Film Analysis on The Graduate. Visual & Performing Arts Essay

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Film Analysis on The Graduate
The story of The Graduate starts with a scene on the plane focusing on Benjamin’s face, with a serious face on a plain background. The introduction scene was uneventful with Benjamin just being moved by the moving walkway, with a white brick wall as his background. This particular scene takes more than a minute with the background music as “The Sound of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkel, which talks about despair, existential issues, and inability to communicate. The first scene gives a feeling that this movie will talk about real life and its challenges. The theme of the movie is drama and satire. After the scene at the airport, a fish tank filled with water is seen while his parents persuade him to go to his celebration party. The scenes during the graduation party involve several guests, but it was portrayed as chaotic and overwhelming for Benjamin. A worry for his future and a sense of discontent was said by Benjamin in addition to the obvious anxiety that this character is showing. While his parents are announcing Benjamin’s awards and achievements to the guests, we see him running to his room to seek silence from the whispers, questions, and expectations of the people around him. Benjamin is feeling lost and pressured, showing confusion about what kind of path he would want to take. There is also a feeling of being caged by his parents in the film. During all these, Mrs. Robinson managed to go and seduce Benjamin, even succeeding in making him unzip her dress and seeing her naked while they are locked in a room, then eventually he was offered a proposition.
In Act 2 of the film, we see Benjamin transform from being too good and idealistic to...