The Graduate (USA: Mike Nichols, 1967)

One of the most beloved American films of all time, The Graduate earned Mike Nichols a best director Oscar, brought the music of Simon & Garfunkel to a wider audience, and introduced the world to a young actor named Dustin Hoffman. Benjamin Braddock (Hoffman) has just finished college and is already lost in a sea of confusion and barely contained angst when he becomes sexually involved with a friend of his parents’, the indomitable Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), before turning his attention to her college-age daughter (Katharine Ross). Visually imaginative and impeccably acted, with a clever, endlessly quotable script by Buck Henry (based on the novel by Charles Webb), The Graduate had the kind of cultural impact that comes along only once in a generation. -- Criterion

It's the great American danger we're all in. That we'll bargain away the experience of being alive for the appearance of it. - Mike Nichols (quoted in More Than Meets the Lens' video essay "Why The Graduate is So Timeless.")

Occasionally in the arts, a work manages to speak to its contemporaries in a powerful and timely way that seems to capture the essence of its era. The usual fate of such works is that they become historical artifacts, of interest only to historians and sociologists. A few works, however, manage to continue to speak across time, renewing their hold on each generation because of their richness, complexity, and treatment of universal concerns and experiences. This ability to transcend different eras is what makes a work a classic. In American film history, one such work is The Graduate, originally released in 1967. - Howard Suber (1987)

The Graduate (USA: Mike Nichols, 1967: 106 mins)

Criterion Collection introduction and commentaries for The Graduate

Henry, Buck. "On His Career and The Graduate." Pinewood Dialogues (June 22, 1996)

Insdorf, Annette. Cinematic Overtures: How to Read Opening Scenes. Columbia University Press, 2017. ["Your professor has a copy of this book."]

Koski, Genevieve, et al. "The Graduate (1967) / The Meyerowitz Stories (Part 1)." The Next Picture Show #100 (October 31, 2017)

Kuersten Erich. "CinemArchetype #6: The Intimidating Nymph." Acidemic (March 2, 2012)

"Mike Nichols." Auteur Musuem #2 (September 1, 2015)

Nichols, Mike. "On His Filmmaking Style and Directing Actors." Pinewood Dialogues (March 1, 1990)

Rich, Frank. "The Graduate: Intimations of a Revolution." Current (February 23, 2016)

Shone, Tom. "Should Film Critics Care About Cinematic Technique." The Guardian (April 11, 2014)

Suber, Howard. "The Graduate." The Current (December 6, 1987)

West, Stephen. "The Frankfurt School: Erich Fromm on Love." Philosophize This! #150 (February 6, 2021) ["Key Takeaways: The Problem of Human Existence and Separateness: Erich Fromm posits that a fundamental issue in human existence is the feeling of separateness or existential loneliness. This awareness of being separate from others and the universe drives people to seek connections beyond themselves, often through love, to alleviate this sense of isolation.
Transactional vs. Genuine Love: The podcast explores the difference between transactional love (where love is treated as a commodity in a personality market) and genuine love. Fromm criticizes the former as being about mutual benefit and not true love, suggesting it leads to relationships that are shallow and likely to fail.
Love as an Active Faculty: Fromm argues that love should be viewed not as a passive emotion that happens to someone, but as an active faculty, a skill that can and should be developed. True love involves a constant, active effort to connect and care for others.
Mastering the Art of Love: The episode discusses Fromm's view of love as an art form that requires dedication and practice, similar to mastering any skill. He emphasizes the importance of humility, courage, faith, and discipline in developing the ability to love genuinely and deeply.
Recommended Reading:
Escape from Freedom by Erich Fromm (1994): This book explores the psychological challenges associated with the transition from traditional societies to modern freedom, and how this shift can lead to authoritarianism.
"The Art of Loving" by Erich Fromm: A profound analysis of love as an art that must be actively practiced and developed, rather than a passive feeling. Fromm explores how love, in its various forms including romantic love, familial love, and self-love, is an expression of one's life and a key to human fulfillment.
The Essential Fromm: Life Between Having and Being by Erich Fromm (2014): This work encapsulates Fromm's views on achieving a fulfilling life, focusing on the dichotomy between 'having' and 'being', and the art of living well."]