A Structural Analysis of Punch Drunk Love

Punch Drunk adj

1. Demonstrating or characteristic of the behaviour of a person who has suffered repeated blows to the head, esp a professional boxer

2. dazed; stupefied

            The movie that I have selected to be analyze is Punch Drunk Love(2002), written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson(PTA).  It is critically acclaimed movie that won best director and received a nomination for Palm d’Or at the prestigious Canne Film Festival.  This is a major feat considering that it stars Adam Sandler, an actor who has a track record for being the same exaggerated, over-the-top character in a series of high concept comedies. In this role PTA managed to find a talent, and a believability in Sandler that no other director had managed to previously capture.  Not only does it star Adam Sandler but the premise has been heard time and time again: an insecure, easily taken advantage of man must transform into a brave, confident man stand up against the oppressors to get the girl of his dreams.  With these ingredients, Punch Drunk Love could have easily gotten lost in a sea of Hollywood’s forgettable romantic comedies. The following analysis will explain how PTA’s careful, yet extensive use of film language and unique story structure manages to elicit an emotional response from its audience and set it apart from other romantic comedies. In order to do this I will breakdown the story by its key plot elements as well as explain his use of symbolism, composition, light, and various other story techniques. 

            Before I can begin the analysis here’s a quick breakdown of the story:

Adam Sandler plays Barry Eagan, an owner of a small business.  He is a business man who is the youngest of eight siblings, all of seven older sisters.  They all make sure to push their ideas about him, manipulate, him and control him.  He feels that he has no one to talk to.  Nobody, to listen to him. In a desperate attempt to be heard he calls a phone sex hotline.  The hotline ends up being a scam to get his credit card information.  Meanwhile he finds the girl of his dreams.  The story Barry’s journey to put an end to these pursuers before he loses his possessions and his newfound love can get hurt.   

            When breaking down this story, my first instinct was that since Barry’s objective is to ‘get the girl’ I assumed that all of the plot points would revolve around this mission.  The reason is that in most movies about a guy going pursuing a girl, the plot points will revolve around this relationship.  For example:

Inciting Incident.- Guy meets girl.

1^st Turning Point: Guy and girl go on a date.

Midpoint- Guy leaves girl or girl leaves guy for someone or something else

2^nd Turning Point- Guy decides he will do whatever it takes to get girl back.

Climax- Some sort of dramatic wedding sequence, airport chase, etc.. he gets her back before she leaves, or is committed to someone else.

Resolution: Guy gets girl.

            Since there are so many movies like this I was accustomed to this type of structure.  But that’s not what Punch Drunk Love is about. This story is not about this girl, she’s actually interested in him throughout the movie, there are no dark moments of her leaving, instead the movie is a character driven story about Barry standing up for himself and becoming confident within his own self.  Lena, rather than being the source of conflict she represents  someone who he can talk to and someone who will listen to him.  In that sense she is t for his change but the story’s dramatic ark. She is what keeps him pushing to move forward. With that said, the key turning points take place at the times when Barry makes a decision to deal with the other people’s taking advantage of him in a new way.  The following paragraphs are the five key plot points that take place in this story about Barry’s transformation into a person who believes in himself. After talking through the plot points I will closely examine the film language in order to explain how this story actually worked.

            In the opening image the world of the story is established quickly and effectively.  The first line of the movie is “yes, I’m still on hold” this summarizes the dramatic conflict in the story,  Barry is a man who is being “put on hold” by the world he lives in.  His sisters are manipulative, and unlikeable, his job is clearly not going well, and he has nobody who he can talk to.  

            The hook occurs when Barry walks outside and sees a car crash and roll violently followed by a harmonium, being placed at Barry’s feet.  This exactly what a hook should do.  It grabs the audience’s attention and gets their mind to be actively engaged in the story.  I mean what’s more engaging then a violent car crash and the ditching of a harmonium out of the blue? 

            The next major beat is when the audience sees Barry lose control for the first time. This is occurs when he breaks three glass doors at his sister’s birthday party, he decides to confide in his brother-in-law, a dentist.  Barry “I don’t like myself sometimes.  Can you help me?... I sometimes cry a lot for no reason”  and then proceeds to break into tears.  The reason this is the inciting incident is because Barry is making his first move towards understanding what his problem is.  It establishes that his dramatic need is to understand who he is and why he feels so weak. This leads to the inciting incident, when he calls the Phone sex line.  Here he is making a desperate move to find someone to talk to.  This leads to Barry searching for a solution to his problems. Within the first fifteen minutes we have seen the protagonist, the object of his desire, we have seen him interact in his world and sympathize for him because we feel discomfort just as he does.

