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World shown in The Graduate was the last gasp of post-war Old California conservative/Republican world, it like the rest of the United States would soon be blown apart by the culture and other wars of the 1960's and 1970's. Dances at restricted country clubs or hotels where people still dressed (white dinner jackets and gloves not to mention those mink or other fur stoles)....The world people like the Braddocks and Robinsons knew was about to be ripped asunder.
You must not have ever visited or lived in many parts of southern CA (and, I would imagine northern CA), where those areas do indeed exist to this day, down to the country clubs.
You must not have ever visited or lived in many parts of southern CA (and, I would imagine northern CA), where those areas do indeed exist to this day, down to the country clubs.
I don't know how old you are, but I was Benjamin's age when the movie came out. You must realize the social climate of that time to really appreciate the movie. Parents were cocktail drinking social climbers, who's social standing depended upon their children lock-stepping into the same social mores. Mrs. Robinson was bored beyond belief with her life, so sought "entertainment", and someone who made her feel like she was still attractive. Of course she was jealous of Elaine. Elaine had fallen into the trap, as many of us did then, in which snagging a suitable husband was the main goal of any female.
Mrs. Robinson was likely "bored" because she "had" to get married and once that event happened (along with the subsequent birth of her daughter several months later), whatever dreams, aspirations or whatever were simply over. It was the classic textbook reason against shotgun weddings; that is they often produced loveless and otherwise empty marriages. Young Benjamin probably wasn't the first young buck Mrs. Robinson seduced.
"I agree that it's a great movie (although I hope people see it because it's a great movie, not as Michigan Transplant said, because someone is hoping for a cheap naughty thrill)".
No, no, no, that is not what I meant. I was not looking for any type of thrill, let alone a naughty one. I am trying to say that I watched this movie and the other ones to see what all the furor was about when they first came out and came away thinking "people were upset by THIS"? only because by then so much time had gone by and movies had gotten more and more graphic that these movies were tame compared to what was now being made by Hollywood. I understand it is a classic, and am glad so many have and are enjoying it.
Saw "Rage to Live" last night on television which was way more racier than The Graduate in terms of subject matter.
The Graduate is definitely a classic film, though was definitely more edgy when it came out in the late '60's than it would be if it were to be released today; I wasn't around then, and only saw the film for the first time in the mid 1990's. With the term "cougar" having become part of our culture these days, the idea of an older woman having an affair with a younger man is fairly common, not unusual (as it was in the film).
For me, what I found most interesting about the film was the idea of the young woman going against her family & community by skipping out on her wedding at the end with Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman). To me, this truly reflected the anti-establishment tone of the late 1960's counter-culture era (when the movie was released) - even more so than the affair between Mrs. Robinson & Benjamin.
Here's an interesting bit of trivia: Mrs. Robinson was supposed to be old enough to be Benjamin's mother in the film. However, in reality, they were only 6 years apart: DH was 30, and Anne Bancroft (Mrs. Robinson) was 36.
Note I also remember reading that in the classic Hitchcock film North by Northwest, the actress who played Cary Grant's mother (can't remember her name) was not much older than Cary Grant - even though she was supposed to be old enough to be his mother.
Always felt that Miss. Robinson saw through her mother's plan (to force her marry a man she didn't love and thus spend the rest of her days in a miserable hell) and bolted with Benjamin. Reading even deeper perhaps sadly like some mothers Mrs. Robinson on some level resented her daughter since it was due to that unplanned (and unwanted apparently) pregnancy that brought about a marriage which not only trapped Mrs. R into a life she either didn't want, not wanted yet and or not at least with Mr. R. The fact Benjamin was her daughter's beau made Mrs. Robinson's conquest probably all the greater.
As Dorothy Zbornak once put it; "one sperm with a sense of direction and I'm paying for it the rest of my life".
I think the movie is overrated. All that comes to mind are the music and a few catch phrases (Plastics, etc). Did anyone care that all the actors were playing characters a lot older or younger than they really were?
*The cinematography. The film is wonderfully shot, with exceptional use of natural lighting and a variety of creative visual story-telling.
*The very effective integration of the visual medium and the accompanying soundtrack.
*The use of metaphors. The film teems with them.
*The era - it oozes that certain late-60s look that some films perfectly encapsulate.
*The alienation. That's really what the film is all about.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mouldy Old Schmo
Did anyone care that all the actors were playing characters a lot older or younger than they really were?
Why would anyone care? It's not like the ages were wildly off. And how would one know, anyway? You can't tell a person's precise age when meeting them in real life, and it's even harder when just seeing someone on video. Do you also care that they characters have different names than the actors?
it was a classic. I do not hold this view for music, but as far as movies they do not know how to make good ones anymore.
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