《毕业生》电影英语教案.doc

Unit 3 The Graduate （毕业生）
I. Understanding the Movie
1. Cultural Background
This is a film of the 1960s. It is about the revolt of a new generation of young adults against the values of the old generation -- their own parents. The parents' generation wants to assert authority, yet the younger people reject it and are intent on leading their own lives. The two generations don't understand each other. Neither is shown as admirable.
The story was originally a novel by Charles Webb. Calder Willingham and Buck Henry adapted it for the cinema. And it was very successful, gaining awards both for the direction and for the screen adaptation. It has the status of a classic. It catches the mood and concerns of a decade of significant change.
America in the 1960s
Note: Understanding the world of the Braddocks and the Robinsons. Some of the major events and movements of the 1960s are briefly described below. According to the material, answer the questions on the relation between the film The Graduate and the time in which the story is set.
The Depression
The Great Depression (or The Slump) began with the stock market crash of 1929 and spread to all the capitalist countries of the West. It lasted for ten years, until the outbreak of the Second World War. Almost nobody in that part of the world was unaffected by the depression and its consequences. Stocks fell, and the value of people's savings disappeared overnight. Banks failed, and there was mass unemployment. People who like the older Braddocks and Robinsons, were middle-aged in the 1960s could remember the hardships and uncertainties of that time. These were the events that shaped theft attitudes. They value the stability, security and material comfort perhaps too highly. However, their children have no recollection of those hardships, with little memory of the Second World War.
The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy
When people in the West look back to the 1960s, there is one event which more than any other comes to mind-- a wholly unexpected and violent event. The event challenged the assumption that they lived in a safe and civilized place where change would be gradual. This was the assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas, on 22nd November, 1963. Lee Harvey Oswald was convicted of firing the shot.
The Vietnam War and the Anti-War Movement
The event that dominated the 1960s was the United States armed intervention inVietnam. The war was prolonged and inconclusive and it was waged under many presidents. It began before 1955 and was not finally concluded until 1975. The United States allied its forces with those of the South Vietnamese in an effort to prevent North Vietnam from uniting both parts of the country under Communist leadership. It was largely a guerilla war, involving much brutality and loss of life -- as it persisted with no sign of an outcome that the United States could regard as satisfactory protests gathered momentum in the end, and powerful anti-war movement took shape, especially (though not only) among the young.
When Nixon was elected President, about 10,000 people gathered in Washington, opposing the war, appealed for their government to withdraw from it. Eight million students from more than 600 universities and colleges and 360 high schools held a national students' strike. One form the protest took was the refusal of many young Americans of conscription into the US army.
The Demand for Civil Rights for Black Americans and for Other Minorities
America has a large black population descended from slaves and promised equal rights under the Constitution of the United States. By the 1950s those rights had been largely eroded and the Civil Rights Movement, which gathered momentum during the 1960s under the leadership of Martin Luther King, was a movement to re-establish them. Supporters of civil rights sought for black people equality under the law and the abolition of segregated education and other reforms of social provision. Much of the support for the Civil Rights movement came from young people in the universities.
Black Americans were not alone in claiming rights of citizenship. Other minority groups in America also began to organize for political and economic action. One of the main ethnic minorities of the decade was the Hispanics who included Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans. It was the nation's fastest-growing minority group. Under the effective leadership of Cesar Chavez, they staged a series of strikes for an increase in wages.
American Indians also emerged as a new political force in this time. They were the earliest settlers of the land but were in a more desperate situation than any other minority group in the country. They at first learned from the civil-rights activists, and later on went into federal courts armed with copies of old treaties and demanded that these become the basis for restitution. In Alaska, Maine, South Carolina, and Massachusetts they won significant settlements. That provided legal recognition of their tribal rights and financial compensation at levels that upgraded their standard of living.
The Feminist Movement
Women were not a minority in terms of their numbers, but they were in terms of their status in society and the opportunities available to them. The 1960s was the decade when the movement of women's liberation (as it was known) got under way. The Civil Rights Movements raised the consciousness of women who had been trapped in a world of bedrooms, kitchens, sex, babies and home. Although many middle-class women in American led an affluent and easy life, they were unhappy at the limitations on their experience. Outside the home, they experienced underpayment and discrimination. In 1966, the National Organization of Women was founded, and rapidly grew to 150,000 members. Its immediate objective was the end of discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sex. It continued into the following decade and finally achieved legal equality for women in politics, employment and education.
