In the film The Graduate directed by Mike Nichols, the main character Benjamin Braddock is seeking to find his place in the world following his college graduation. Ben has an affair with his family’s friend Mrs. Robinson, but ends up falling in love with Mrs. Robinson’s daughter, Elaine. From a historical, marxist and gender perspective, Nichols paints a picture of an isolated generation in society, striving to pave a their own road independently.
This film was made in the 1960’s, which was a time of change in America. From a historical perspective, many events and ideas separated two generations at that time. Nichols uses Benjamin to illustrate the conception that his parents and elders do not understand him and his feelings. Steve Gillon, a historian, says “…the Baby Boomers were coming of age in the 1960’s, and held different cultural values than the Greatest Generation.” He explains that people from the greatest generation have said that baby boomers have been able to grow up in a more prosperous, post-war America; where as the greatest generation did not have the same opportunities. Gillion says that this generation was not only different from the generation before, but instead they “…were very divided among themselves, they were not all hippies and yippies, they were not all protesting at college campuses.”
During this time, the baby boomers displayed individualism, and the significance of being self reliant with individual liberties. Benjamin’s role in this story reflects society during the time this film was set. Many shots display Benjamin’s loneliness and the uncertainty he feels about what will come of his future. The entire opening scene of the film expresses frontality and Benjamin’s emotions. Ben is truly scared and lost when he thinks of what lies ahead. It is Ben’s relationship with his parents and other adults, such as Mrs. Robinson, that draw the distinction between his generation and theirs. Mr. Braddock, Ben’s father, scolds Ben by saying that he believes Ben needs to think about getting “off his ass.” It is explicit that Ben’s parents do not understand Ben; they do not grasp that Ben does not know what his next step in life should be. In addition, Mrs. Robinson does not consider Benjamin’s feelings. For instance, before Ben and Mrs. Robinson have sex, Ben asks her if they can say a few words first. Mrs. Robinson replies that she does not think they have much to say to one another. She rejects Benjamin’s feelings and only wants sex. Benjamin is not the only confused individual; Elaine shows signs of similar feelings. She is uneasy and trying to please her parents, but is unsure of herself.
At her wedding, when Benjamin shows up screaming her name, Elaine looks around and everyone is upset yelling at her, but their voices are non-existent with no sound. Nichols does this to not only show the emotions of Elaine’s peers, but also to exhibit Elaine’s emotions as she makes the decision to either leave with Ben, or stay and be married. Elaine goes against what her parents and peers want for her and runs off with Ben, because only she knows what she truly wants. “There was already a growing dissatisfaction with the status quo and middle-class values, and the breakthrough film, [The Graduate], mirrored that anarchic mood perfectly for America’s youth of the 60s during the escalation of the Vietnam War” (Dirks). The idea that the older generation attempts to control the younger generation potentially contributes to the rebelling done by the younger generation. This is displayed by the fact that Elaine and Ben want to make their own decisions, just as the individuals in the baby boomer generation at that time do.
It is evident that the battle between the new and old is a recurring theme in the story of the film. This theme is very critical when it comes to viewing this film from a gender perspective. Ben is at the age where he is becoming a man and is deciding who he is going to be. The dialogue in the film outlines Ben’s becoming of a man. For example, journalist Nicole Smith says, “Even his father is not sure whether or not his son is a man or a child which is evidenced when he tells his wife to ‘bring that boy out here’ but then corrects himself and says with a sweeping gesture, ‘No, wait a minute, Let me amend that. To bring this young man out here’[The Graduate, 0:22:32].” As Ben is growing up, it has occurred to him that things have changed for the the role of a man. This puts emphasis on the growth of Ben and shows that he is in a transitioning period. “In many ways he is symbolic of the painful tensions between the traditional male and the new image of the American male—one who is more open, less confined in traditional roles, and who is quickly losing his place at the top of the ‘gender’ chain.” (Smith). In one scene when Ben takes Elaine on their first date together, he treats her like she is less than him. He is clearly influenced by Mrs. Robinson, who is a more a more traditional women to do so. Mrs. Robinson says, “Don’t you ever take that girl out.