            Barry’s solution is to call a phone sex line.  The morning after Georgia, the girl from the phone sex service, calls him back asking for money.  This is when the audience first finds out about the central conflict of the story, Barry dealing with the phone sex line.  “I have your credit card information”.  While the threat of losing money is obviously a concern for the character, money is not a factor in this story.  The actual conflict is Barry’s fear of being exposed as someone he is not.  Barry is a character who is private by nature is at risk of his reputation being at stake.  Knowing how his sisters tend to act around him, the audience is likely to wonder: “How are his sisters going to react when they find out about this?” This begins the growing tension of the story.

            The next major beat is when Barry is assaulted.  Barry does not stand up for himself.  He goes to the ATM, withdraws the cash, and begins to say he cannot afford this only to receive a punch to the face.   He has not been able to transform into the hero yet.  At this point in the story Barry is still not ready to challenge them, instead he decides to flea the situation and travel to Hawaii to meet up with Lena.   This raises the stakes by reminding Barry that he is in harms way and this problem will not just go away. 

            The midpoint occurs when Barry tries to redeem his Pudding, and finds out that he must wait six to eight weeks.  Now both parts of his story are at a low.  Not only is he in harms way but he has no access to meet up with Lena.  He manages to get to Hawaii anyway, and is refreshed, it is an escape from the phone sex story, a chance for the audience to relax and take a breath.

            The Hawaii sequence is too happy, this is the point of false hope.  It is easy to perceive that something is going to change for the worse.  And it does. A car strikes Barry’s car and they spin out of control.  This is a major beat because this is the first time that the two stories (Barry’s love story and his phone sex conflict) have directly converged.  The convergence of these two stories is the staw that breaks the camels back.  It is the determining moment in which Barry fears he could lose the Lena, the one thing that is most important to him, his dramatic need.  From here on Barry takes on the role of a hero, he has no doubt in his mind what he needs to get done. 

            Now Barry is sick of using phone to communicate.  He will no longer allow himself to be put on hold.  He travels all the way to Utah and addresses the man in charge of the phone sex scam face-to-face.  The mattress man quickly accuses him: “fuck you.  You’re a pervert.  You think you can be a pervert and not pay for it?”.  Barry’s response is “I didn’t do anything.  I’m a nice man and I mind my own business.  So you tell me that’s that before I beat the hell from you.  I have so much strength in me, you have no idea.  I have a love in my life. It makes me stronger than anything you can imagine.  I would say that’s that mattress man.”  Barry is full of self confidence, he knows who he is as a person and will not allow anyone else to influence his thoughts.  Following this is the most brilliant part.  Rather than Barry responding to this situation with violence, he shows that not only is he brave, and strong, but he has enough self-control to not attack this man.  The transformation of the hero is complete. 

            It is easy to think that a person is reading too far into a movie’s analysis when the someone searches for deep, profound meanings in objects, little details in a movie. Such as someone may say: ‘there’s no way that in Psycho, Hitchcock included a bunch of stuffed birds in Bates’ room to symbolize his relationships with woman as dead and unresponsive”   My argument is that symbolism is used all of the time in movies and more often than not, it is a conscious decision.  Now, a director isn’t necessarily implying exactly what people interpret.. these interpretations are subjective and people will develop their own conclusions.  What the director is doing is using an object as a device for showing the audience rather than telling.  Symbolism as a device is commonly used in three different ways: it can be a form of exposition, illuminate something about a character, and/or to show a transformation through the character’s interaction with that object.  PTA is extremely conscious of the symbols he uses and will in some cases will go to the extreme of using a symbol in the story regardless of the fact that it may interfere with the story’s believability. 

            The pudding is something that Barry has control over.  He is living in a place where everyone seems to misunderstand him and try to manipulate him…The movie is about a man who is grossly misunderstood.  Other people do not give him the time of day.  And try to manipulate him.  The pudding is something that he has seen that everyone else seems to have looked over.  This is something that he thinks he has control over… a finer detail. 

