‘The Graduate’ and 60's Youth Culture

Mike Nichols’s The Graduate (1967), based on Charles Webb’s 1963 novel of the same name, portrays the revolutionary awakenings of 1960’s youth culture. Not by showing footage of historical events from the time, but by showcasing the life of a kid as he revolts against his entire social circle.

Benjamin Braddock finds himself back in his family home after graduating college, and his sense of unease is visible from the start. He now lives alongside the adults who had surrounded him as a kid, individuals who had grown up with 1940’s & 1950’s ideals. The film covers the mental state of youth during this decade, not by outrightly stating “I feel trapped”, but by showing us that through Ben’s behavior and mood.

We see Ben suffocated, unfulfilled, and dissatisfied by his current state of life, all of which were leading emotions resulting in the drastic change to American society by young people in the sixties.

While reflecting on his situation Ben says, “It’s like I was playing some kind of game, but the rules don’t make any sense to me. They’re being made up by all the wrong people. I mean no one makes them up. They seem to make themselves up.”

As these feelings build up throughout the timeline of the narrative, we slowly see Ben’s behavior change from that which is expected of him (polite, quiet, normal), to that of what we now understand 1960’s youth culture to have been (free, rebellious, and relentless).

This change in Ben’s behavior is the direct result of his societal structure, and illuminates the driving forces behind the social changes of the sixties. Ben’s desire to be free from societal constraints propels his storyline and characterization forward, as he comes into his own and embodies the conduct of 1960’s youth culture.

Not only do the events of the film showcase the 60's, but so too do the ways in which the film was shot. Countless techniques were used to illuminate the psychological status of Ben and represent the mental state that many young people found themselves encased in during the beginning of the decade.

At the very start, Ben expresses to his father that he is “worried…About what?…I guess about my future…What about it?…I want it to be…To be what?…Different”.

He is led down a staircase by his parents to a social gathering, as his mother licks her hand and smooths down Ben’s hair with her own spit, and his father fusses with Ben’s suit, telling him how lucky he is to have all these people here to congratulate him. As they finally ascend to the bottom of the staircase, they pass a painting of a clown which hangs on the wall, standing alone, its eyes staring directly into the screen, representing Ben.

This is immediately followed by Ben being ushered into a crowded room of people, all above the age of forty. The camera never leaves his face as he is pulled from one quick, superficial conversation to the next. Dragged, poked, and prodded by his family friends, one of whom asks him, “What are you going to do now?…I was going to go upstairs for a minute…I meant with your future. Your life?”

Numerous shots also consist of Ben underwater, whether it be him sitting in front of a fish tank, (a close up of his face and the fish that swim around it, as though he himself were trapped in the tank), or Ben submerged at the bottom of his family’s pool, (wearing a scuba suit at his parents request, looking upward cheerlessly through the water at the distorted silhouettes of his family, who look down at him, laughing with satisfaction).

Many shots also contain Ben center screen, surrounded by adults, all of whom block out parts of his face and body from the shot, or block him out completely, as though they have complete control over him. The filming techniques used throughout the movie display Ben’s psychological state, and make it so, at the end, when Ben breaks free, it makes complete sense, and is completely rewarding.

When Elaine, Ben’s love interest throughout the film, is getting married in a church packed with family members, all older adults, Ben interrupts the marriage by screaming her name from the back of the Church.

The reaction this causes throughout the crowd is one of concern and artificial pity, but not real worry, due to the fact that Elaine had already said “I do,” despite her having no desire to marry the man. The real concern is sparked when Elaine returns Ben’s scream with one of her own, and they begin to run toward each other. Elaine and Ben fight off the family friends, attempting to make their way to the exit.

Amongst the chaos, Elaine’s mother screams at her that “It’s too late,” to which Elaine responds, “Not for me!” Ben rips a large sacred cross from its podium and swings it back and forth at the adults as they swarm him and Elaine, representing the ridiculousness of the situation. Ben shoves the cross through the exterior door handles of the church, locking everyone else inside, screaming and furious, as Elaine and Ben run away, laughing.

This entire ending represents what young people in the US did nationally throughout the sixties, waking up from the repression of 1950’s society, and breaking out into their own way of life.

The real truth in this scene lies in what happens right after the wedding, as Ben and Elaine jump onto a bus, quickly take their seats at the back, and watch as the church gets smaller in the distance, all the while the other passengers of the bus stare at them with shock.

This being the last scene of the film, it would have been easy to just end it there on that happy note, but instead, there is a lengthy shot of Ben and Elaine as they sit in their seats, silent, the enthusiasm of their escape dissolving and the reality of what they just did settling in. Their smiles fade from ecstatic grins to contemplating looks of insecurity and thoughtfulness.

To me, this shot greatly represents the revolutionary awakenings of 1960’s youth culture, because it was not just rebellion against the normal way of life without care, but it also came with terrible consequences. Many of those who joined in this new way of life were ridiculed by family, and disowned by the older members of society. The Graduate doesn’t strive to glorify 60’s youth culture, and the ending is proof of this. The ending captures not only rewards of freedom, but the reality of going against the current, and the consequences that follow.