Do you need something to do on a rainy day? Are you worried that you will forget what it’s like to be a student? Or do you already miss school so much that you could use a little mental road trip back to campus?
Get the popcorn ready, find the perfect spot on the couch, turn off your phone and join me on a tour through five decades of college themed movies. We have old classics and new goodies – hopefully there’s something that strikes everyone’s fancy!
The Graduate (1967)
The Graduate is definitely a different kind of college movie. Not only do we leave campus and look at life after graduation, we also do it in a slightly more serious and sophisticated way.
The Graduate is a very visual movie; it’s beautifully composed and shot. There are montages, unusual camera angles and it has a slow pace. Yep, it’s one of those arty movies. But it’s in color, has a really cool soundtrack and Bernie Focker is in it! It is usually not the first choice for a pizza-popcorn-and-ice-cream-until-we-pass-out movie night. But there is one aspect that makes The Graduate a timeless classic: The movie perfectly captures the often paralyzing and overwhelming fear of life after graduation. You have all the choices in the world, you have the chance to make your own decisions, take charge of your life, go out into the world and make a difference. Everyone expects a plan and has a thousand questions about the what-when-where-why-and-why-not. But often you feel like a deer in slowly approaching headlights, in the middle of an intersection and all your deer friends (and even some squirrels) are yelling over good advice. College teaches you a lot but once life takes over, no study guide, textbook or extracurricular activity will save you.
Dustin Hoffman’s Benjamin is scared. Every part of his body and even his hair is tense and full of fear. Nobody sighs as lost and sad as he does. Graduating and coming home for the summer is difficult enough. Mrs. Robinson, a very attractive and determined family friend doesn’t make things easier. Once her daughter shows up, the sh*** pretty much hits the fan. I don’t want to give anything away but in the end, Dustin Hoffman’s hair seems a bit more relaxed.
The Graduate captures the emotions and the fear of generations of students. The movie is a classic – and it makes for pretty impressive small talk.
If all of this sounds too heavy and profound: The Graduate is probably also the ultimate cougar movie. So really, the film actually offers something for everyone.
Next week we’ll make a 180 degrees turn. We’ll go back to the 21st century and learn about the timeless art of bending and snapping.
Isabelle Mitchell is from Switzerland (not Sweden). She loves coffee and chocolate and she can talk about movies and the weather for a very long time. Isabelle went to Film School in Denmark and Canada and is a Sound Designer, but she’s currently working on getting her BS in Advertising at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh (Online Division). She’s planning on slowly taking over the advertising world one tagline at a time. When she’s not doing homework or studying, she works as a Marketing Assistant. You can find her on Twitter @isabellesagt or if you have a longer attention span, her blog.