The Graduate

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening. "The Graduate," the funniest American comedy of the year, is inspired by the free spirit which the young British directors have brought into their movies. It is funny, not because of sight gags and punch lines and other tired rubbish, but because it has a point of view. This is outrageous material, but it works in "The Graduate" because it is handled in a straightforward manner. Dustin Hoffman is so painfully awkward and ethical that we are forced to admit we would act pretty much as he does, even in his most extreme moments. Anne Bancroft, in a tricky role, is magnificently sexy and self-possessed enough to make the seduction convincing. Nichols matched the story's satire of suffocating middle-class shallowness with an anti-Hollywood style influenced by the then-voguish French New Wave. Using odd angles, jittery editing, and evocative widescreen photography, Nichols welded a hip New Wave style and a generation-gap theme to a fairly traditional screwball comedy script by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham from Charles Webb's novel. Adding to the European art film sensibility, the movie offers an unsettling ending with no firm closure. 2) Find a related article and summarize the content. (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) You can use the library or the internet. Cite the article or copy the url to your journal entry. Summarize in your own words the related article but do not plagiarize any content. 3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.? It was the highest-grossing motion picture of 1968. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards. The American Film Institute ranked it at number seven in its list of the greatest films of the century. It features one of the most recognizable soundtracks in movie history, by one of pop music's best-loved duos. It helped launch the careers of actor Dustin Hoffman, screenwriter Buck Henry and director Mike Nichols and has been credited with the assassination of the romantic comedy. 4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article. I am less interested in whether you liked or disliked a film, (although that can be part of this) than I am in your understanding of its place in film history or the contributions of the director. Based on a 1963 novel by Charles Webb and updated with only a single passing reference to the burgeoning Vietnam War protests, "The Graduate" captured a sense of the drift, alienation, anomie and defiant idealism of the '60s that more pointedly current works often missed. Benjamin Braddock, in a career-making performance by Dustin Hoffman, is the movie's disaffected lightning rod, idling away the summer after college graduation in his parents' Beverly Hills swimming pool and the adulterous arms of Anne Bancroft's Mrs. Robinson. His idle kicks into frenetic high gear when he falls in love with the Robinsons' daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross). Grades: Journal assignments are given individual points. Each journal assignment is worth 10 points. 9-10 points reflect excellent content, excellent article source, excellent thorough summary, excellent thoughtful analysis and creative, interesting content. 7-8 Points reflect good work in all areas above 5-6 Points reflect that you adequately met all the requirements 1-4 Missing or poorly presented content 0 No journal posted or posted beyond due date Pages: You can create separate pages on your blog or simply do them as continuous posting. Note: You do not have to resubmit your blog after you initially create one. If you post your journal content, I will see it. Just make sure it is posted on time. Plagiarism Statement: Attach this to the end of every journal assignment. CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 1) ( X ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class. 2) ( X ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 3) ( X ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 4) ( X ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper. 5) ( X ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read. 6) ( X ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 7) ( X ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 8) ( X ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper. Name: _______Carla Baylor___________ Date: _____5/7/13_______