Do you understand?” (The Graduate, 0:50:55). Mrs. Robinson is establishing how she feels about Ben being around Elaine, which causes him to treat her poorly when they start the date. After Ben upsets Elaine, he begins to treat her equally, and they have a great time together. He is struggling as a boy becoming a man, and is also having trouble finding his place as a significant other. We see the new versus traditional idea not only with Ben, but also between Elaine and her mother Mrs. Robinson. “Women are asserting themselves and marriage is not the only option any longer…” (Smith). Elaine is a much more independent women than her mother, and she does not need to depend on a man like her mother does. Mrs. Robinson sees her daughter as a woman just like herself, and believes a woman needs a man to be complete. In the film, “…society that is no longer the cut-and-dry ‘man goes to work, woman serves man’ paradigm. His parents still live in this more traditional world and do not understand that the world is changing” (Smith). This is why the Robinson parents are expecting their daughter to marry as they did, because that’s what all men and women at her age are supposed to do. Nichols puts emphasis on the gender norms that are being altered for both men and women as a whole. Many areas of society during this time period are changing rapidly, and women’s rights are an extremely vital one. Elaine and Ben can only find their happiness on their own. The film may not be entirely accurate in terms of gender roles in the greatest generation. Women “were also distinctive in that they raised the place of their gender to new heights; they changed forever the perception and the reality of women in all the disciplines of American life” (Brokaw). Mrs. Robinson would be a part of a generation with strong and independent women of its own. The fact that Mrs. Robinson is cold and forcing Elaine to marry would not be something a women from the greatest generation would do. Mrs. Robinson would not act that way because she would definitely be apart of a generation with women struggling with similar situations.
The two generations can also be seen in a different light. From a Marxist perspective, the adults in this film can be regarded as a higher power attempting to control the younger generation, or the lower power, which includes Ben and Elaine. For example, there are upper class people in the film who lack emotion. They are materialistic, and to them, more stuff means happiness and more power. They are the ‘plastics’ in this film. These members of the higher power are referred to as ‘plastic’ because of their absence of feeling, and the fakeness that is displayed in their relationships. The plastics include all the adults in this film. In contrast, the younger characters in this film are individualistic and romantic people who want to find happiness through relationships, unlike the plastics. These young characters are the lower power and are being controlled by the higher power before they revolt. In the first scene of the movie, at Ben’s graduation party, a man at the party named Mr. Mcguire has a very brief conversation with Ben. He tells Ben, “there is a great future in plastics” (The Graduate, 0:06:07), and asks Ben to “think about it,” then quickly leaves the conversation. Mr. and Mrs.
Braddock are attempting to force Ben into their lifestyle that he is not sure that he wants to be apart of. The older generation is the plastics, and they want Ben to be one of them. For example, there is a shot in the movie on Benjamin’s birthday, where his father makes Ben put on a wet suit with scuba gear that was bought for him. He then jumps in the pool with the suit on, and there is a long shot of Benjamin standing on the bottom of the pool. “We see a little scuba diver in the bottom left… he is essentially trapped in this fish tank, the walls of a culture he disagrees with closing in on him, his parents pushing him down despite his attempts to come up…”(Williams). This shot displays 1960’s materialism, and the way of life that the Braddocks want Ben to live. They want to turn him into a plastic. According to the Marxist theory, in a capitalist society, “the ruling class will own the means of production, meaning they can control their workers” (Cook). The plastics want to have Ben follow in their footsteps; however, he wants to blaze his own trail and be an individual. Also, Ben’s relationship with Mrs. Robinson shows his yearning for something different. Mrs. Robinson is cold, and strictly wants pleasure from Ben. When Ben becomes more comfortable with Mrs. Robinson, he begins asking her questions about her marriage.
She says that Mr. Robinson and she, “…have separate bedrooms”(The Graduate, 0:47:40). He seems a bit shocked from this, as would most young people from a different generation would be, considering their different perspectives. She tells Ben that the only reason why she is married to Mr. Robinson is because she got pregnant with Elaine. Mrs. Robinson is shown as a perfect example of a plastic. She is very unhappy with her life. It is also made apparent that her passion has withered since she was in college, which illustrates her loss of individuality, and displays her transformation into a plastic. Ben asks her, “What was your major?” (The Graduate, 0:48:54), and she replies, “art.” This shows how much she has changed since she was in college. She goes from an art major, which is associated with feelings, and ends up becoming a plastic adult, who lacks empathy. This conversation helps Ben realize that he longs for a more meaningful marriage than that of Mr. and Mrs. Robinson. In addition, Ben realizes he can only experience romance with a girl within his class, who has similar views as him. Mrs. Robinson has essentially given Ben a taste of the plastic life, which has helped him change and make the decision about his future. Elaine also has a difficult time confronting the notion of becoming a plastic. She is doing what her parents want her to do by marrying Carl Smith. The two different classes are clashing against one another. Elaine is undecided and just like Ben, she wants to be an individual. The movie illustrates these separate classes as, “the two California settings (Los Angeles and Berkeley) and S. and N. California cultures (materialistic vs. intellectual)…” (Dirks). Director Mike Nichols plays along with the idea that North and South are separate groups in a scene where Ben is driving back and forth, showing his struggle as he tries to win over Elaine. Also, when Elaine comes home and Ben takes her on a date, the film shows a negative side of Ben we have never seen. In Los Angeles at this point in the movie, Ben is acting plastic and has very little sympathy for Elaine’s feelings, but she ultimately brings out a good side of him. This is illustrated through Ben’s costume in the film. Ben attempts to block Elaine out and is wearing sunglasses for the first time in the film. He is even wearing them inside the club he takes her to. A person’s eyes are referred to as the windows to the soul.
