Mike Nichols: The Graduate Lectures
Who plays Mrs. Robinson?
Anne Bancroft
Who did Mike Nichols adapt The Graduate from a novel with?
Calder Willingham and Buck Henry
Who wrote the screenplay of The Graduate?
Calder Willingham and Buck Henry
Who plays Benjamin Braddock?
Dustin Hoffman
Who plays Elaine Robinson?
Katherine Ross
Who is the producer of The Graduate?
Lawrence Turman
Who is the director of The Graduate?
Mike Nichols
Who plays Mr. Robinson?
Murray Hamilton
Who wrote the music for The Graduate?
Paul Simon
Who is the cinematographer for The Graduate?
Robert Surtees
The mechanical pull of Ben moving against his will back to his parents' suburban existence is highlighted by what song?
Sound of Silence
Who plays Mr. Braddock?
William Daniels
What type of film is The Graduate?
a coming of age film and a romantic comedy
What did the new generation of film makers and actors do that helped Hollywood rise again?
became more risky, more self-conscious, and more deliberate in their attempt to differentiate their product from that seen on TV
Who was Mike Nichols?
began directing on Broadway where he had great success before making his film directing debut with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and then turning his attention to Charles Webb's novel, The Graduate
What did new films focus on?
characters' psychological development
What does the visual symbol of water represent [fish tank/ pool]?
connotes the feeling of being submerged and trapped in this world
Why does Ben want to marry Elaine?
despite his desire to reject his parents' values, he nonetheless wants to please them by marrying someone they will approve of, and what could be more conventional than marriage to the partner's daughter`
Why is Mrs. Robinson an alcoholic?
drinking is the compensation for a way of life based on leisure and devoid of any striving/ it numbs the boredom
What does the Robinson house symbolize?
it has a castle-like façade, which conveys a sense of over-protection
What is Mrs. Robinson and Ben's affair like?
it is purely sexual as sex becomes a way to escape or a substitute for a meaningful existence
New films were what?
more self-conscious about style and filming
What does Ben and Elaine's "marriage" symbolize?
not only a kind of antagonism toward the older order of things, but of a kind of commentary on the inescapability of that order because they are going back to the suburbs they are trying to escape all along
How is Mrs. Robinson?
she is aggressive and almost predatory and is costumed in animal prints of some kind for most of the early scenes
What is Berkeley a symbol of in popular culture in the 1960s?
social rebellion
In the 60s, the old Production Code Administration was replaced by what?
the Classification and Ratings Administration, which was the basis for the form of self regulation that we see today [G, PG, R]
What was the name of the old Hollywood production code?
the Hayes Code
What is the main theme of The Graduate?
the feeling of inescapability
What are the men in the film like?
they "drink first, talk later," they are all suburban men who all seem to be adolescents who have escaped into their own creature comforts rather than growing up
What are the women in the film like?
they wear too much makeup and too much jewelry, drink too much booze, and have the same frosted hairdo that Ben's mother and Mrs. Robinson have
What was the innovation of The Graduate?
to take a look at the suburbs rather than using urban settings like previous films
What does The Graduate imagine and visualize?
what life is like in the suburbs from the perspective of a disaffected youth who just wants life to be different
