1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the
screening.
The Graduate was
one of the early adopters of cinemascope/ Panavision which give the film a look
that many people today are accustomed to. This was also an early modern
expressionist film which overall definitely feels like the film is shot from a
different perspective than many other earlier studio productions. The film was
a hit at the Oscars getting the Oscar for best director while getting nominated
for best picture, best lead actor, best lead actress, best supporting actress,
best screenplay and best cinematography. This film took place early in Dustin
Hoffman’s career and definitely helped get him to where he is today in the film
industry.
2) Find a related article (on the film, director, studio,
actor/actress, artistic content, etc.)and summarize the content. You may use
the library or the internet.
The article “Rethinking ‘The Graduate’s place as the
defining film of ’60s, and Ben Braddock’s accidental rebellion”, takes a look
back at The Graduate and explains why
it is such a monumental film for it’s time period. The Graduate was made at a time when the United States was changing
especially culturally and the article does a great job of explaining it. The Graduate does an excellent job of
examining the cultural shifts at the end of the 1960’s. As the movie progresses
we slowly start to see Ben progress as a character and grow more and more
rebellious with each scene even though he is not rebellious by nature. After
his first meet up with Mrs. Robinson we start to see Ben become more confident
throughout the rest of the film. The progression of his character does an
excellent job of showing how the children of the Baby Boomers were so different
than their parents’, however the article mentions that Ben is actually very
similar to his parent’s generation. This
is true and can be seen throughout the movie as Ben attempts to rebel even
though he still remains to be a shell of his parents.
3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did
the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director,
content, etc.?
The article definitely gave me much more insight on then I
had previously known. I had mostly thought of the film as one young man’s
struggle to find his place in life (which the film still is) but I never
realized the take that the film had on society and culture from the 1960’s. When
looking back on the film, it’s easy to see how it fits in with the changing
culture of the 1960’s. Throughout the movie, aside from Ben most of the
characters are an older generation. Not until we see Ben starting to gain
interest in Elaine that we see the younger generation come into play such as
the scene when Ben and Elaine are getting burgers and are surrounded a younger
generation playing loud music. Overall the article does a good job of
explaining the film and putting it in its place in film history.
4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your
personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text
material and the article. I am less interested in whether you liked or disliked
a film, (although that can be part of this) than I am in your understanding of
its place in film history or the contributions of the director.
The Graduate is
the story young Benjamin Braddock, played by Dustin Hoffman, a young man fresh
out of college struggling to find his place in life. The film was able to show
Ben’s struggle through all the different aspects of film; the script, the
acting and the cinematography all do an amazing job of telling the story. Dustin
Hoffman does an amazing job of bringing the character Ben to life and
portraying the character’s struggle to find his place. However what really
brings the film together an makes the audience feel a certain way is the
cinematography. Some of the shots are just simply beautiful but more
importantly the director of photography knew exactly which lenses to use and
how to frame each shot to add an emotion to the scene. For example in the scene
when Ben first walks downstairs at his home to the party all the shots are
close ups of Ben’s face to show the audience how Ben feels when he is being
surrounding by all of his parents friends. Even shots such as the one where
Mrs. Robinsons leg frames out Bens body, it simply makes the film pleasing to
the eye. To sum up, all the aspects of film making are used together
wonderfully in order to tell the story of The
Graduate.
CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 1) ( ) I have not handed in this assignment for any
other class. 2) ( ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other
classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 3) ( ) If I used any passages word for word, I
put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 4) (
) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in
the text of the paper. 5) ( ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally
read. 6) ( ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in
another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 7) ( ) I did not
so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 8) ( ) I
checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and
ideas used in my paper.
Name: ___Joe Katulak_____________________ Date: 11/25/14__________________