            After Barry finds out that the pudding will take six to eight weeks to process before he can get his frequent flying miles.  To this point it had been a symbol of something that Barry had gotten the better end of.  Now its not going to work.  He reacts by punching a map on the wall.  He screams in pain and grabs again for his harmonium, we see that the cuts on his bloodied knuckles spell out “Love”.  While I can argue that this lack of believability could pull the audience out of the story, it’s a powerful image that manages to encapsulate Barry’s story. 

            Phones ringing are used as a way to add tension in scenes.  Everyone knows that annoying feeling of a phone ringing in which you know you should answer but you don’t want to deal with whoever is on the end of the line.  Paul understands this feeling and used this phone ringing sound as a device to instill tension in the audience.  Barry is often a man who people overlook, and don’t take the time to understand him… he’s misunderstood.  In the climax, Barry rips the phone from the machine and takes it with him to confront them head on.  Face to face. He literally runs off while still holding the phone to his ear.  He brings the phone to the mattress shop and yells at him still holding the phone.  He is putting a face on a voice… forcing them to look at the fine print(referring to his comment about the putting earlier-everyone misses the fine print).. understand what they are doing. 

            The harmonium is relief. This is established as something he has taken on his own, something he is very intrigued by-  It is a source of comfort for the protagonist.  When the audience sees him reach out and grab the harmonium they realize that he is getting a sense of relief. 

            The deep blue suit that he wears is something other people judge him for.  Something that is used as a source of other people’s jokes, or judgemental questions.  We are never told when he got the suit, why he continues to wear it, but we know that he likes it… By addressing the suit multiple times in the movie it acts as a way to show the audience the character’s transformation.  He reacts differently to people’s comments as he transforms.

      The camera is used as narrator in this movie.  As you can already tell, the imagery in this movie is carefully used so as to evoke emotions within the audience.  But not only the objects within the frame are used but also the framing in itself.  The camera acts as a narrator, point the audience where to look, and to what is important.  This is typical of PTA, his shot selection is clearly thought out.  Each composition for a specific reason.  I believe that the effect of this camera narration is that it keeps the audence compelled and it tells the story through showing rather than telling.  It acts as a form of exposition, of which the audience must remain actively engaged to follow this story.  The following is an analysis of how PTA’s camerawork contributes to this story.

            A contrast between flat space and deep space is one tool that he uses to keep the story visually dynamic, this acts to keep the audience visually stimulated.  In terms of story structure, it keeps the story propelling forward and is a tool to hint at a certain feel in the scene.

            Deep space is scene frequently in the hallway way shots.  They are shot with a telephoto lens that actually shrinks the space but are long enough hallways that they look like have a dramatic look.  Some scenes in which we see Barry in hallways,  the hallways act as a way to build tension, for example the scene after Lena says “I wish you would have kissed me” barry runs from hallway to hallway, running at the camera and then running away from the camera, with the telephoto lens it looks like he’s not going anywhere.  This heightens the tension of the scene as the audience cannot wait to see the protagonist kiss the object of his desire.   Deep space is also used in the warehouse scenes.  These are some of the most stressful scenes that I’ve ever scene.  Paul builds the tension with music, and background dialogue, and reflections of people moving, phones ringing etc… this deep space adds to the visual intensity as Barry runs back and forth, answering phones pitching to his clients. 

            Flat space is used equally as well.  This occurs at the times when Barry is supposed to feel trapped.  One example is the scene where he brakes the three glass doors.  The tension builds as his sisters call him “gay boy” and pester him about everything imaginable.  The shot is composed of horizontal and vertical lines and there is very limited depth.  Barry has nowhere to go, on top of that he is standing in front of a glass cabinet full of nice china.  As the sound intensifies and Barry remains trapped in this space, the audience can sense that something is going to happen. 

