Shot 2 When Ben example essay topic

Shot by Shot Assignment The Graduate Shot 1 ObservationDuration: 14 seconds Ben enters his room and is at ease finally. The music stops and the focus is on him. The room is well lit and his head is leaned against the white door, which gives the audience a sense of escape. As he makes his way toward the window, we see a dartboard next to his bedroom door that has not one of the darts on the correct target. One has even found itself on the wall. Over his bed we see pictures of planes and toy planes pointed in every direction as maybe parallel to his life.

The camera holds a medium close-up as Ben looks down through his window after he takes a hesitant walk over to that position. Interpretation: He feels that himself in his room with nobody else around ensures him isolation that he is yearning for. However, the un-aimed darts contradicts the room's solidity and assurance. Just as his life as we later see the dart board is just as disorganized as Ben.

Shot 2 ObservationDuration: 3 seconds Ben looks down through the window. The camera shows the back of his head in the right foreground and the guests at the poolside in the left background. We see the shot in high angle. The guests are laughing, having drinks and seem to be enjoying themselves. Ben looks on as if the party was not in his favor. Interpretation: The close-up of Ben looking out the window shows the viewer that he is searching for an escape out of the situation that is current in his house.

He wants to be elsewhere but has no idea at the moment where exactly that elsewhere should be. He looks very disappointed and even hopeful at the same time to disappear to another location as if by magic. Shot 3 ObservationDuration: 7 seconds Ben walks from his window to the bed. His journey there is slow and seldom. His bed is gray and black as he showcases not only the toy airplanes above his bed but also pictures of airplanes pointed in different locations.

There is not really a burst of color in his room beside those protruding inside of the fish tank. The view is very blatant and not at all flamboyant. Interpretation: He has no sense of direction or happiness in his room. Even though he originally wanted to be alone, he finds himself now too lonely.

He attempts to find some form of movement within his confinement when he is drawn to sit near the fish tank. Shot 4 ObservationDuration: 12 seconds Ben stares deeply into the fish tank. The fish tank is in the foreground of the shot and Ben's face is in the right background transparently showing. As he looks into the fish tank we see multi-colored fishes, corals and other decorations that occupy the water. At he end of the shot Ben's door is opened and we see Mrs. Robinson in the doorway. Interpretation: The fishes in the fish tank display color, movement and ultimately freedom.

Ben looks on as if he is craves to have this too in his own life. The lighting becomes immense and he is therefore hopeful. Overall Meaning: Ben escapes the swarm of family and friends. He feels very overwhelmed and confined downstairs. His bedroom serves as his time and place for isolation. This shows that the parents are not really concerned about his feelings or opinions.

Ben does not share the same opinions about his future as his parents have in mind. He is basically showcased as a scholar than a regular human being with a desire for acceptance. Opening Shots: The Graduate After Title Sequence Shot 1-Interpretation As Ben sits in front of the fish tank he seems to be thinking very deeply. The tank represents a sort of tranquility and peacefulness for Ben. The father's voice is more dominating than Ben's silent cry". Hey, what's the matter?" was the first line in the film This dialogue represents the father and mother asking questions as a form of human behavior but not really as a sign of individual concern.

They bypass his wants and act as if his views hold no real significance. This shows us that they know about him, (accomplishments) but they are unaware of him as a person. The parents ask him questions, but it serves as just another form of the English language and not a way of sincerely communicating with Ben. His parents are placed in the foreground to demonstrate this point.

They black out Ben and as a parallel his feelings and thoughts that he tries to express. The camera stays on Ben to show that he struggles to show and translate his emotions. Black and white color shows that Ben's life as shown by his own point of view has no real direction as reflected to the future. The queer part of the shots however was the portrait of the clown on the walls in the staircase. Normally, portraits displayed would be that of family and or friends but a clown shows no stability in the entire family. The entire household is a joke.

Shot 2 When Ben is introduced or reintroduced to his parents' friends he is in a claustrophobic shots. He is once again overwhelmed and uncomfortable with these settings. He is confined in his own "perfect" house. This proves to be a support as well as a definite downfall as the plot continues. The repeated lines suggest that they hold not only significance in the overall story, but they refine Ben's expressed statements. Women are constantly surrounding Ben.

The kiss from the older woman anticipates the affair with Mrs. Robinson. The entire social class portrays a wealthy medium classed people in society coming together in an attempt to draft a new member, (Ben). They have high expectations and aspirations for him. The family friends refer to Ben other than his name as a method of showcasing somehow unintentionally his accomplishments more than his personality.

He as a person is not highlighted in any way, shape or form. This introduces Ben's desire to explore himself eventually find himself outside of the track. The cutting paces are roughly the same length probably because it symbolizes uniformity and even stable day-to-day sequences of a day in the life of Ben. The husband-wife exchanges are very opinionated as far as what is best for the child. Ben's attempt to escape to escape leads to left-right tracking shots to convey his confused direction movement throughout the film. He wants to do something that is his idea and not those of his parents, which he succeeds at doing throughout the film with Mrs. Robinson.