The Graduate

I enjoyed “The Graduate” way more than I would have thought. It was funny and it was well executed with and interesting premise. What I found intriguing was that so much happened in the movie, yet it ended almost on the same not of when it started. In the beginning Ben had no plans, he didn’t know what to do. Everyone was asking what he would do with his life, and he just didn’t have a plan. At the very end of the film he gets the girl of his dreams, but pretty much ruins every other relationship of his in the process. They end up getting on a bus because his car has no gas. They take a seat on the back of the bus with a window behind them and just stare. This shot has a boatload of symbolism. The back of the bus has a window behind it, and as the bus is moving it shows all of what they are leaving behind, and how they can only move forwards. Another thing is that he has no plan. There is a comfortable silence between the characters at first know they escaped all of the drama. After realizing the heat of the moment is dying down, they start realizing they have no plan. Similar to the beginning of the movie when Ben doesn’t have a plan, and I believe this shows that many things can happen but some things just stay the same.

Fargo: Mike Yanagita

At first glance, the scene in Fargo where Marge Gunderson goes to meet and old friend from school, Mike Yanagita, doesn’t appear to add anything to the main plot of the film. However, it is very important to the character development of Marge Gunderson. During this scene, Mike explains a story about how he married a girl from their school named Linda, who apparently died of leukemia later on. Being an honest and almost naive person, Marge buys his story right away. Later on in the film, Marge chats with a friend from school and hears that Mike’s story was a lie and that Linda is healthy and very much alive. Marge’s friend also mentions that Mike struggles with psychological problems. After learning that Mike lied to her, Marge’s naivety lessens, and she returns to someone who may have lied to her during her investigation, Jerry Lundegaard. Had Marge not learned that Mike was lying to her, she may have continued on with her investigation without taking a second look at Jerry, who was in fact lying to her.

The Graduate: Ending

The ending of The Graduate is one of great interest. Elaine and Benjamin escape from the wedding and catch a ride on the bus to get away. The two take their seats in the back of the bus, smiling and laughing after they realize they had succeeded in getting away. Had the film ended there it would have been just like any other romantic comedy (but with a little bit of an artsy twist. However, the ending scene continues on, and Elaine and Benjamin’s elated expressions begin to fade as they sit in silence in the back of the bus. This simple extension of the ending by a few seconds completely changes the film from something very happy and rewarding, to something very dark and depressing.

Throughout the film Elaine and Benjamin had been rebelling against authoritative figures such as the parents. Seeing as they are the main characters in the film, you begin to side with them, and believe that they are doing the right thing. However, by watching the ending of the film you realize that there was nothing in the film saying that they were doing the right thing by running away with each other, in fact the film does everything to suggest that it is the wrong thing to do. Elaine and Benjamin were just running away with each other in order to strike back at the parental figures in their lives, and never actually evaluated their decision. In the final scene when their smiles where their smiles fade, they finally realize the truth about their decision to run away.

The Super Coen Bros

In the films No Country for Old Men and Fargo there are many reoccurring themes, some less important and some very important to their style. No Country for Old Men follows the story of Moss as he decides to take 2 million dollars of drug money for himself. Little does he know that this money belongs to one of the most ruthless killers there is Anton Chigurh. In Fargo, we follow the story of Jerry as he attempts to steal money from his father in-law by hiring kidnappers to take his own wife and ask for a ransom which will eventually go to him. In both these films money is a huge center piece and causes all the suffering to come. They both involve the police trying to do what is right, a theft who tries to take the money, and deadly criminals who will kill all in their path to achieve victory. In the beginning of these films everything seems to be working out perfectly. Jerrry is delighted with his plan and Moss thinks he has hit it big. Soon however, everything begins to spiral downward becoming worse and worse... and worse. The biggest message the Coen brothers are trying to send us is that no matter what you do, karma will catch up to you and justice will be dealt. This was the case for both Moss in NCOM and Jerry in Fargo. Although there crimes were as simple as stealing money their punishments become far worse. Moss is killed brutally and Anton faces charges for everything including all the deaths caused.

The Graduate

In The Graduate, we follow the complicated life of Ben Braddock as he returns to his home after 4 years in college. However, very early on the viewer will begin to notice that Ben's life is controlled and manipulated by his parents. During the very first scene we can see that Ben is not interested in his graduation party since its really mostly for the parents. None of his own friends are there and Ben is just a mere trophy in his mind for his parents. The way his parents speak to him and how he reacts shows that he is still a child despite being 21. They  order him around telling him to "come down stairs" and to do this and that constantly. Ben doesn't want to live with the fact that he is still a child so he is willing to do everything he can to escape that fate, even if it means having an affair with Mrs. Robinson to prove to himself that he is a man. Throughout the film he begins to develop into the man he had hoped to become through Mrs. Robinson and her experience. Soon he feels completely comfortable with himself as a man and decides to move on. He begins dating her daughter Elaine. In the final moments of the film when Ben and Elaine are on the bus running away with each other you begin to realize that they can never really support each other at all. How are they supposed to pay for anything and where will they live? This huge leap that Ben decides to take is what it really means to be an adult. Since they really can't do that, that basically means he is still a child and maybe on the bus during that awkward moment of silence he begins to realize that. 

The Graduate

Of all the films we have watched, I have definitely enjoyed The Graduate the most. For a 1967 film, Mike Nichols pushes the limits of the characters and storyline, and grabs the viewer's intention. This was intriguing because movies before The Graduate, had set boundaries. The idea of the main character, Benjamin Braddock, engaging in a sexual relationship with a much older woman certainly breaks those norms. This relationship made the movie such a success by targeting the rebellious youth culture of the 1960's. In their relationship, Mrs. Robinson has a lot of authority and power over Benjamin, partly because of her older age. The changing role of women is also reflected in Elaine's ability to make her own decisions, apart from those of her parent's. Elaine flat out rejects Benjamin at first, however they do end up getting married, which still represents the need for women to live up their role as females. Elaine was confident and interested in her self-fulfillment to step down from the alter and run away and marry Benjamin. The scene of them on the city bus can be interpreted in a few ways, but I like to think of it as a happy ending. They have both done what their parents expected to never happen, and they seem joyful and giddy as they stare out the window. Their facial expressions fluctuate over the next minute and seem to be saying, 'What happens now?'.  I believe the faces aren't expressing any regret but rather shock, and they are truly happy. This is a powerful scene as it is left to the viewer's interpretation.

No Country For Old Men and Fargo

After viewing both Coen brother's films, No Country For Old Men and Fargo, I was able to detect many similarities between the two. Both films took place in a rural setting, No Country For Old Men in the desserts of Texas and Fargo in the plaines of Minneapolis. Right from the beginning, the similar settings make it easier to draw connections between the films. On a deeper level, a recurring theme the Coen brothers have conveyed in their works is morality. The good and the evil are clearly distinguishable, and so is the fate of those characters. In No Country For Old Men, one bad choice is made by Llewelyn Moss in taking two million dollars in drug money, and from then on he is trying to flee his enemies whose intent is to murder. Similarly, Lundegaard is just trying to pay off a loan, when he chooses an immoral route of hiring kidnappers, him and those involved are bound for punishment. Jerry gets involved in even deeper problems like threats from the kidnappers. The Coen brothers do not let people who have done wrong get away with it.