            Another compositional method for showing that Barry is trapped is done by filming him from through a hallway so that the doorway reaches into both ends of the frame.  This gives the appearance of him having nowhere to go.  One of the most effective uses of this framing is when Georgia, calls him back the morning after he had called her for phone sex.  He answers the phone and it is framed as a medium shot.  The camera very slowly pushes in on Barry as Georgia hints at needing money.  As the camera pushes in Barry backs up at a faster rate, by the time the shot is done, it is a full shot of Barry, it is still framed by the doorframe and as the camera pushes in, the objects in the frame get considerably larger, especially those objects in the foreground.  The effect of this shot is that Barry not only looks trapped, but also he’s literally shrinking around the world of the story. The objects are getting larger and he is getting smaller.  The audience can sense that this is going to become a big problem. This visual effect is especially relevant because it occurs at the first turning point.  The room growing around him is a visual representation of him entering the ‘a new world’ which in terms of story structure, a protagonist is supposed to be entering a new world at the end of the first act. 

            The movie uses a lot of two shots where the characters are framed from the side.  The first time we see this type of framing, it is Barry sitting at his dinner table. It is framed in a way that you would expect there to be another person sitting at the table with him.  The audience already knows that Barry has nobody to talk to.  So by seeing him framed at a dinner table across from an empty chair the audience is directed to feel sympathetic for him.  PTA wants the audience to be feeling the character’s loneliness.  Now if this feels like to much of a stretch, then lets say that Barry was centered in the frame and Barry was sitting at the table with just the empty plate.  Now, maybe the audience could wonder if he’s hungry and thinking about what to eat, or if he’s just sitting down relaxing.  Furthermore, by instilling a sense of sympathy in the character the audience can now justify our protagonist calling a phone sex line, an act that would otherwise make our character unlikeable, and make it more difficult to relate to Barry.  When another two shot is used later in the story, Lena is sitting at the table with him.  Now this seat has been filled, and chances are the audience feels a sense of relief because of this filled void. 

            In Punch Drunk love, light is frequently used as a storytelling device.  Many of the shots are intentionally overexposed.  In this story the purpose of overexposed shots is to imply discomfort.  The first scene is a great example. Barry slowly peaks outside of his warehouse into an area that is so overexposed it is difficult to make out what is out there.  We see fear/hesitation in his face and he quickly steps back into his dark warehouse.  Throughout the movie shots are overexposed when Barry finds himself in new situations, where he doesn’t feel comfortable, or when he other people are impeding on his personal space.

            Lens flares are also used as a tool to imply discomfort.  This is another one of PTA’s bold stylistic decisions because a lens flare immediately draws attention to the fact that we are observing this story through a camera which risks pulling the audience out of the spell of the movie.  In my opinion they work because they are used sparingly and only at parts that are of high intensity for the protagonist, the audience is involved in the story enough that the lens flare complements the mood rather than acting as a distraction.

            Another use of light that draws attention to itself is when Barry calls Lena from the payphone.  This is the greatest moment for Barry, he is overcome with excitement to hear the sound of her voice.  As she says hello the light in the phone booth quickly brightens to a bright yellow glow on Barry’s face.  It’s as if he were literally glowing with excitement.  This is complemented by a loud cheer by the crowd behind him, its justified because all of the people are watching a parade but PTA intentionally included it because the cheering of a crowd subconsciously complements the moment with a positive, celebratory feel.

            Paul Thomas Anderson effectively tells a story about a man who must take arms against his own personal troubles.  Focusing on the psychological transformations within this man, Paul Thomas Anderson brings the audience on a psychological ride that literally makes one feel what the protagonist feels.  It is a testament to his highly acute understanding of film language that he manages to pull the viewer in rather than distract them with his highly formalistic direction.  Without such storytelling, it likely would have been just another Hollywood movie.  My hope is that in the future more directors will be willing to take risks and focus on visual/highly subconscious storytelling in order to carry an audience through the hero’s journey. 

The Graduate

The movie that I have chosen to analyze is The Graduate, directed by Mike Nichols and winner of an academy award for best director as well as six other nominations including best adapted screenplay.  It has stood the test of time and become known has a classic.  This is due to Mike Nichol’s careful direction and the screenplay’s strong structure 

            The Graduate is a story about a recent college graduate, Ben Braddock, who has found himself trapped in superficial or “plastic” world around him.  When Mrs. Robinson, the wife of his father’s business partner, advances on him, he, with hesitation, begins an affair with her.  This affair becomes conflicted when he realizes he has strong emotions for Elaine, Mrs. Robinson’s daughter.  After confessing of the affair to Elaine he finds himself at square one and heartbroken.  When Ben learns that Elaine is getting married he takes arms against his troubles and manages to win Elaine.  The movie ends with the famous shot of the two in the back of a bus with blank expressions on their faces.  

