The Graduate Gilm Analysis

The alumnus Gilm AnalysisThe phrase New Hollywood originally achieved extensive practise to express a new wave of films and four- form-old film trailors that emerged between the mid-to- recent 1960s to the mid-to-late 1970s a phenomenon more(prenominal) frequently regarded as the Hollywood spiritual rebirth. Amongst these infantile directors included Mike Nichols whose massive box office hit The refine (1967), became one of the momentous, landmark films of the period, and easeed to put in motion an innovative modern age of film production. Freshness and originality (traceable to the French New Wave) at bottom an embedded framework of classical Hollywood elbow room could be the most fitting mode to symbolise the formal structure of The Graduate. Having emerged from the post studio era of production, a period when Hollywood was producing a spirited number of successful cutting meet films, The Graduate follows popular trends by setting let on to offer a probing depictio n of American society. Through its mixture of old and new Hollywood rhetorical conventions, The Graduate realistically captures the 1960s agriculture of young personful alienation, disillusionment, opposition to the status quo and middle class set, and the maturation cynicism of a younger generation against the ripened generation.An regalia of industrial factors was significant to both the emergence of young directors wish thoroughly Mike Nichols and the changing content in films of the Hollywood Renaissance. The dec rakehell of vertically integrated companies in concert with a large decrease in cinema attendances, contributed towards the ending of the studio system of production, and opened the gate vogues for a thematically different style of film-making. Consequently, individual packages were assembled a format that gave directors like Nichols more authority, money and freedom to stamp their authority on film projects. Due to these rapid modifications in industrial facto rs, American values were in like manner being challenged. The success of raiseually explicit films like The Man with the Golden Arm, led to an adjustment of the production code. With barriers falling, Nichols was allowed to portray adultery, strifes and near openness in The Graduate. Films no longer had to strictly target the family audience. Hence, Nichols pushed the limits, pushing the restrictions of both stylistic medium, and of taste. The idea of an older married woman (Mrs Robinson played by Anne Bancroft) eagerly seducing a young college graduate almost half her age ( benjamin Braddock played by Dustin Hoffman) was deemed controversial by many older audiences at the time, yet proven really effectual in targeting juvenility audiences. The film was thought of as bringing something new to Hollywood.However, although The Graduate has been bracketed as a product of New Hollywood, it is authoritative to note that most of its word pictures adhere to the classical style of ed iting, mainly because continuity editing and conventional form was a proven successful formula in Hollywood cinema it remained ideal for constructing narratives that were visually uncomplicated to follow. The opening scene of The Graduate is principally con drive by the rules of classical Hollywood style for reasons like this, and so that audiences are presented with a rational believable world. The film begins with a close-up of Benjamin Braddocks face the white background focuses attention on his steely unmoving gaze. The composition of this shot accentuates his look of disillusionment to the audience. It seems he is isolated, but the camera steadily zooms out, revealing him to be on an aeroplane packed with passengers. By cinematography his muted bodily movement on the automatic walkway in one slow extended take, the sense of Benjamins isolation is heightened Nichols is of course shaping up a narrative to reflect the disillusionment of the youth culture of his day, and as we le arn later, Benjamins time to come reservations. Together with the popular non-diegetic soundtrack Sound of Silence, Benjamins mood is absolutely encapsulated within the opening credits.Since the lyrics of Sounds of Silence coincide with Benjamins behaviour, it almost becomes a second language for the film. The song, produced by the folk music duo Simon and Garfunkel, became an instant hit with the youth culture of the 1960s it reached number one on New Years day (1966). In the opening, it matches salubrious with the slow pace and continuity of the scene the solemn edge and dim emotional colouring of the track underline the psychological difficulties Benjamin is experiencing.It is only when the shot of Benjamin exiting the airport dissolves to a shot of him expressing his qualms about future aspirations, that the resumeers are able to distinguish the basis of his psychological commotion.By presenting a conventional older community who dont understand Benjamins troubles, the spect ators build shame towards Benjamin. In this second close up of his face, Benjamin conveys a slight look of apprehension as he tries to explain to his headt out (Mr. Braddock played by William Daniels) of his need to be different. However, Benjamins