The comic spirit in The Graduate & Nine to Five
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The comic spirit is apparent in films like The Graduate and Nine to Five, both of which are resolved ultimately through the "intervention of change" as a means of bringing about the "happy conclusion." The element of change is essential in all drama, comic or not, but it serves a certain purpose as a means of resolving issues well in comedy, whereas in drama it may produce a tragic conclusion. Both tragedy and comedy involve conflict, and conflict is resolved by change. The comic spirit in the two films under discussion begins in both cases with a firm grounding in the real world--these are comedies that satirize real life and the problems faced by people everyday, which gives them a strength and an appeal beyond more contrived comedies. The issue in The Graduate is the transition from youth to adulthood, and in Nine to Five the subject is the state of office relations in American business today. In the conclusion of both, change is introduced that resolves at least part of the matter. Mike Nichols film The Graduate (1967) is a satiric view of American life, using as its central character a young man just starting out in life and who has been prepared for complete success in all things. The film is built very much on the character of Benjamin, and the change that ends the film is a change in him. In the beginning of the film, he finds himself questioning the values of his parents, the values his parents are holding out for his future, and the values he has accepted a
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er ways. Mrs. Robinson seduces Benjamin, and in truth she has to do all the work. The affair itself is a painful experience to watch as Benjamin fumbles through every moment, sitting in seeming terror as he waits to be told what to do. The predatory nature of Mrs. Robinson is unusual in films of the period, at least for older women in this sort of situation. As a friend of Benjamin's parents, she would be expected to see him as an adjunct to them and not as a sexual partner. At the most, she might view him as an eligible bachelor for her daughter Elaine and scheme to get the two together, whereas here she does everything she can to break them apart once Benjamin has noticed Elaine on his own. The situation itself is subversive--this is not the way a friend of the parents should behave, not the way the young man should respond, not the way lovers should behave toward one another, not the way a daughter and mother should compete, and so on.
The essential element making these events possible is Benjamin's character, and he is depicted as existing in a glassed-in prison holding him in as effectively as his aquarium does his fish. There are simply things that are expected of Benjamin. Though people ask him what he wants to do
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Some common words found in the essay are:
American Dream, Nine Five, Mike Nichols, Benjamin Graduate, nine five, , comic spirit, Twentieth Century-Fox, change introduced, american society, Paramount Pictures, change vital, characters graduate, values parents, american dream, resolves matter,
Approximate Word count = 1664
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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