            The following analysis will examine the story from both a macro(scenes, characters, sequences etc…)   and micro(framing, composition, symbolism, etc..) perspective to determine how the structure manages to pull the audience in emotionally. 

            The story focuses singly on the journey of one character, Benjamin Braddock and it is structured in a way that he is in almost every scene and his actions drive the story through the three acts.  In order for the audience to care about this character the audience must be able to feel what the hero feels and be actively engaged in his decisions. This is achieved largely through the careful shot selections and framing of the camera.  One will see that the cinematography is rich with symbolism and is often placed in the point of view of the protagonist causing the audience to feel the way that the protagonist feels achieving a sense of empathy and support for the protagonist.  To prove this point the direction and cinematography will often be addressed.

            The Graduate begins with a close-up on Benjamin Braddock’s face.  This immediately establishes the main character.  The shot zooms out to reveal that he is on an airplane surrounded by bored, sleeping, expressionless people.  He blends right in.  The following shot is Ben standing expressionless on a moving walkway.  The composure in his face is almost robotic, he resembles an item coming down a factory line on a conveyer belt.  He is about to return home to a world of superficial people and this shot seems to be representing that visually. The shot lasts for over a minute allowing for a careful observation of our protagonist. Yet this pacing is intentional and works effectively for this story.  The audience interprets that our protagonist is in a daze.  He seems lost or out of place.  He seems unhappy and out of his element.  This starts the audience thinking critically about who Benjamin Braddock is.  Not only does this slow pace allow the audience time to think about the protagonist but also with the help of Simon and Garfunkel’s relaxing score the audience is put in a somewhat sedated state of mind that matches that of Benjamin causing a shared feeling with Ben.

            Next, is a shot of his bag going down the baggage claim.  It passes a sign that says “Do they match?”.  This introduces the major thematic premise.  The movie is about Benjamin Braddock feeling as if he does not fit in with the superficial world that he lives in.  The rest of the story will be about his journey trying to find where he fits, finding where he feels comfortable, finding his match. 

            Next, there is a close-up Benjamin with the same blank expression in front of a fish tank.  This image of Benjamin being underwater will continue throughout the movie as a motif implying that he is trapped, being drowned in a world that he doesn’t want to live in.  His father soon arrives and asks “what seems to be the matter?”.  Ben replies “I don’t know.  I guess its about my future.  I just want it to be different”.  The combination of the fish tank behind Ben with Ben declaring his need for a different future establishes Ben’s dramatic need.  In these first few minutes the audience has an understanding of who this protagonist is on an emotional level.  The next step of establishing the world of this story is seeing Ben interact with the other characters.

            He is thrown into a full house of family friends that all bombard him with questions and conversation.  The fast pace and close framing of the camera is overwhelming and does not give Ben or the audience a chance to breath.  This leads the audience to sympathize for Ben being stuck in this situation and establishes that Ben is clearly out of place.  It also establishes the characters in this world of “plastics” as unlikeable.

            At this point the world of the story has been established.  Ben has been identified as the one that the audience should pull for--the hero of the story. he is in a place that seems superficial and uncomfortable, and finally the dramatic need is clearly Ben’s search to change his future and prevent turning into another one of these “plastics”.

            During Mrs. Robinson urges Ben to drive her home from the party.  She talks him into having a drink leads him upstairs to Elaine’s room and eventually tells him “ don’t be nervous I want to Benjamin I want you to know that I am available to you and that if you won’t sleep with me this time I want you to know that you can call me up at any time and we can make an arrangement”.  Ben is uncomfortable in this situation and repeatedly tries to get out of it. 

            This sequence resembles the story of Adam and Eve from the Old Testament of the Bible in which a serpent(Mrs. Robinson) “slyer than in beast of the field” tempts Adam and Eve(Benjamin) to eat an apple(adultery) from the forbidden tree of knowledge(what society deems acceptable).  Adam and Eve are both curious and interested to try this forbidden fruit but are scared because they know that they are somewhere that they shouldn’t be.  Knowing that if they were to try it they would be breaking God’s one rule for them and thus be betraying what they must stand for.  Benjamin, just like this is tempted by Mrs. Robinson’s proposition but his inclination for doing what’s socially acceptable and fear of the consequences  prevents him from having sex with her. However, just as with Adam and Eve, the temptation will linger in the mind of Benjamin. 

