Entrapment

Rating: Null/10 (26 January 2006)

Scott Greenan New American Cinema January 27, 2006 The Graduate
The Graduate could not have come at a better point in time for young teenagers. As the 1960's came to a close, the youth of the rebellious teens seemed to come to its conclusion as well. The only issue remaining was "what do we do now?" Those coming back from Vietnam were inflicted with the common apathetic feeling towards life that a soldier experiences. The beatnik and hippie culture was growing older and had to create families for themselves. Apathy began to inflict the young American culture. This is where The Graduate comes into play.
Dustin Hoffman's character of Benjamin is a newly graduated college student whose future was still undecided. In one scene, he tells his father that he was "drifting" (literally in the pool, but actually meaning that he was drifting through life carelessly) because it was "comfortable." In all actuality, he was trapped. Constantly shown through windows, especially the church window in the end, his entrapment is almost cage-like. His bedroom has vertically striped wallpaper and the hotel room windows had a great number of horizontal shades which represent bars. Benjamin was trapped into the adulterous affair with Mrs. Robinson when he was locked in Elaine's room with her. The shot of Benjamin with Mrs. Robinson's legs in the foreground ("Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me") shows that he is literally trapped between her legs. The camera angling of most scenes usually portrays Benjamin in the background and another character close to the camera. In most conversations in the film, the camera shows both characters simultaneously without panning or extra frames. This represents Benjamin's claustrophobic lack of space or escape in the film (returning to the trapped theme).
This feeling of entrapment continues with the symbol of water. Benjamin can be compared to his fish, in a manner, because he is always behind glass or is instructed to get into 'plastics.' His pool represents both drowning and isolation. He wears a wet suit to drown out the voices of his parents and other adults. In all actuality, he is surrounded on all sides by water which can be both isolating and suffocating. Even when he is not in the pool, the light reflecting off of it looks as if he is sinking.
Finally, another symbol of entrapment can be seen in the color scheme of the film. The adults adorn themselves and their homes in black and white. The only true color that we see includes the blue pool (which can be as much of a danger as it is an escape) and his red sports car which is his only source of escape. Black and white are important because they represent boredom and lack of excitement. Mrs. Robinson is usually adorned in black clothing (also animal print of all kinds) representing her darker intentions and alcoholism. Benjamin is usually clad in adult suits and ties because of this reason: he wants to become an adult but is afraid of the repercussions. His incessant proposal to Elaine is announced for no real reason, it just seems to be the thing that adults do after college. That is where he is truly trapped, in his decision to become different than his parents and their suburban lifestyle (where everything looks essentially the same). In the end, he traps the adults behind the glass doors of the church using a cross. He is trapping them with religion, in a sense, with conformity. He and Elaine run away only to end up free from entrapment but still as unsure of themselves as they had begun.