The Graduate

The Graduate

Throughout the movie The Graduate by Mike Nichols I picked up on the use of motifs and how they were significant. The first time you see a motif used is when Mrs. Robinson sneaks in on Benjamin while he is in Elaine's room. You see Mrs. Robinson's reflection through the portrait of Elaine which represents how she is trying to act younger than she is. She is trying to act like her daughter would. It also shows how she has to be secretive about what she is doing because what she's doing in proper and shouldn't be done.

Another scene where you see motif being used is in the scene where Mrs. Robinson comes to meet Benjamin at the hotel bar. You see her reflection upside down which represents how upside down this whole affair is. It represents how this is so unusual and just messed up. 

Towards the end of the movie you don't see the use of motifs used anymore because he's in love with Elaine and she doesn't have to prey on him. She doesn't have to act immature in order to win him over.  Mrs. Robinson had to sneak up on him and persuade him into having an affair with her while you always saw Elaine. You always saw her without surprising Benjamin. Do you think that motifs should've been used around Elaine? Do yo 

The Graduate

The Graduate is a story of whirlwind romance, obstacles, and pure coincidence. What are the chances that someone falls in love with the daughter of their secret lover, who also happens to be one of their parents' best friends, and she disappears to go to her wedding?! I'd say slim to none. Well besides the chances, it happens to Benjamin, and it happens fast.

During his affair with Mrs. Robbinson, Ben's curiosity overcomes Mrs. Robbinson's choice to involve no emotions. As her past is uncovered we learn all about the grudge she holds against her own daughter because she is the reason why she has had to endure a dying marriage. Ben is forced to promise her that he will never ask Elaine out, even if its against the wishes of all the other adults in his life.

Besides the promise, Ben is forced into a date with Elaine, which turns into true love.

But do we know that these too sweet-hearts are really in love?

I question this with due reason, based on the last frame in the movie. Once the rush of pulling Elaine out of her wedding, and running away to the nearest bus station, the couple's enthusiastic expressions fade away and more questioning looks begin to overwhelm them.

I believe that this is the reality setting in. They had just made a very bold move, and it was hard to process what was actually going on until it was over. Although I think in some way they do love each other, just like the Robinsons,  the reason why they were both so devoted to each other was not only love, but the thrill of the chase.

The couple was so fixated on getting to the point of relaxation that they never had time to really let their emotions play out. Now that they've run away and embarrassed their family, can they really turn away from each other if their relationship dies?

Will the young couple end up like the Robinsons?

The Graduate

          Throughout the class film, The Graduate, the protagonist, Ben, is every parent's dream. He was the track star, won several awards, and achieved various other successes.  In the beginning of the film, Ben's parents throw him a graduation party, but none of the guests are Ben's age. The party was just another way for his parents to brag about Ben's achievements to their friends. After graduating from college, Ben realizes that he is indeed, his parents' dream, not his own. Up until this point in his life, all of his decisions were made for him, but suddenly he was the one to choose his life path. Ben felt a lot of pressure from his parents to do something with his life. They constantly asked him what his plan was, and when he was going to act on it. In one scene, as Ben floats around in the pool, his parents come up on either side of him, circling him like sharks.  They attack him with more questions and it is clear that they drove him over the edge. Because of these pressures Ben faced, he made several bad decisions in spite of his parents. The first one was sneaking off to see Mrs.Robinson. This affair was highly inappropriate and Ben knew his parents would never approve of it. Ultimately, this affair did not make Ben happy, he still felt empty and lost. The affair stretched on for months, and in that time Ben still did not know what he wanted to do with his life. Another bad decision Ben made was crashing Elaine's wedding. This was a rash decision, and this choice, in the end, did not make him happy either. In the final scene, the camera stalls over Ben and Elaine's face as they ride away on the bus. At first he is laughing, but his face becomes much more solemn as he realizes the repercussions of his actions. Although he may have thought marrying Elaine would be the next step in his life, it didn't really change anything. He still has no job, no house, and now he has a bad relationship with his parents.
          Although Ben's parents thought they were doing what was best for their son by raising him to be idealistic, they ultimately hurt him by making all of his decisions for him. When Ben was finally allowed to make his own decisions, he didn't know how to and made several bad choices. Do you think that Ben's failures were his parent's fault, or his?