            This is the “Refusal of the Call” aspect of the heroes journey.  According to Joseph Campbell this is the “awakening of the self”(Campbell, 42).  Ben has been introduced to the world but is not yet prepared to take part in it.  Mrs. Robinson is the “announcer of the advenure” who is commonly described as “dark, loathly or terrifying…yet if one could follow, the way would open through the walls of day into dark where the jewels glow”(Campbell, 42).  What this means in this story is that she is the one who has called him to this adventure and will be the cause of Benjamin finding a dangerous place, of which he may find what he wants but also much conflict in between. Not only is she the announcer of the story but at this point, the inciting incident we know that she will act as the main form of antagonism for the rest of the story. 

            A notable shot is of Ben through the legs of Mrs. Robinson.  The shot visually shows him being surrounded by her legs and he has a terrified look on his face. It tells the audience that she is a symbol of sex/desire and he is seemingly trapped, within her grasp.  She is clearly the anta

            When Ben finally leaves the Robinson’s the audience feels relieved but then is thrown right into the world of the plastics.  In this scene his parents have him demonstrate his new scuba gear.  They without any regard for his Ben’s feelings they coerce him to foolishly show off this new material that has been given to him.  This scene is a major beat in the story because it is the collision of the Ben and the pressures from his parents that lead to him calling Mrs. Robinson.

            One cinematic reason that this scene works is hold on this shot for a long time once again making us relate and sympathize for the hero.  This is a beat in the story because it reminds the audience of this world that Ben is unhappy in thus propelling justifies the following scene in which he takes action and take part in something against social acceptability propelling the protagonist to begin his journey. 

            The use of weather comes into play in this scene during POV shot of which his parents are highly overexposed causing a feeling of obtrusiveness.  When observing from Ben’s perspective we the sun is dramatically overexposing the shot.  This obtrusive light makes the viewer feel uncomfortable for two reasons.  Firstly, it the viewer of the pain sensation of sun shining in ones eyes but also causes the viewer struggle to see the picture on the screen.  This sense of discomfort is effective because it helps the audience feel the extreme discomfort that Ben is feeling at this moment and once again justify Ben’s decision in the next scene to call Mrs. Robinson. 

            This occurs when Ben calls Mrs. Robinson to meet him at the hotel.  We see that our hero is uncomfortable in this situation and nearly calls it off.  The major turning point is when Mrs. Robinson challenges his pride by calling him “inadequate”.  This sparks something inside that challenges him to prove to himself by having sex with her.  This is the first point that Ben has disregarded what society deems appropriate and takes a bite of the apple. This marks the first turning point in which the hero has made a transformation and entered a new world of the story. is taking a bite out of the apple, and accepting the risks that are involved.

            After this we see a montage of this affair taking place over the summer intercut with him floating in the pool.  The effect of the montage is to tell the audience that this affair has taken place over an extended period of time as well as it serves to show that he is happy for the first time.  The sequence appears to be a somewhat celebration of his, he seems like he’s been freed.

             The montage returns to the visual motif of water but this time he is no longer trapped under water by his parents but rather he is comfortably floating in the pool with sunglasses to protect himself from the obtrusive light that disturbed him earlier.

            However, Mrs. Robinson has been established as the antagonist, an unlikeable character and a member of the plastics so the audience knows that this euphoria cannot last forever.             As he continues this affair and seems to be enjoying the world around him, his parents continue to bug him, “ for a boy your age a little resting is okay but 5 weeks come on.. a boy should go take some stalk in himself”.  These are the pressures of society buzzing in again. The result of his parents’ pestering raises the stakes because it is a reminder that he has not yet escaped from these pressures. The hero may be pushing them off but the pestering will not go away.  

            The stakes are raised higher when Ben realizes that this affair is fulfilling him on a strictly physical level and has given him no emotional satisfaction from it. When he tries to connect emotionally with Mrs. Robinson it is clear that she will not have it. When Mrs. Robinson attacks his pride by implying that he is not good enough for her daughter.  The hero does not have the inner strength to stick to his guns and leave her. He angrily tries to end the affair but he does not have the inner strength to leave.   He gets back in bed and says, “lets not talk about it.  Let’s not talk at all” . ” and then promises “I will never take out remain Robinson”.  The hero has once again been manipulated by the antagonist and has shown that he is not powerful enough to overcome her temptations rather the hero has regressed back this only physical satisfaction.   It is clear at this point that the hero is still missing something. 