The Youth Revolt
Like women, like minorities, younger people had traditionally accepted subordinate positions in society. Again the 1960s was a decade of significant change. Many United States 'universities depended on research contracts from huge corporations and the federal government and in consequence they grew more bureaucratic and impersonal. That's why some students, like Ben Braddock, felt alienated and uncertain of the purpose of their prolonged education.
More and more students had begun to participate in Civil Rights Movements by means of sit-ins, marches and protests. They were also inspired by President Kennedy's direct appeals to their youthful idealism. As criticism of American involvement in Vietnam mounted, more and more young people grew disillusioned with the government, the country and the culture they had inherited. There was a growing feeling that something was fundamentally, wrong, not just with the political system but with the entire structure of American life and values.
2. Synopsis
The number of people'involved in this story is not large. There are two American families -- Mr. and Mrs. Braddock and their son Ben Braddock (the graduate, and the hero of the story); Mr. Braddock's business partner Mr. Robinson, his wife, and their daughter Elaine. In addition we meet briefly Carl Smith, Elaine's intended husband.
This is a story of two generations -- Ben, Elaine and their parents. We don't know the first names of the older generation, which significantly indicates that their society is a much more formal one than that of their adult children.
The younger generation is (thanks to the efforts of the older) well educated. Ben has just finished his undergraduate studies at an East Coast college. Elaine is still completing hers at Berkeley. Ben has done exceptionally well in his academic work, sport, and a whole range of activities outside the curriculum. His parents and their friends are delighted and proud of his achievements. He has a brand-new car as a graduation present.
For the first few days, Ben's vacation life is a round of presents and parties in his honor.
It is soon clear that he is not enjoying his triumphs or his parents' pleasure. He is silent and unhappy. He has no notion whathe wants to do. Neither of the choices offered m a good job or an opportunity to continue with graduate studies -- has any meaning for him. The uncertainty mood is What Mrs. Robinson exploits. She tricks him into driving her home, then baldly seduces him. Later she makes the arrangements for their liaison at a local hotel. As the furtive affair continues Ben becomes secretive and dissipated.
Mrs. Robinson's daughter, Elaine, returns home from Berkeley. Under pressure from his parents, Ben dates Elaine but soon falls for her. Of course Mrs. Robinson is determined to put an end to it eventually. Elaine is sent back to Berkeley. And a hasty marriage is arranged between her and Karl Smith. Again it is the older generation that is determined to control the lives of the younger. In doing so they bring about a situation that Ben knows at last what he wants -- he wants Elaine. He follows her to Berkeley, rapidly and riskily in the car that is a present from his parents. He reaches the church where the wedding is actually in progress, snatches Elaine and escapes with her (having abandoned the car) in a bus!
II. Excerpts from the Movie
Excerpt 1
MRS ROBINSON: Would you come in, please?
BEN: What?
MRS ROBINSON: I'd like you to come in till I get the lights on.
BEN: What for?
MRS ROBINSON: Because I don't feel safe until I get the lights on. Would you mind walking ahead of me to the sun porch? I feel funny about coming into a dark house.
BEN: But it is light in here.
MRS ROBINSON: Please. What do you drink? Bourbon?
BEN: Look, uh, Mrs. Robinson, I drove you home. I was glad to do it. But I have some things on my mind. Can you understand that?
MRS ROBINSON: Yes.
BEN: All right.
MRS ROBINSON: What do you drink? Benjamin. I'm sorry to be this way, but I don't want to be left alone in this house.
BEN: Why not?
MRS ROBINSON: Please wait till my husband gets home.
BEN: When is he coming back?
MRS ROBINSON: I don't know. Drink?
BEN: No. Are you always this much afraid of being alone?
MRS ROBINSON: Yes.
BEN: Well, why can't you just lock the doors and go ~o bed?
MRS ROBINSON: rm very neurotic. () May I ask you a question? What do you think of me?
BEN: What do you mean?
MRS ROBINSON: You've known me nearly all your life. You must have formed some opinion of me.
BEN: Well, I always thought that you were a very nice person.
MRS ROBINSON: Did you know I was an alcoholic?
BEN: What
MRS ROBINSON: Did you know that?
BEN: Look, I think I should be going.
MRS ROBINSON: Sit down, Benjamin.
BEN: Mrs. Robinson, if you don't mind my saying so, this conversation is getting a little strange. Now, I'm sure that Mr. Robinson will be here any minute now and...
MRS ROBINSON: No.

