CineHawk: ‘The Graduate’

In the spring semester of my sophomore year, I took a class called Re-Reading the Sixties with the now-retired Owen Gilman, Ph.D., professor of English. This was easily the best class I’ve taken throughout my twenty years of education, both because of my interest in that era of American history and art and Dr. Gilman’s kindness, enthusiasm, humor and distinct personality. 

As part of the curriculum, we watched Mike Nichols’ 1967 classic “The Graduate.” The film follows Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) who’s freshly out of college and has no idea what to do with himself. After taking a family friend’s daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross), out on a date at the behest of his parents, Ben begins an affair with her mother (Anne Bancroft), only to realize he loves Elaine after all. The film touches on many of the themes of its time, such as the disillusionment of the decade’s youth, fear of what the future might hold and disconnection between generations. 

I enjoyed this class so much that I signed up for Dr. Gilman’s public speaking course the following semester. What I didn’t expect was for him to, once again, show us “The Graduate” in increments over the course of three class periods. Of course, it was awesome. The film is amazing. Its endlessly quotable dialogue, influential and memorable performances, incessant Simon & Garfunkel soundtrack and iconic cinematography make it as funny and entertaining as it is unnerving and uncomfortable. The zeitgeist of the 1960s, from its Berkeley setting to its hairstyling to its prediction of the plastics boom, is captured impeccably. But there are no scenes that directly relate to the fine art of public speaking anywhere. 

“Dr. Gilman,” I said, a smile on my face. “Didn’t we watch this last semester?”

He laughed in his iconic, falsetto nervous chuckle. He said he also showed it to his first-years every semester. “It’s just a really good movie.”

How can you argue with that?

As I prepare to graduate, a little worried about my future, I find myself reflecting on my three years at St. Joe’s — three formative years of young adulthood that I’ve been able to navigate because of movies I’ve seen. I’ve thought about what they’ve taught me and how they’ve helped me make sense of the world. And while I learned a lot in my two semesters with Dr. Gilman, maybe the greatest lesson he taught me was that, sometimes, a movie just speaks to you. And in this ever-changing and chaotic world, there’s nothing better than watching something that helps you make sense of it. 

Rating: 10/10