Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Influential Film


The Graduate has been the most influential film to me.  The two underlying messages, not the story line, have made a big impact. The main character, Ben Braddock, is constantly worried about his future. He also doesn’t want to be suffocated by his parents and live a “regular” life anymore.  Before I saw this movie, I was always questioning what I wanted to do with my life. Society has so many norms and expectations that make it hard to be an individual. The film showed me that it’s all right to worry about my future.  Everything will fall into place even if there are some problems on the way there. Lastly, the film showed me that you have to start being your own individual and not worrying about what your parents have to say about it.
            In my opinion, this is related to film theory because the movie relates to the reality of a person’s thoughts when they are struggling to find themselves. The film attaches many similar characteristics to people the younger generations can relate to in the main characters. The character, Ben, can be compared with any real life human being. Ben’s parents can also be compared to every day parents. They don’t want him to grow up, yet they want him to get a job and start being responsible. With this in mind, the film also relates to how the younger generation is trying to escape the grip of their parents’ tyranny. They want to do something different with their lives and not be strapped down by their parents anymore. The film took a good stance on portraying the younger generations’ feelings.