worries about his future are seemingly ignored. His father seems more concerned about keeping up appearances and persuading his son to attend to the guests of the home-coming caller. This scene draws directly to the 1960s culture of youthful isolation, because like some(prenominal) young individuals of his generation, Benjamin emerged from the safe haven of the college lifestyle, only to feel confounded and extremely hesitating about his future career. His parents, however, spotlight their self-absorbed intentions by coaxing him chargestairs as opposed to understanding his predicament the party just seems like a reason for them to parade their material possessions to their friends. Hence, young people loved the movie because it spiritedlighted their anxieties, and in the process it put down parents as self-obsessed immoral clods who only precept life through the narrow lens of class structure and wealth.Another technique used to represent the oblivious older generation is when the middle-aged guests of the home-coming party find themselves communicating in third person about Benjamin, even whilst he is positioned quite close to them. Combined with their invasive ways (almost pressuring Benjamin into an resolution about his future), none of them truly comprehend Benjamins desires. In looking troubled and hesitant about future goals, Benjamin appears to be resisting the quintessence of the supposed American dream a complete American education, followed by a lucrative career. Like young people of his time, he is finding it difficult to come to harm with the institutionalised adult working life awaiting him. During the party Benjamin is constantly sur move by a swarm of older people who want to adulation his academic achievements or pick upion him about his future this only further adds to his claustrophobic mindset. Even after escaping the middle-aged crowd to refuge of his sleeping room, he is discontinue by Mrs Robinson and feels trapped once more. Within the same shot that Mrs Robinson is being framed in the doorway, Ben is also framed within the world of his fish armoured combat vehicle another symbol of imprisonment that is repeated several times throughout the film. Indeed Benjamin is like a fish himself shy, introvert and feeling wholly in an ocean of emptiness. The classical editing in the opening of the film attains a smooth and faultless style of narration, allowing the sweetheart to effortlessly track the direction of the narrative the viewers can feel the tension created when Benjamins inner conflicts are crossed with a non-understanding older generation.Further continuity editing is used to maintain clear narrative action (a feature of several successful films of the Hollywood Renaissance) as well as build up the moments leading up to the bedroom scene, in which Mrs Robinson will attempt to seduce Benjamin. In an establishing long shot of Mrs Robinsons shack, Benjamin is persuaded to accompany Mrs Robinson inside. As Benjamin enters, he is surrounded by a porch made of all glass, making the environment outside entirely noticeable. The huge trees and thick green bushes outside, give the appearance of a tropical jungle this could be a metaphor to illustrate Mrs Robinsons pursuit of Benjamin. Also, in one of the most infamous frames within a frame shot where Benjamin is framed perfectly under Mrs Robinsons leg, Mrs Robinson again takes on the more dominant position between them she takes up the role of a predator whilst he becomes the young vulnerable prey. These portrayals of a sexually aggressive woman perhaps symbolises how easily the older generation and society can lead a fretful, alter individual astray if he or she deviates from fo rming a meaningful purpose towards life. Benjamin, who is already feeling lost, is caught off guard and becomes easy pickings for Mrs Robinson to take advantage.From an industrial perspective, Mrs Robinsons pursuit of Benjamin is important in establishing her constructed gender role she is neither a liberated woman (who will leave her save and pursue her romantic desires) nor a line upist firm suburban housewife. During the 1960s, women roles were shifting from 1950s image of subservient housewives, to a more rebellious independent role. However, Mrs Robinson plays both the unhappy suburban housewife as well an explicitly sexual woman chasing an affair. She is shown as asserting her authority and sexual prowess over Benjamin, yet is still bound by her sex and dealings with men her representation is a result of the film industrys incapability to cut free from the conventional portrays of women so prevalent throughout the history of early Hollywood cinema. Julia Anderson states, M ost viewers were not interested in watching, and Hollywood was not interested in funding a determined woman as a popular fe young-begetting(prenominal) lead. Thus, Mrs Robinson is a gripping protagonist one of the most renowned in Hollywood, in fact, but when her character is measured in cost of gender depiction, it is plain to see she is not gripping because of her accomplishments, but because of her villain like role. And her whole story circulates around her relationships with a member of the opposite sex as