            The next major beat that raises the stakes is when Ben tries to relax in the pool as his parents circle him like sharks and pester him about taking Elaine on a date,Ben is trapped between his parents trying to guide his life decisions and the his own promise to Mrs. Robinson.   “if Ben absolutely refuses to take her out then I will simply have to invite all the Robinsons over on Thursday”

            In response to his mother’s statement Ben rolls off his raft and sinks back under the water.  Nichols’ is telling the audience that he has lost another battle and is trapped again by his parents.  

            Ben once again succumbs to the pressures of his parents and takes Elaine out on a date.  This raises the stakes in the story because the Ben is deliberately going against a promise that he made to the Mrs. Robinson.  This raises the tension high because the protagonist has made its first clear attack on the antagonist and is therefore a major step in the rising action. 

            When he meets Elaine we are introduced to the first character that, like Ben, the audience is intended to feel sympathetic towards.  In the scene of the date, Ben has now become the unlikeable character who has taken on the Ben who’s on an affair… when Ben realizes how he has hurt Elaine the act quickly stops.  One of the reasons this is important because the two of them are very alike.  They are two kids who have grown up in the world of “plastics” and don’t really seem to fit in.  This shocks Ben to discover someone with true emotion and although he may not know it now, it is what he has been looking for.  The introduction to Elaine therefore sparks the drive of Ben to do right and make right of his mistakes… they both are deep down trying to get out of this world that they are trapped in.  This scene, according to the Hero’s Journey, is when the hero meets his soul mate.  The role of the soul mate is to “encourage the hero to move forward” and this is exactly what Elaine has done.  She has inadvertently shown him that by taking part in an affair he is being superficial and avoiding true emotional investment, he realizes what he wants and is redirected on his journey. 

            The date scene leads to the next major beat in which the antagonist makes the first direct attack on the protagonist… Mrs. Robinson tries to stop the second date by threatening to tell Elaine everything”.  He responds by going to Elaine and telling her first, while he knows this is will likely tear apart his work so far to achieve, Elaine, the object of his desires, he accepts the consequences in order to be true to Elaine.  At this point both of Ben’s worlds have collided, his past superficial affair with Mrs. Robinson and his new love for Elaine. This point is the temptation to overcome in which the “hero often misled eventually overcomes his lack of and his fear and begins to accept the role of the hero”.   Ben no longer gives into the traps of those superficial forces around him but takes arms against the Mrs. Robinson to chose honest over cowardice. 

            Elaine’s anger from finding this out puts Ben in the midpoint of the story.  He has taken action trying to do what’s right and it seems that he has lost everything.  This puts the character in a position of which motivation to achieve the hero’s goal is seemingly lost.  

            Rain is used in this scene in a way that is commonly seen in movies.  It is the dark point in the story and everything, all hopes and dreams seem to be raining down on him.  The use of weather may be a cliché (especially at the midpoint of a movie) but in this case it seems to work well to set the depressed tone of the scene. 

            After Ben has left he sees that Elaine is moving away.  A shot of his father cleaning the pool is behind him, reminding the audience of the world he’s found himself back in, and Elaine is in front of him which represents the Ben’s object of desire.  This the moment when Ben has a sense of clarity and can View the world of the Picture.  Ben stands once again between the two worlds and makes a decision to himself.  He goes to his parents and says:

            Ben:                                    I’m going to marry Elaine Robinson

            Mr. Braddock:                        Ben this whole idea seems pretty half baked.

            Ben:                                    No its not. Its completely baked.  It’s a decision I’ve made.

            Mrs. Braddock:            Well what makes you think she wants to marry you?

            Ben:                                     She doesn’t. To be perfectly honest she doesn’t like me.

At this point the hero as transitioned further from the self-conscious world of the plastics.  He doesn’t care how foolish his plan sounds to his parents, he has made up his own mind and no outside influence or manipulation will change it. 

