Stereotypes In The Film 'The Graduate'

In the film The Graduate directed by Mike Nichols, the word “plastic” is used to describe people at Benjamin’s college graduation party. The people at Ben’s party all seem to be friends of his parents. Their guests are described as plastic because of their fake attitudes and the way they were acting towards Ben at his party. As Ben tried and tried to get away from the crowd, making multiple excuses, no one would listen to what he had to say. They were telling him what to do and making the conversation about what they thought, which shows how full of themselves they are. Ben’s parents, for example, showed no interest in how detached Ben was behaving and instead showed him off like a trophy, bragging about his achievements in college. This

They are both seen getting on a bus as the camera follows them in. The mood for this scene seems almost unsettling because of how quiet it is, the only noises being Ben and Elaine shuffling to get on the bus and to their seats. It almost feels like the calm before the storm, seeing as their expressions shift from happy to concerned. Both Ben and Elaine are young and have a desire to go against their parents wishes because of how much they controlled them. Thus when Elaine heard Ben calling her name, she realized how once again her parents were forcing her into doing something she didn’t want to, and could no longer hear their voices. Her desire to rebel caused her to make a sudden decision to defy her parents and run away. The bus they board is yellow which can signify joy or warmth, however the cloudy white sky contradicts this by making the mood gloomy, almost like it’s going to rain. Rain on a wedding day is seen as good luck and fertility in some cultures, and the fact that Elaine was about to get married before Ben took her away might mean that they made a bad decision. Elaine might have been happier with the man she was about to marry, but because she wanted to rebel against her parents she chose to go with