a result she remains a fe virile character that is defined by her association with a man, instead of her own defiant or heroic actions.The extent of Mrs Robinsons overwhelming sexual needs bears resemblance to the dissatisfied, sexually frustrated housewife described by Betty Friedan in her Feminine mystique (1963). Although Mrs Robinson had been pressure into spousal relationship as a result of becoming pregnant, she is put in a hopeless position to escape the marriage, possibly since she has become financially dependant on her husband. In having conformed to the archetypal housewife role rather than pursuing a professional career, it could be argued that she has become consumed by the feminine mystique a lifestyle which careless(predicate) of true love keeps women, in many cases, interested due to the wealth of material possessions and money they receive. In Mrs Robinsons case, the combination of a loveless relationship and saturnine housewife commitments makes her more field of study to an increased sexual appetite. Thus, Mrs Robinson only engages in the affair to use Benjamin as defence mechanism to bring herself out of her miserable existence within marriage.The cinematography techniques used to capture Mrs Robinsons growing sexual desires for Benjamin, are utilisations of a move away from classical Hollywood style the lightning fast cuts and other disorientating effects in the bedroom scene create the feeling of restiveness, impatience and a great sense of sexual hunger on Mrs Robinsons part. One of the reasons in using discontinuity techniques was because it was a study component for films deserving to be categorised as part of a new wave or renaissance. In this case it is effectively used to represent the turning point in the film not only does it highlight Mrs Robinsons sexual urges, but the fast editing simultaneously reflects the growing tension and awkwardness on Benjamins part. This time he is framed over Mrs Robinsons shoulder and it is clear to detect his uncomfortable reactions when presented by the fully unclothed Mrs Robinson. By applying a slow opening to The Graduate and contrasting it with these bursts of rapid cuts, the visual impact of the seduction is made much greater to the audience the full force of Mrs Robinsons desire is projected onto the viewer, who up until now has been comfortable experiencing the largely unnoticeable style of editing. Films like The Graduate and others of the Hollywood Renaissance period aimed to move away from directing entire films via strict continuity regimes they aimed for a newer exciting dimension of stylistic techniques and current gimmicks to reflect characters emotions. The fact that Benjamin is emotionally at a crisis himself, makes the subsequent affair with an older married woman all the more worthless.The whole feeling of worthlessness surrounding the affair between Mrs Robinson and Benjamin is brilliantly captured in the musically backed montage, a segment that uses rapid editing and special effects a more direct use of discontinuity style thought to have been borrowed from the films of the French New Wave (La Nouvelle Vague). During the montage, one scene is edited so that it appears Benjamin is drifting between his parents house to the hotel room he shares with Mrs Robinson. Afterwards, in a disorientating match-cut, Benjamin is shown climbing up onto his home swimming pool raft and landing on top of Mrs Robinson in the hotel bed they share perhaps another symbol to symbolise Benjamins downward spiral in life, and his plunge to new lows by partaking in the affair. Within the several jarring cuts that show Benjamin walking back and forth into these separate spheres, the non-diegetic soundtracks Sound of Silence followed and April Come She Will play in the background in illustrating compressed narrative information within the montage, the sequences of events highlights their loveless affair, and demonstrates how Benjamin is submitting himself to Mrs Robinson in order to block out the purposelessness and bleakness of his life over the summer. Nichols purposefully contradicts continuity here to stamp his mark on the film in borrowing successful elements of the French New Wave, he is able to add that major ingredient of innovation so important to films in and around his period, and use it portray the feeling of youth disillusionment manifest in his society.It could be also argued that the increased discontinuit y techniques in the musically backed montage have a more political purpose rather than merely reflecting character moods. By having a more jarring sporadic style of editing, viewers becomes more alert to messages in the film, and start to question dominant ideologies in society. In this case, Benjamins refusal in submitting to neither the plastics world of the older generation or any other city profession shows his rejection of the status quo and middle class ideals a similar rejection shown by the youth rebellion of the 1960s. More concern in emphasised on Benjamins need to belong and find his identity as opposed to following the traditional way of American life fulfilling his education and entering a commercial, corporate based occupation.Through Benjamins