The Graduate

In the final scene of The Graduate, Ben breaks his silence in efforts to win Elaine back by disrupting her wedding. Throughout the film, we see Ben start off as a very passive character, one who wants to please those around him and fails to identify with himself and his actions. As we get deeper into the plot, and the relationship between Mrs. Robinson and Ben progresses physically yet Ben takes an interest mentally in Elaine. Up until he dates Elaine, I don't believe that Ben was ever fully content with himself despite all of his previous achievements and awards. Elaine helps him enjoy life again and experience happiness- something that he didn't experience much of with Mrs. Robinson. In the moments leading up to the last scene, we see a very demanding side of Ben who will stop at nothing until he has Elaine back in his life for she is his ultimate goal. The thing that I love most about the ending after Ben grabs Elaine and hops on the bus is the look of uncertainty and blankness on their faces. They realize what they've just done by essentially messing up the status quo and even though they were so confident in their decision five minutes ago, they're now processing what just took place and how their future is wide open. Does all marriage begin with a certain sense of uncertainty? Should one be 100% confident in their spouse/decision?

The Graduate

In the film, there is a lot of use of water. We first see the use of water when ben is sitting by his fish tank. He was sitting there trying to get away from his parents and the party they were having for him. At first the fish tank is something that Ben goes to for relief, to just get away. But in another scene you Benjamin in scuba gear that his dad gave him for his 21st birthday. When he jumps into the pool it zooms out to where Ben looks like this little guy in a big empty space. Representing his out look on life. He doesn't know what to do. He's lonely in this big world. Lastly you see Ben in the pool on a raft while his parents circle around him because they want him to take Elaine out for dinner. While his parents are talking he occasionally put his head in the water. Ben would do this to block out what his parents were saying. He didn't want anything to do with Elaine because of Mrs.Robinson. He tried blocking it out like he does for other things like his father wanting him to go to Grad school.

The Graduate

The music in The Graduate wasn't created originally for the movie's soundtrack, but all of the songs were able to express Ben so well that no new material was needed for the movie. The movie became even more important to the story towards the end of the film, when it shifted from a satirical comedy to have a more romantic theme. The song "Scarborough Fair" plays a significant role in Ben and Elaine's relationship after Elaine finds out about Ben and Mrs. Robinson's affair. When Ben follows Elaine to Berkeley, the song is played as he searches for her on campus and only ends when Ben comes in contact with Elaine on the bus going to the zoo. The song begins again after Elaine leaves Ben in front of the monkey house to go with Carl. The song ends again when Elaine comes into Ben's apartment and an instrumental version starts when Elaine leaves, specifically the tune of the lyric "she once was a true love of mine", signifying that Ben really does love Elaine, and she is "the one that got away".

The Graduate

In the last few scenes of the film, the music becomes extremely important to the story line, especially through the song "Scarborough Fair/Canticle." The first time it's heard, Mrs. Robinson had just told Benjamin goodbye, and there is a following montage of Benjamin going back to staring at his fish tank and pool, as well as stalking the Robinson home. The lyrics match up pretty well with the storyline- the song is about a man trying to win his true love, as the herbs used in the lyrics represent virtues (Parsley was comfort, sage was strength, rosemary was love, and thyme was courage). Ben loved Elaine at this point, but as she clearly didn't feel the same way, he had to find a way to win her back. The song ends when Ben tells his parents that he was going to marry Elaine Robinson, which was his idea of a plan to make her love him. 

The next time Scarborough Fair starts, Ben is driving up to Elaine's college... which is only about a minute or so after the song ended the first time. The song's overall mood doesn't fit as well this time, because Ben is on an impossible quest. Elaine hates him, and she doesn't want to see him, much less marry him. 

But again, Scarborough Fair plays a mere minute after the last one ended, except this time the song is just instrumental as Ben watches Elaine on her campus. The song then plays twice more, once after Elaine leaves Ben in front of the monkey exhibit at the zoo, and for the last time when Elaine asks Ben not to leave, not until he has a definite plan for himself. The song progresses this way because the lyrics talk about a man trying to win his true love, just like how Ben begins to win Elaine back through the impossible task of convincing her to marry him. Slowly though, his plan begins to work, and so the song just becomes instrumental, then only a portion of it is played, until finally, only the ending of the song is played when Elaine gives in to Ben. 

Is this an accurate analysis of the song, and even if so, why do the remainder of Scarborough Fair lyrics contain references to a war? Is this because Ben's love life is a battlefield, or because he battled between the two Robinson's before deciding he loved Elaine?

