The Graduate is set in affluent Southern California in the 1960s. It tells the story of Benjamin Braddock, a recent college graduate who begins an affair with Mrs. Robinson, the unhappy wife of his father's business partner. Benjamin then falls in love with Mrs. Robinson's daughter Elaine, despite her mother's objections. After Elaine breaks off their relationship upon learning of the affair, Benjamin tries to stop Elaine's wedding to another man by disrupting the ceremony. He and Elaine then flee together on a bus, uncertain of their future.

1. What is the setting (time & place) of THE
GRADUATE?
PLACE: Affluent Southern California – close
enough to BerkeleySanta Barbara to drive
TIME: The 1960’s – clothes, dress, cars,
attitudes
Mr. McCleery is concerned Ben is one of
those “outside agitators”
THE GRADUATE: SCREENING NOTES

2. What is the story of THE GRADUATE?
Benjamin Braddock is a track star college graduate who comes
home to his upper-middle class family home with little idea of what to
do next. His parents throw him a party where he encounters the
unhappy and discontented wife of his father’s business partner, Mrs.
Robinson, and they eventually being an affair. Benjamin also begins
to romance her daughter, Elaine, despite Mrs. Robinson’s vehement
objections. Mrs. Robinson tries to thwart the budding romance by
revealing the affair and Elaine breaks it off. Benjamin follows Elaine
to Berkeley where he tries to explain himself and reconnect with
Elaine. He asks Elaine to marry him and she considers the offer,
even though she’s already somewhat engaged to another man. She
decides, however, to marry the other man and Ben races to crash
the wedding. When he arrives at the church he disrupts the wedding
and he and Elaine rush off together on a bus into an unknown future.
THE GRADUATE: SCREENING NOTES

3. What is the plot of THE GRADUATE?
Taking the basic story of THE GRADUATE, how does the
director, Mike Nichols, tell the story?
How do we know Ben is a track star? How does that
impact the story later?
How do we know his family is upper-middle class?
How do we know Mrs. Robinson is unhappy and
discontented?
How do we know Ben is falling in love with Elaine?
How do we know how Elaine’s boyfriend feels about
her?
How do we know that Ben and Elaine’s future is
uncertain?
THE GRADUATE: SCREENING NOTES

4. STORY VS. PLOT
STORY = FACTS
What happens
PLOT = STORYTELLING
How and why it happens
(ON SCREEN)
THE GRADUATE: SCREENING NOTES

5. STORY: THE KING DIED AND THEN THE QUEEN DIED.
PLOT: THE KING DIED AND THEN THE QUEEN DIED
BECAUSE OF GRIEF.
E.M. Forster from Aspects of the Novel:
‘a story can only have one merit: that of making the
audience want to know what happens next. “The king died
and then the queen died” is a story.’
‘A plot is also a narrative of events, the emphasis falling on
causality – “The king died and then the queen died” is a
story.’ But ‘“the king died and then the queen died of grief” is
a plot. The time-sequence is preserved, but the sense of
causality overshadows it.’
THE GRADUATE: SCREENING NOTES

6. THE GRADUATE: SCREENING NOTES
Who are the CHARACTERS of The Graduate? Who is the
PROTAGONIST and who is the ANTAGONIST?
Benjamin
Mrs. Robinson
Elaine
Ben’s Parents
Mr. Robinson
Carl
Landlord
Hotel Clerk
Partygoers
Stripper
Any unseen characters like Joey in OTW?

7. THE GRADUATE: SCREENING NOTES
CLASSICAL NARRATIVE STRUCTURE:
EXPOSITION = the setup of the story; conveys the
circumstances of the situation and the backgrounds of
the relevant characters, and it establishes the conflict;
starts at the beginning but can run all throughout a
film
EXPOSITION:
Ben comes home and feels lost – was a success at
college but now what?
Mrs. Robinson has an unhappy marriage and resents her
daughter
Exposition for other characters? Ben’s parents? Carl?
Elaine?

8. THE GRADUATE: SCREENING NOTES
CLASSICAL NARRATIVE STRUCTURE:
RISING ACTION = usually occupies the bulk of the
film; consists of a pattern of increasingly intense
action in which the protagonist encounters
obstacles, attempts to overcome them, and suffers
setbacks
RISING ACTION:
Has an affair with Mrs. Robinson, continues to feel
lost and unfulfilled, starts to fall for Elaine
Ben’s obstacles are what?
What are the setbacks he experiences?
How does the intensity of the action grow?

9. THE GRADUATE: SCREENING NOTES
CLASSICAL NARRATIVE STRUCTURE:
CLIMAX = the moment of greatest intensity
or tension; the conflict between the
protagonist and the antagonist comes to a
head and an outcome is DETERMINED
(typically when a cycle is broken)
CLIMAX:
The affair is revealed to Elaine
The cycle of deceit is broken and an outcome
of some kind is now set in motion

10. THE GRADUATE: SCREENING NOTES
CLASSICAL NARRATIVE STRUCTURE:
FALLING ACTION = follows the climax, the action
diminishesfalls in intensityflows from climax
FALLING ACTION:
Elaine leaves
Ben decides they should/will marry
Ben goes to Elaine at Berkeley
Elaine plans to marry someone else
Mrs. Robinson gloats over Ben
Ben rushes to the church to stop the wedding

11. THE GRADUATE: SCREENING NOTES
CLASSICAL NARRATIVE STRUCTURE:
DÉNOUEMENT= loosely translated to “untying the
knot”; order is restored and complications
generated by the conflict are resolved
DÉNOUEMENT:
Ben and Elaine flee the wedding and board a
bus bound for the future
Unlike some films, there is no sense that everything is
resolved, only the current conflict is
The bus carrying Ben and Elaine continues on into the
future without us – as viewers, that was our stop…

12. THE GRADUATE: SCREENING NOTES
Consider the Diagetic & Non-Diagetic Sound/Music
of The Graduate and list examples of each
Music at the Drive-In Restaurant
59:40 (DIAGETIC)
Montage Music
36:18 (NON-DIAGETIC)
Car Trouble
01:36:09 (NON-DIAGETIC)
Wedding Music/Church Organ, etc.
01:37:50 (DIAGETIC)

13. THEME = the film’s central topic or subject, a main
idea that runs like a thread through the story and
ties together its various elements
THE GRADUATE: SCREENING NOTES

14. THEME = the film’s central topic or subject, a main
idea that runs like a thread through the story and
ties together its various elements
Often a THEME is signaled by means of a visual
motifs; for instance in THE GRADUATE
Water
Hallways
Looking into camera
Animal Print/Imagery
AUDIO MOTIF as THEME:
“Sounds of Silence”/“Scarborough Fair”
THE GRADUATE: SCREENING NOTES

15. MESSAGE = an opinion or point of view put
forward by a film; while a film’s THEME is general
and value-neutral, a film’s MESSAGE is like a
thesis statement in an essay; it’s what the film is
“trying to say” and/or a lesson its trying to impart
upon the audience
What is the “MESSAGE” of THE GRADUATE?
THE GRADUATE: SCREENING NOTES

16. We’ll watch the opening and
ending scenes from THE
GRADUATE and discuss the
various CAMERA DISTANCES,
CAMERA ANGLES, and
CAMERA MOVEMENTS
employed in each
THE GRADUATE: SCREENING NOTES