almost robotic, strained replies to his father questions, he is resisting the standardised American way of living in hopes to search for a more fulfilling existence. Thus, his feelings of aimlessness directly reflect the youth generation of the time who equally drifted for prolonged periods of time whilst assay to determine an aim in life. Benjamins feelings of discontent are justifiable because as Friedan would argue, many young men who willingly conformed to corporate life in the late 1960s realised that the purposelessness of their work kept them from feeling like men. For reasons like these, Benjamin refrains from following the old-fashioned way of living that his parents have occupied. preferably he enters a passionless affair and drifts around at his parents pool as a form of escapism.Pushing narrative boundaries and including illicit representations of sex in the affair between Benjamin and Mrs Robinson were thoughtfully calculated by the film to target the 1960s American youth rebellion culture. In an era when the bowel movement Picture Association of America (MPAA) no longer had the final contribution in the films story, Nichols was free of most strict censorships. This allowed him to openly f orefront facets of the youthful counterculture in doing so The Graduate targeted younger audiences (the major cinema ticket consumers in the late 1960s). Since younger people preferred films that dealt more explicitly with sex, Nichols audience targeting dodge proved very cost effective and ticket sales rocketed with the film earning a box office gross of $105m. Large amounts of that gross match were down to Nichols innovative film techniques which pushed home the feelings of the youth counterculture uncertainty, fear, and a general lack of direction in life.Another reason for Nichols to offer the clear rejection of classical explicit cinematic form (evident in the scenes previously mentioned) was because many film directors who employed such techniques in various scenes of their films were held up in admiration at the time, whilst Hollywood films restricted by conventional narrative flow were condemned. Films like Easy Rider and Bonnie and Clyde were largely greeted with huge su ccess for their innovative trendy stylistic approach. Described as a period of great artistic achievement based on new freedom and widespread experimentation, these new formal styles became very profitable for selling huge box office hits, and helped cement the Hollywood Renaissance a golden age in Hollywood history.Moreover, by using new off the wall techniques, Nichols perhaps shows his desire to be held in the same admiration of previously successful forward thought directors like Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chapin and Howard Hawks, who were much-admired for their high film art, and auteur status. Considering the new found freedom that directors of the Hollywood Renaissance had, the films of the period have been mostly understood in terms of the efforts of the artistic auteur. Hence, Nichols too has been regarded as a filmmaker creating his own personal style of directing. For exampleThe scene which celebrates Benjamins 21st birthday is important in establishing the psychological burdens Benjamin is suffering a mindset which mirrors the youth alienation and counterculture of the 1960s. Through avant-garde techniques, Nichols positions the viewers in Benjamins viewpoint (looking out of a scuba diving mask), and forces them to experience Benjamins feelings of entrapment as he makes his uncomfortable transition from a boy to a mature man. Benjamins visions reveal a blurry image of his parents faces this together with muted sounds of the middle-aged crowd could be representative of Benjamin being too caught up in his own thoughts to acknowledge anything, especially the overbearing views of the older generation he wants to block out. As well as moving lethargically towards the pool and finally sinking to the bottom of it, this scene cements the foundation for his growing rebellion towards his elders. Like the youth alienated society of the day, Benjamin prefers to blank out the real world. Before he decides to emerge in front of the birthday guests in his scuba d iving outfit, Benjamins replies to his father are packed by unusually high pitched bleats of apprehension dad can we please talk about this for a second. The anxiety that punctuates Benjamins line deliveries accentuates his uptight frame of mind, and becomes a point of resistance against his parents. Not only does this add to the comedic element of the film, but by presenting comedy in its blackest sort, these instances positions the viewer to laugh at American materialistic values the need to flaunt material wealth as a means of maintaining class hierarchies. The fact that Benjamins father feels the need to highlight the price of the scuba diving mask to the birthday guest only further affirms this.As Benjamin moves sluggishly towards the pool, it is interesting to note the parallels of Nicholass point of view shots with Alfred Hitchcocks they both create a similar feeling of discomfort in the viewer. Like Hitchcock, Nichols too questions the root of regular human behaviours