BEN: What?
MRS ROBINSON: My husband will be back quite late. He should be gone for several hours.
BEN: Oh, my God.
MRS ROBINSON: Pardon?
BEN: Oh, no. Mrs. Robinson, oh, no.
MRS ROBINSON: What's wrong?
BEN: Mrs. Robinson, you didn't -- I mean, you didn't expect...
MRS ROBINSON: What?

BEN: I mean -- you didn't really think that .I would do something like that...
MRS ROBINSON: Like what?
BEN: What do you think?
MRS ROBINSON: Well, I don't know.
BEN: For God's sake, Mrs. Robinson, here we are, you've got me into your house. You give me a drink. You put on music, now you start opening up your personal life to me and tell me your husband won't be home for hours.
MRS ROBINSON: So?
BEN: Mrs. Robinson, you are trying to seduce me.
MRS ROBINSON: Ha-ha!
BEN: Aren't you?
MRS ROBINSON: Well, no. I hadn't thought of it. I feel very flattered.
BEN: Mrs. Robinson, will you forgive me for what I just said?
MRS ROBINSON: It's all right..
BEN: It's not all right, it's the worst thing I’ve ever said to anyone.
MRS ROBINSON: Sit down.
BEN: Please forgive me, because I like you. I don't think of you that way. But I'm mixed up.
MRS ROBINSON: It's all right. Finish your drink.
BEN: Mrs. Robinson, it makes me sick that I said that to you.
MRS ROBINSON: We'll forget it right now. Finish your drink.
BEN: What is wrong with me?
MRS ROBINSON: Have you ever seen Elaine's portrait?
BEN: Her portrait?
MRS ROBINSON: Yes.
BEN: No.
MRS ROBINSON: We had it done last Christmas. Would you have to see it?
BEN: Very much.
MRS ROBINSON: It's here in Elaine's room.
BEN: Elaine certainly is an attractive girl, isn't she? I don't remember her as having brown eyes.
MRS ROBINSON: Benjamin?
BEN: Yes?
MRS ROBINSON: Will you come over here a minute?
BEN: Over there?
MRS ROBINSON: Huh.
BEN: Sure.
MRS ROBINSON: Will you unzip my dress? I think I'll go to bed.
BEN: Oh, well, goodnight.
MRS ROBINSON: Won't you unzip my dress?
BEN: I'd rather not, Mrs. Robinson.
MRS ROBINSON: If you still think I'm trying to seduce you...
BEN: No, I don't, but I just feel a little funny.
MRS ROBINSON: Benjamin. You've known me all your life.
BEN: I know that, but I'm...
MRS ROBINSON: Come on. It's hard for me to reach. (...) Thank you.
BEN: Right.
MRS ROBINSON: What are you so scared of?.
BEN: I'm not scared, Mrs. Robinson
MRS ROBINSON: Then why do you keep running away?
BEN: Because you're going to bed. I don't think I should be up here.
MRS ROBINSON: Haven't you ever seen anybody in a slip before?
BEN: Yes, I have, but I just…. What if Mr. Robinson walked in right now?
MRS ROBINSON: What if he did?
BEN: Well, it would look pretty funny, wouldn't it?
MRS ROBINSON: Don't you think he trusts us together?
BEN: Of course he does, but he might get the wrong idea. Anyone might.
MRS ROBINSON: I don't see why? I'm twice as old as you are. How could anyone think that?
BEN: But they would. Don't you see?
MRS ROBINSON: Benjamin. I am not trying to seduce you!
BEN: I know that. But please, Mrs. Robinson. This is difficult.
MRS ROBINSON: Would you like me to seduce you?
BEN: What?
MRS ROBINSON: Is that what you're trying to tell me?
BEN: I'm going home now. I apologize for what I said. I hope you can forget it. And I'm going home right now.
MRS ROBINSON: Benjamin?
BEN: Yes?
MRS ROBINSON: Will you bring up my purse before you go?
BEN: I have to go now. I'm sorry.
MRS ROBINSON: I really don't want to put this on again. Won't you bring it up?
BEN: Where is it?
MRS ROBINSON: On the table in the hall.
BEN: Mrs. Robinson?
MRS ROBINSON: I'm in the bathroom.
BEN: Well, here's the purse.
MRS ROBINSON: Could you bring it up?
BEN: Well, I'll hand it to you. Come to the railing and I'll hand it up.
MRS ROBINSON: Benjamin, I am getting pretty tired of aU this su