The Graduate (1967, Dustin Hoffman) is indeed a classic movie.
Parts of it were often used in other shows as a tribute to its greatness, The Simpsons even went so far as to spoof the entire final scene in an episode with Grandpa and Mrs Bouvier in Mrs Bouvier’s Lover.
Having said all of this, I had not seen the movie in full until tonight, and I have to say that it left me with quite an uneasy feeling. The depiction of selfishness in the character of Mrs Robinson, and the lengths to which she would go to hold onto the only morsel of her life she has control over is overwhelming.
Her actions illustrate a burning desire in each of us to hold on to some amount of normalcy in our lives, while Dustin Hoffman’s character is fighting the same inner turmoil in order to achieve what he needs to be able to live his life to its fullest potential.
It is quite an interesting film which shows two entirely different people both fighting the same side of the coiln in very different ways.
I do feel that a lot of the problems shown in the film seem to stem from the forced social we are required to enter into.
Times have changed since 1967, and in some parts of the world a single pregnant woman isn’t living with a stigma anymore.
Though it does make us think about the other issues we commit ourselves to without thought..