by a ligning the viewer to the protagonists dissenting action through point of view. The increased volume of Benjamins breathing appears to be a sound which transcends from realism to expressionism and it fits in well with Benjamins troubled mood. In this way viewer feels they are partaking in scopophilic and often pervasive acts, sharing a strong bond with Benjamin. As continuity editing paints a more naturalistic ordered world, these avant-garde techniques can be viewed as mirroring the disordered society of the 1960s- youthful alienation and rebellion to middle class norms.Moreover, Benjamins behaviour and strained replies to his father are significant in establishing Benjamins identity crisis an issue which reflects the gender crisis of the 1960s. During the 1960s, new notions about maleness were starting to surface the counterculture sought to change over the traditional one dimensional understanding of man. In contexts to Benjamins world, he encounters the suburban middle-class ideas of the older generation and their traditional understanding of manhood a well rounded education, followed by a future in plastics. However, by rejecting this lifestyle in hopes to seek his true identity, Benjamin models himself on the modern image of the American male one who has a greater vision as opposed to conforming to the rather straightforward life presented to him by his father one that he is readily expected to lead. Just like in The Graduate, the older generation of Nichols time did not recognize that the gender roles for men were changing it was only due to the growing counterculture asserting new attitudes towards gender that finally produced a young politicised generation who were on the lookout for their true individuality. The film thus mocks the traditional views of the older generation, particularly the materialistic wealth and snobbery that Benjamins father constantly parades to his friends.In addition to the changing gender roles of the 1960s, Dustin Hof fmans projection of a wholly different type of masculinity in The Graduate could be down to industrial factors. In a period when the industry was in flux, older notions of star power as highly desired commodities were concurrently on the decline the rebirth of Hollywood cinema in the mid-to-late 1960s provided room for new stars to be born. This allowed Nichols to move away from limning the traditional male hero one who was physically imposing, clearly motivated by an aim, and a man of more action rather than words. Nichols, on the contrary, presents the viewer with a male hero (Benjamin) who is small, introvert, awkward, indecisive, and feels lost throughout the film. As The Graduate was entering Hollywood cinema at a time where films were projecting high innovation, it could be argued that Nichols opts to go for something new in his characters to represent this trend. In the process he undermines classical narrative convention by portraying a male hero who has no clear motivatio ns. Therefore as well as reflecting the changing gender dynamics of the period, Nichols gives rise to a new kind of star impersonation in his male hero.Moreover, Katharine Rosss character Elaine (the daughter of Mrs Robinson and Benjamins true love) also reflects the changing gender attitudes of the 1960s. At a time when the womens movement was gathering in strength, so the depiction of women in Hollywood cinema was also shifting. By ultimately rejecting the prospect of a mundane marriage and suburban lifestyle, Elaine liberates herself from the lifestyle forced on her by her parents she shows herself to be capable of making decisions about her future. However, in choosing to marry Benjamin, Elaines representation reflects how marriage was still deemed imperative to the fulfilment of femininity in the 1960s. Nonetheless, the educated Elaine thinks independently, and like Benjamin, she chooses to abandon the older generational norms in favour for her self-fulfilment and romantic desi res. The institution she attends for her college education (Berkeley) is also an important place for constructing her forward thinking mentality since it was the centre of radical movements including class, gender and politics. By ending the film with Elaines romantic escape, the film stays also stays in touch with the 1967s year of proclaimed summer of love.Even though there is a slight change in the gender roles for the female protagonists, the women in The Graduate still conform to ingrained patriarchal norms, thus making the film a product of its time. The 1960s was a period where the second wave of feminism was gaining momentum, however in the face of these changes, inequality between the sexes remained accordingly, the Hollywood industry only made minor adaptations in female character roles to reflect this. Benjamins mother and Mrs Robinson still wait a feminine role, acting as subservient counterparts to their working husbands, and although Elaine is an educated woman, her p art in the story is mainly as a foil to Benjamins quest for identity. Moreover, in the shots of Mrs Robinsons legs and semi naked body, she can be viewed as what Laura Mulvey would state, an object of the male gaze. The leopard print coat which