            The point of which we see Ben driving off towards Berkeley marks the beginning of the third act.  From here there will be a series of beats that raise the stakes, take the hero further away from his first world and challenge his will to succeed. This will continue until the hero reaches the climax, his final battle with the antagonist to obtain the object of the hero’s desire.  Ben goes to Berkeley to convince Elaine to marry him.

            First time that states are raised is when Ben learns that Elaine has a boyfriend and tells Ben to just leave her alone.  This does not stop the Ben, he is set on his mission and manages to meet with her, here finds out that Elaine has a boyfriend and that he should just go home.  As a hero, Ben refuses to give up this easily.  According to A Hero’s Journey  this is the refusal of the return. The protagonist has had a failed attempt to obtain the object of his desire and will now have and learned that she will be harder to get to then he originally had thought.  This once again raises the stakes. 

            The final raising of the stakes before the sequence of the climax is when Mr. Robinson comes to him.  Mr. Robinson tells him that he and Mrs. Robinson are getting a divorce because of him, he threatens to put Ben behind bars, and into prison.  An interesting note-this scene demonstrates the effective direction of Nichol’s and his ability to make an audience sympathize with the man who had an affair rather than the man who’s been cheated on. 

            At this point in time the character has been fully developed from a man trapped in a society of “plastics” to a man who will do what is necessary to stand up and get what he wants.  The final transformation has been made and now it is time for the climax to test whether he has what it takes to go against his old world and stand up against his antagonist to achieve the object of his desire. 

            The climax uses a variety of cinematic elements in order to heighten this scene to the highest intensity out of all the scenes thus far.  First of all, we know that Elaine will be getting married any minute and if Ben doesn’t make it then all will be lost.  This technique is called the ticking clock, it adds a sense of  both urgency to the sequence. 

            Secondly, we are never shown the wedding until Ben gets there.  Many times a director would use parallel editing in a chase/pursuit sequence but in this case it is more effective to leave the audience wondering when it could happen.  It’s the same idea as in Jaws when people are sent into the water, but the audience knows that there is still a man-eating shark in there and does not know when it is going to attack.  The tension is raised because of the unknown. 

            Thirdly, one of the most influential tools and likely more subconscious tools used in this scene is the use of sound.  The sound is fast paced and loud through the entire pursuit sequence unitl Benjamin arrives at the church.  At this point the music is completely removed.  This is the most dramatic scene in the movie and there is literally no music—a brave directorial decision.  This works though because the silence acts as a vacuum for the audience, all of the attention is directed to Ben and his final attempt to win Elaine over.  Actually, not quite all of the music is removed, there are three chords that are abrasive and staccato.  The effect of these reminds me of the high squeaks in the shower scene of psycho, they are unpleasant, and unexpected surprise and unease in the viewer. 

            The crossing the threshold is when he wards off Mrs. Robinson with a cross and fights his way out of the church.  The hero goes against the main antagonizing theme of feeling trapped.  He is now doing what he wants to do and fighting against the world of the story has escaped the entrapment and manipulation of the plastics.  This point is the rebirth of Ben as a hero. 

            Finally, the resolution of the story occurs very quickly.  It is just one shot of the two of them riding in the bus.  First they are smiling from ear to ear.  And then their smiles slowly fade.  Theyn they are straight faced and look at eacher with an awkward expression.  Finally, Ben has the same face that resembles that from the first shot of the movie when he sits emotionless on the airplane.  The questions that are raised include: what was the real purpose of eachother’s attraction?  Was it because they loved each other or were they both trying to escape from the pressures of their parents?  Personaly, I believe that Nichols was trying to show us that they both were going for each other because it represented a way in which they could break from the controls of others.  It was about an act of rebellion of which they both needed to take part of.  The uncomfortable expressions of which they make near the end shows that these two people are still strangers to an extent.  Elaine was the object of Ben’s desire but his real dramatic need was to do something on his own without the influence of others.  She was like the suitcase in Pulp Fiction, it was not important what the contents were in the suitcase but rather it was the transformation that it caused in the main characters. 

            The purpose of this paper was to Benjamin Braddock’s journey in The Graduate in order to understand how and why this story structure was successful.   This was done by using a variety of sources such as  The Hero with A Thousand Faces,  A Hero’s Journey,  and information provided by the lectures in class.  The story seemed to fit into the structures proposed in this material and illustrates the point that having a strong structure can be a successful tool in drawing an audience in and grabbing onto them throughout