There he is, just another passenger on a plane coming from the East Coast and landing in California. At first, he seems to be on a pristine white hospital table.
The camera pans out, and we see the other passengers. He smiles, finally, as he leaves the airport, jacket thrown over right shoulder and single briefcase in hand. Viewers today might think this young man, in a grey suit and black tie, is an established businessman returning from a trip.
Movie fans 50 years ago learned quickly that Benjamin was the titular character in a film that would change the way we watched, absorbed, and understood films about alienated young characters shedding the last layers of childhood and entering the real world. That the powers that be stood firm for Hoffman, the antithesis of a Robert Redford type, spoke volumes about the tone this story was going to set.
In the film, Elaine almost marries a Redford type, only to be swept away at the altar by a desperate Benjamin. The biggest initial takeaway for many viewers of The Graduate is captured in one word: plastics. Benjamin finally walks downstairs and is eventually accosted by Mr.
Think about it. Will you think about it? For much of The Graduate Benjamin is merely observing. He neither asks for nor is given details about the role plastics will play in the future of the world — or his world — but the message is clear.