Mrs Robinson wears on her first meeting with Benjamin at the hotel is an important animal motif representative of her sexually predatory nature she adheres to the voyeuristic erotic pleasures of the male audience. Although it can be argued Mrs Robinson is an assertive sexual subject in her own right, the counter argument would assert that she merely upholds sexual power over a physically petite, self-conscious, unconfident young man one whos young enough to be her son. In casting two aesthetically attractive women protagonists in Mrs Robinson and Elaine, The Graduate becomes another film of its time which fulfils the neurotic needs of the male egoFurthermore, the affair between Mrs Robinson and Benjamin is mainly a manifestation of an old fa shioned male fantasy having a sexual affair with an older married woman. From this viewpoint, The Graduate places constraints on its radicalism and rather offers a constructed form of narrative experimentation in order to attract widespread audiences. By depicting this male fantasy, the film once again lives up to patriarchal norms.Due to the patriarchal norms of the time, The Graduate also keeps in conventional Hollywood custom by naturally focusing on a male protagonist in the narrative. The entire film revolves around Benjamin and, in typical fashion, the focus remains on his character development, identity struggle (making the adjustment from youth to adulthood), and the sexual relationships he gets caught up in. Mrs Robinson and Elaine, who are the key women protagonists in the narrative, are only defined in their sexual relationships with Benjamin. This demonstrates the Hollywood industrys tendency to heavily rely on the individuality of a male hero. The major success of The Graduate just became another platform for the industry to persist with notions of a male hero, whilst female characters had constraints on their freedom and remained mostly marginalised.Nonetheless, Elaine does have a good measure of freedom, and it is perhaps this along with her youth which make the psychologically and sexually suppressed Mrs Robinson jealous of her consequently Mrs Robinson perhaps has an affair with Benjamin to reclaim her lost youth. To her, Benjamin provides the only escape of happiness in an otherwise dreary traditional suburban housewife life with a man she no feelings for. When the audience are made to realise Mrs Robinson and her husband share separate beds, one becomes conscious that they merely live under the false pretence of a happy marriage to keep up appearances in a rigid class structured society. It is aspects like these with which The Graduate is attacking the conformist ideals attached to middle-class values. Due to the dispirited, biting sati re of the film, one cannot help but find the whole situation amusing, especially the dialogue regarding the moments Mr Robinson discovers the affair in Benjamins defence he says, it didnt mean anythingwe might just as well have been shaking handsI dont love your life, I love your daughter sir to which Mr Robinson replies, As far as Elaines concerned, you are to get her out of your unsportsmanlike mindand thats all Ben, youll pardon me if I dont shake hands with you. Benjamins awkward, spontaneous replies are so absurd that one cannot help but laugh. The interchanging comments between them fend for the many comic moments of the film comedy gives an effective platform to mock the societal values of the traditional American people a direct example of this is when Benjamin, in his lifeless monotone voice replies no sir to Mr Robinsons question about whether Benjamin respects him. The films ability to confine all these serious moral issues into dark humour reflects the growing confide nce of filmmakers, and the freedom that allowed them to assemble contentious film projects around multiple genres.Overall, although the period of transition in the Hollywood industry during the mid-fifties and sixties bought much needed freedom to filmmakers, The Graduate still remained an industrial product the film speaks to a incessant helplessness in the world, and inability to change and to create change for example, when The Graduate does portray action, it is performed by an isolated hero in a particularly antisocial method (going against societal norms and traditions), further establishing that true(a) change, collectively carried out, is unattainable. Even though Benjamin and Elaine escape together in a typical happy ending, they do it at the expense of leaving their families buttocks after everything, the final shot of them staring blankly into space is an uncomfortable one, especially Benjamin who produces the same look of disillusionment like the one in the opening of the film. Nichols does very well in artistically capturing the themes of the 1960 counterculture however, in a commercially dominated industrial sphere, Nichols is inevitably indebted to stay within the constraints of total freedom of expression because he needs to get the film funded. By using calculated methods of visual experimentation and having a very constructed radical plot, The Graduate ensures economical success and with it, the widespread appreciation of the film from audiences.