The Graduate

The Graduate reflects on purpose and adulthood by examining Ben and his struggle to understand how to move forward post-graduation. This central idea is displayed in the opening scene, where Ben stands still as the moving walkway pushes him forward, demonstrating his reluctance to go into this new phase of life. As the film progresses, it tackles burnout, anxiety, and expectations in relation to adulthood and the future. Capturing these themes, the film explores relationships, growing up, and adulthood through the depiction of sex. As we watch Ben make the active transition from childhood to adulthood, we see his rejection of expectations as his experiences form his adult worldview. 

While I am not a college graduate, I can definitely relate to the emotions and thoughts Ben combs through throughout the film. As someone who has no idea what I want to do with my life, I can relate to the aimless as well as anxious feeling about what my future will look like. Within our culture, there is pressure to know what you want to do with your life and education, and this pressure can be self-imposed or from outward forces. As someone who has changed my education plans numerous times and has an eclectic collection of majors and certificates that do not correlate, I too have felt like Ben when explaining what I will do in the future to an adult. Just like Ben, I have been paraded around to my parents’ adult friends and had to explain my relative aimlessness which garners a forced smile, puzzled reaction, or an unable-to-hide look of judgment.  

Looking forward, after watching this film, I can see myself in Ben's position of trying to reject adulthood and sweeping it under the rug as he does at the beginning of the film. While I do not expect to stumble into the same circumstances, I find it entirely possible that I will find myself a graduate who is lying around my family’s home without a clue of what I want to do as well as a strong urge to reject suburbia and adulthood. I could write that I will now vow to figure out what my career will be after watching this film, but in reality, there is still a non-zero chance that I will burn out and have an existential crisis post-graduation.