Control In The Film 'The Graduate'

Everyone wants to have the power, the power to change someones life or control it. In The Graduate directed by Mike Nichols, Benjamin Braddock has just graduated college and returns home. He has no control over his life, his parents still control him and then so does Mrs. Robinson. Mrs. Robinson demands control over every scene she is in and even frames of scenes she is not present in. Camera draws all the attention to Mrs. Robinson when she’s on screen. In the scene where Mr. Robinson returns home from Ben’s party and Ben and Mr. Robinson are just drinking and taking, Mrs. Robinson walks in. She is not lit well and though she is in middle screen she is also just an outline in the background. She could have easily become part off the background but she demanded the attention and power of the scene. She comes from the background to the foreground by walking in-between the mens conversation. Mrs. Robinson also shifts from out of focus to in focus. As if the character is demanding
Robinson demonstrates power off screen. In the scene where Mrs. Robinson sends Ben to go get her purse from downstairs. Ben is scared and just wants to leave it on the stairs. Mrs. Robinson will not et him. Not only is her voice powerful here but the way they placed Ben. He is on the stairs, so no matter what if Mrs. Robinson is in shot or not he will always be lower than her till he makes it all the way up, because she is upstairs. Even when he makes it up the stairs he is following each and everyone of her commands. The camera angles also help with this power dynamic. The camera is at the top of the stairs looking down at Ben. This makes Ben look small, weak, and far away from the power character. Not until he reached the top of the stairs does he even get on the same level as the camera, and when he is it is only for a brief second. The viewer can tell Mrs. Robinson has al the power from the way the frame of the shot looks even when she is not in the scene and from Ben’s