What is Up with the Ending to the Graduate?

Wow I'm a nostalgic guy remember it so you don't have to well we've all heard about the Graduate the comedy stable of the 1960's that launched Dustin Hoffman's career and practically coined the term Cougar and arguably plastics a whole generation of hippies and hipsters loved its artistic style and rebellious nature but many seem to be split on the relevance of the ending some saying it's a happy end to a happy adventure others saying it's a sad conclusion to a series of life mistakes no I may be just a humble critic but I do have my own opinion on what I think this ending means which I'd to here a boys and girls Oh too bad you clicked on the damn thing now keep in mind this is an analysis of the film's ending which naturally means we have to analyze the rest of the film too so there will be some major spoilers with that said Benjamin is a college graduate who doesn't know what he wants to do with his life all he knows is that he wants to be different I wanted to be to be one certainly do take a different turn with his parents friend mrs. Robinson proposes that the two of them have an affair at first he's terrified but under the demeaning control of his eccentric parents he finds breaking the rules of authority suddenly sounds very promising so he visits her off and on throughout the summer never letting anyone especially her husband ever find out over time he finds out more and more about her like why she married her husband if he obviously is not interested in him oh no you had to marry him because you got pregnant are you shocked and by society rules and even the fair case of logical reasons the couple found themselves stuck this doesn't bother Benjamin too much until her daughter Elaine is said to be coming into town mrs. Robinson forbids him to see Elaine but he accidentally gets roped in once again feeling his inner rebel coming out he defies mrs. Robinson's harsh orders and decides to keep seeing Elaine anyway salting and her finding out about them and the family splitting up but that can't stop what Benjamin now feels his love meant to be so he takes a road trip to Elaine's school and proposes that they keep going out in fact he proposes that he proposes that's right he has her to marry him take him back by his offer she finds herself confused and not really sure what to do her parents know though she's going to marry another boy who has his life ahead of him and all sorts of high expectations but when Benjamin interrupts the wedding she sees the true face of her parents control and decides to run away and be with Ben hitching a ride on a bus and riding off into the sunset living happily ever after or are they if they just got onto the bus and ended with them laughing maybe this could be considered a cheesy romantic comedy with maybe a bit of an artistic edge but it holds on them riding the bus in silence as their smile slowly fade away why include this if this was just supposed to be your typical happy ending well let's really look at the story again all throughout the film both are lovers fight against parental authorities that clearly want to have them under their control but when does the movie ever say that what they're doing is a good idea we'll get this film through the goggles of rebellion rather than doing something because it's what they want to do they're doing it because they can strike back at their parents and society social statuses wouldn't that make more sense as to why Benjamin would want to marry Elaine after only going out one a date and a half yeah a little weird isn't it when that make just as much sense as she didn't have much interest in Ben after she found out about the affair but then seeing her parents trying to control her a result in her inner rebel coming out as well the two get so wrapped up in fighting what they don't want that they rush towards something that they slowly realize maybe they didn't want either a date and a half and then they're ready to get married huh maybe in this ending scene it all suddenly hits them what they've done and what they committed to and when there's no more authorities to fight against they suddenly start to question whether or not this was the right choice the very famous song sound of silence it's played a couple of times in this movie you ever wonder why it's played once in the opening when he returns from college another while having the affair and then at the very end when he crashes the wedding literally so why these three moments specifically was because they just realized they had a popular song and they should put it in to sell the soundtrack more well here's a crazy [ __ ] idea that maybe more movie should catch on to the song actually serves a purpose sound of silence as many of you know is not a very happy song it's about the emptiness that surround us and whether or not there's a way to escape it all three times it's played in the film Benjamin is debating whether or not he's content with his life or miserable with it as he himself is not really sure remember this is a kid right out of college he has his whole life ahead of him and no idea what he wants to do with it his only friends are his parents friends who have less interest in him that they do making themselves look good he's barely done anything risky in his life so the first time something different comes along something dangerous something new something exciting he understandably jumps at it whether it's really in his best interest or not he confuses this fighting back for his destiny what he really wants rather than young rebellion that just needs to run its course he's so passionate about though that he convinces Elaine her wedding day that she should have the same passion to so when they run away together at the very end are they in love well they think they are but that emptiness still seems to be there that same sound of silence that was played in the opening only this time unlike the opening rather than having all these possibilities ahead of them they're both stuck neither of them would tell the other that they want to back out now especially after making such a grand escape like that one whether out of pride or fear the two are bound to each other with no way of escape just like mrs. Robinson if you remember she also made some rebellious mistakes and had to spend the rest of her life dealing with it and ironically the more she tries to push Ben and Elaine away from making the same mistakes the more she forces them to do the exact same thing does that make the parents right in this film really both are still overprotective and over controlling but that doesn't make our young lovers right either both fight for their independence so much that they never really question what they wanted to do with their independence both rushed in not really sure of what they wanted but rather than figuring it out slowly and patiently they grabbed the bull by the horns never asking themselves why they were grabbing those horns to begin with so there is no real good guy or bad guy in this story it's a cautionary tale of what happens when the natural act of a young rebellion is not allowed to be explored much like Romeo and Juliet when it's delayed to controlled or built up to a point beyond logical reasoning in all likelihood Benjamin and Elaine are probably doomed to repeat the exact same mistakes that mrs. Robinson and her husband did demonstrating how too much control and responsibility can result in a longing for too much freedom and too little responsibility many still look at this film as a charming love story the same way Disney characters can only go on a few dates and suddenly get married and if that's what you see and Who am I to stop you but for those who think it isn't anything more and that the film should be criticized for being nothing but that ask that you look at your own rebellious youth and the choices you made question how similar that desire to fight back was to Benjamin's and how if you were restrained even more how would you naturally want to fight back maybe you'll see that bus ride a little differently maybe you'll see the symbols like the sign saying do they match a little differently or the empty drifting and drowning of the water constantly surrounding him a little differently or the placement of the famous song not just being there because it's a famous song a little differently for me this is the bus ride I always saw and maybe you saw it too or maybe you saw a different one but in my world it's a constant reminder of how it's always best to slowly figure out what you want rather than rush into something you're unsure about because fighting too quickly for your freedom can result in making your prison bars even stronger and if you're still not convinced that what he did was the right choice take a look how he turns out a few years later Wow love's a [ __ ] Alan this does your credit guy remember so you don't have to you you

Channel: Channel Awesome

Views: 477,959

Keywords: channel awesome, nostalgia critic, doug walker, movie, movies, film, the graduate, the graduate movie, the graduate ending, graduate ending, editorial, nostalgia critic editorial, the graduate explained, the graduate review

Id: IDoM4EuW18s

Length: 9min 0sec (540 seconds)

Published: Sun May 29 2016

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