In high school, my 12th grade summer reading assignment was One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I actually read the book instead of cheating by watching the movie, assuming that my English teacher would show us the film when we returned to school in the Fall. Apparently, I was hoping for too much there. Although I read the book over 5 years ago, I remember enjoying it more than I enjoyed the film this weekend. Yet, I also feel like the film was true to the book. Go figure.
I’m going to state the obvious and say that R.P. McMurphy was not crazy.
For being released in 1967, it’s pretty impressive how relevant The Graduate still is in 2011. I graduated in December 2009 with a degree in film and television media studies and soon discovered that my studies in school were very different from the jobs available in the “real world,” whatever that actually means. After nearly two years after graduation, I still have no idea what I really want to do. Fortunately, this is a feeling most recent college grads can relate to, including Dustin Hoffman’s Benjamin Braddock!
As a Penn State graduate with a BA in film and television media studies, I admit that I fancy myself a film expert, especially for a 23 year old. That is, until I start up a conversation about the greatest movies of all time with a fellow (older and wiser) film lover. I am very aware of the types of films that make it on to these sorts of AFI 'best' lists, but I am embarrassed to admit, there are quite a few I haven't seen - movies like The Godfather and Rocky that are considered staples of American cinematic culture.
