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.

(http://thefilmspectrum.com/?p=4713)
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.

(http://sbccfilmreviews.org/?p=15015)
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.