked her away, running off