The Graduate

In the film The Graduate, directed by Mike Nichols, there is a great amount of use of water in many forms to represent different things depending on the scene. Some of the most significant forms water was being represented in was Benjamin's fish tank and his pool. The first time the fish tank was shown was within the first couple of minutes into the film starting when Benjamin is in his bedroom leaning on the fish tank. The camera is in medium close up of just showing his head, shoulders and the fish tank in the background. The next time the audience sees the fish tank is a few minutes later when Benjamin is in his room 'hiding' from his parent's friends at the party and Mrs. Robinson walks in. At first the fish tank seems very peaceful and stable. The first time there is any significant focus onto the fish tank is when Mrs. Robins asks Benjamin to drive her home and tosses the keys to him but they land inside the fish tank. The camera's focus goes straight into the fish tank while Mrs. Robins and Benjamin get blurred out. I believe the fish tank represents Benjamin's not only life but specifically his mental state. The water was stable however not going anywhere, same way Benjamin was content with his achievements however didn't know what direction to go with them in his future. As soon as Mrs. Robins stepped into the picture (literally) she caused a disturbance to the environment. She disturbed the fish tank's habitat and confused Benjamin with her demands. This represented the change in balance of the fish tank in correlation to Benjamin's life and specifically his mental state.

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Another form of water that was significantly represented throughout the film was his poll in his backyard. The first time we see pool is for a glimpse at the beginning of his parent's party.  However, on his birthday Benjamin's parents got him a scuba suite for his birthday so he tested it in the pool. In this scene there is a shot of Benjamin underwater as the pool looks very big and empty while you can only hear his breathing. This represents Benjamin's perspective of the world and how he sees things. The goggles are limiting and even with what he can see, there isn't anything there; also another connection to his view on his future. However, the pool is most a place for him to relax as shown in later scenes several times such as the sound of silence (Mrs. Robinson) montage. In this the camera is viewed as above of Benjamin as he is floating in the pool. What is significant in this is that there is many dissolve editing of the pool water on top of Benjamin even though he is really above it. This expresses  how he is being pulled down and almost trapped in the water, unable to get above it. This relates to his affair with Mrs. Robison and how its a negative impact on his life and only bringing him down.

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Therefore, water was used in many forms to represents different aspects of Benjamin's life and its effect on him. His fish tank and his pool were the two most significant as they was most represented throughout the film.

The Graduate!

 Use of water/ fish tank 

When watching The Graduate, what I thought was most interesting was the use of water, swimming pools, and a fish tank to symbolize Benjamin's situation. 

The first time the audience sees water symbolizing Ben's situation is when there is a party at his house and everyone (including his parents) are nagging him about his future after graduating college. Meanwhile, he sits upstairs and watches the fish tank. The fish tank symbolizes his life at the moment - he feels that he was just a small fish lost in a big sea, but since a fish tank does not have an infinite amount of space, he is constrained by boundaries in his life. He knows he has a huge world for him and he has the freedom to do whatever he desires, but at the same time he is fixed within certain frames. Throughout the film we see the fish tank used repeatedly. When he starts having an affair with Mrs. Robinson, he once again sits on his bed at home and watches the fish tank. When Elaine finds out that he slept with her mother, he is seen again looking at the fish tank. All these moments in the movie symbolized his feeling of loss in life at the moment - he is not on track and feels that the entire world is beyond his reach.

In a similar sense, swimming pools were used in the film to convey Ben's helplessness or lack thereof. The first time the audience sees Ben in a swimming pool was when he was forced on his 21st birthday to perform a scuba diving trick for his parents' friends. He was not only pressured to do this, but was also treated like a circus animal by his parents and their friends. He was pushed down by his mom and dad and he just ended up sitting on the bottom of the swimming pool, completely helpless of his situation. However, the second time we see Ben in a swimming pool is actually him floating on top of it after he begins his affair with Mrs. Robinson. By day, he floats on the swimming pool and drinks beer, and by night he meets Mrs. Robinson in the Taft Hotel. His swimming in the surface of the swimming pool shows that he's not below the surface of his actions, but he's dangerously playing on the line between helplessness and confidence. The third time we see him swimming in the swimming pool is when his parents are swimming around him, enclosing him as if they were sharks. Again, we see him floating on the surface but his parents treat him like animals. He is never truly content but pretends to be whenever we see him in a swimming pool. What I also found interesting in this movie was that when we see Ben in the very beginning, looking into the fish tank, there is a mini scuba diver inside the fish tank. We see an exact parallel between a later scene in which he is in the swimming pool with a scuba diving costume, and what he sees in the fish tank. This further comes to symbolize his state of loss and being trapped within the frames of his parents and problems with the Robinson family.