Ben is blocking his soul and feelings from Elaine by wearing sunglasses. This is an example of Ben’s battle between the plasticity associated with Mrs. Robinson and the individuality connected to Elaine. Later in the film, Mrs. Robinson told Mr. Robinson what happened between her and Ben; it is a stretch of the truth. Mr. Robinson goes to see Ben because he is so upset. Mr. Robinson loses his temper and calls Ben “filth,” “scum,” and a “degenerate”(The Graduate, 1:33:10). Mr. Robinson’s hate toward Ben is again recognized when he attacks Ben for coming to Elaine’s wedding. It is interesting to see Mr. Robinson’s reaction, considering how meaningless his relationship is with Mrs. Robinson. Karl Marx wrote, “The bourgeois sees his wife a mere instrument of production.” The bourgeois’ definition, according to dictionary.com, is “a person whose political, economic, and social opinions are believed to be determined mainly by concern for property values and conventional respectability.” Mr. Robinson is a bourgeois person, and in the eyes of Mr. Robinson, Mrs. Robinson is a piece of material. She frames his image of a powerful person, along with his fine things such as his house and his car. This is expressed during Mr. Robinson’s conversation with Ben in Ben’s apartment. Mr. Robinson takes Ben’s actions as an attack on him, and an act of disrespect toward him. Mr. Robinson is mostly concerned with his own image.
In Mr. Robinson’s view, Ben is trying to take his material or plastic which is what gives him his power. This does not only include Mrs. Robinson, but also his daughter Elaine. Marx believes there are two types of people: those who have power and those who do not. Mr. Robinson is a man of power. His money and possessions are what put him in that position. The conflict between Ben and Mr. Robinson portrays two different classes. Also, a “…class defines groupings of individuals with shared life situations, thus interests.” Elaine and Ben have similar interests and outlooks on life. They are grouped together in this film for that reason. This is also the reason all the adults in this film are plastics. Nichols is casting the younger generation in a more positive light than the bourgeois in the film. Nichols is trying to portray that as a person grows older, they lose sight of their ambitions and values. He is also showing how important it is for a person to stay true to their beliefs, and that money is not the source of happiness. It is apparent that to Nichols human relationships and emotions are an important aspect when it comes to feeling fulfilled with life.
From historical, marxist, and gender perspectives The Graduate exhibits a secluded generation that yearns to establish their futures as adults. Elaine and Ben show how breaking free from the societal norms can set a person free.
Works Cited
- Blunden, Andy. “Karl Marx, Jenny Von Westphalen and Engels on Love and Marriage.” Karl Marx on Love and Marriage, www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/subject/love-marriage/index.htm.
- Cook, Posted by Sam. “6) Marxist Perspective of Power.” Revise Sociology, 29 Nov. 2011, revisesociology.wordpress.com/2011/11/29/6-marxist-perspective-of-power/.
- Dirks, Tim. “The Graduate (1967).” An Award-Winning, Unique Resource of Film Reference Material for Film Buffs and Others, with Reviews of Classic American-Hollywood Films, Academy Awards History, Film Posters., America Movie Classics Company, www.filmsite.org/grad2.html.
- Gillion, Steve. Ask Steve: Generation Gap. History.com, www.history.com/topics/1960s/videos/ask-steve-generation-gap.
- Nichols, Mike, director. The Graduate. United Artist, 1967.
- Rummel, R.J. “Marxism, Class Conflict, and The Conflict Helix.” MARXISM AND CLASS CONFLICT, www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/CIP.CHAP5.HTM.
- Smith, Nicole. “Issues of Gender and Generation in the Film.” Article Myriad, Article Myriad, 7 Dec. 2011, www.articlemyriad.com/issues-gender-generation-film-graduate/.
- The Cine-Files. 44 The Graduate. The Graduate, 28 Apr. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-14NR8QoqU&t=2830s
