The Graduate Cultural Significance

The Graduate Cultural logical implicationThe Graduate is a 1960s American pack based on the novel of the same name by Charles Webb. The film tells a grade of a university graduate named Benjamin Braddock who did non have a assort idea about his future. The novel man was seduced by an old woman, Mrs. Robinson, but he fell in make out with her daughter Elaine in the end. The film reflects the confusion and helplessness of the American preadolescent the great unwashed in the 1960s. The characteristics of the counterculture presences were also shown in the movie. Consequently, instead of just being a comedy, the graduate plays an crucial role in reflecting and promoting the culture and ideology of the 1960s America. It shows more kindness than satire to the childlike extension at that time.The film starts by showing Benjamins void, loneliness and helplessness, which can be clearly seen from his facial expression. The theme songsound of privateness also expresses a stuck and withdraw feeling, which actu entirelyy is the keynote of the whole movie. at that place is a dialogue between Ben and his produce at the beginning of the movie, when Bens father ask him what he is worried about, Ben hesitantly answers he does not get laid and he just wants his future to be dissimilar. Being the keynote of the film, the hollow feeling lasts till the end of the movie. At the end of the movie, when Ben and Elaine escape from the church building and sit in the bus, their facial expressions are actually very calm, which is quite an different from their happiness and excitement when running away from the church. Although they have extricated themselves from the fasten of their family and make their own choices, they still do not know what to do next. This kind of hollow feeling shows exactly the ideology of the one-year-old people living in the 1960s America. Unlike the older generations who had a severe idea of the America intake, young people in the 196 0s did not experience the hardship caused by war and thither was a generation gap between them and their parents. The older generation hoped the young people could prize their peaceful life and continue to fight for the America dream, but the young generation did not understand why they need to do that and their dream of achieving sociable justice is slightly ideal.The difference in the sense of survey between two generations is also shown in the film by the conversation between Ben and his father, which can further reflect the opposite attitude of the young people at that time towards the traditional sense of set. The two different values had conflicted with each other for several years, and in the late 1960s, there was a strong dissatisfaction of the current social situation and the sense of value of the middle class among the young people. With the outbreak of the Vietnam War, both the counterculture movement and anti-war movement reached the peak in around 1967, and The Gradua te exactly shows the idea of counterculture of the young people at that time.Anti-war movement is an essential part of the 1960s American society. One scene in the film is that Ben tiredly sits in the campus of Berkeley when the study flag of America is waving high above his head. Berkeley is one of the intimately active campuses during the anti-war movement in the 1960s. It becomes world-famous for the Free Speech Movement in 1964 and the strike against the Vietnam War organized by the students at that time. The anti-war movement showed the young peoples sense of social responsibility and their desire for a peace world. The drafting for a compulsory military service is one of the main reasons for all kinds of anti-war protests. Under the draft, lots of young people were sent to Vietnam and many of them died, which made their families suffer a lot.Hippie is another good illustration of the juvenility culture at that time. Hippies were against the mainstream and reacted to the di fficult times by displace out of the society. There is one scene in the film that shows the hippy culture. When Ben and Elaine are eating and talking in the car, there are more or less hippies playing rock music beside their car. However, instead of turning down(a) the music as required by Ben, those hippies turn up the volume and keep playing the music. Their reaction shows the idea of counterculture and disapproval of the social mainstream. Being a symbol of the 1960s youth culture, hippies are remembered for their fancy clothes and deviant behavior like taking psychoactive drugs.Sexual revolution is a part of the counterculture movements in the 1960s and it is shown in the movie by Mrs. Robinsons seduction behavior. This new culture of free love encouraged millions of young people to accept the beauty of sex as a natural part of everyday life. Besides this reason, Bens relationship with Mrs. Robinson is partly due to another factor, which is his loneliness and helplessness.T he 1960s is a crossroad in the whole American history. The Graduate is of great importance in save that period of history, especially the behavior and thought of the young people at that time.