This article was originally intended to be published in the May edition of Hullfire. For reasons I won't go into, the paper was never printed, and according to the Hullfire Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/TheHullfire) they are going to try to publish the edition online, but a print version is very unlikely. Well, it's been a month and there is still no sign of my article being published on the website, and I would like it to see the light of day fairly soon, especially seeing as it is topical to this time of year, i.e. graduation, so I am cutting out the middle man and doing it myself. So there!
This is also the part where I shamelessly plug myself. You may notice on the above mentioned Facebook page that it lists the winners of this year's HUU Media Awards, and yours truly won Best Arts Writer! I was also nominated for Dedicated Contributor. Unfortunately I didn't make it to the event, but I would have loved to go; as it was 3 days before I had 2 major coursework deadlines it really didn't seem wise. My award, a picture of which I could post if there was a demand for it (which I doubt, because I am fairly confident I have no readers!), is brilliantly homemade. Not quite an Oscar, but it'll do.
Anyway, here is the article. Enjoy!
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As the end of the academic year looms
ever closer, many of you will be heading into a new and terrifying stage of
your lives: graduation. If we are to believe the media, being a graduate is a
fate worse than death, although it is more akin to being in a state of
perpetual limbo. No longer a student, and not yet a proper grown-up with a
proper grown-up job, with no idea what to do next, an existential crisis may be
on the cards. Here are 5 films to show that you are not alone, and hopefully
comfort and/or guide any student with, or soon to have, the graduate blues (as
well as just being a list of very
good films). Please be aware that this article contains mild spoilers for some
of the films mentioned.
Into the Wild (2007)
Sean Penn’s Into the Wild is, for the most part, a graduate’s dream. Why be
conventional and get a job after university, when you could do as the
protagonist does and take off into the wilderness? Based on a true story,
Christopher McCandless has the world as his oyster, but donates his savings to
charity, destroys his I.D. and takes off to Alaska without telling anyone. Free
among the elements and not tied down to anything, his journey is at first
bliss, but soon turns sour as he realises the unforgiving harshness of nature.
As much a cautionary tale as it is inspiring, the message to take away from
this worst-case scenario is that it’s fine to turn to nature to find yourself,
as long as you remember to leave a note.
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Though actually about a couple’s
divorce and the battle for custody of their son, one of this Best Picture-winning
film’s most memorable scenes is a source of inspiration for job-hunting
graduates. In a pivotal scene, Dustin
Hoffman’s character has hit rock bottom: he has lost his high profile
advertising job, and in order to retain custody of his son he must find a new
one by the following day. In bold desperation, he interrupts an office
Christmas party to pitch himself to a company, insisting, ‘This is a one day
only offer ... If you really want me, you make a decision right now.’ And lo and behold, it works. It’s a risky move that
without Hoffman’s earnestness and good-natured charm could well get you thrown
out of an interview before you can say ‘C.V.’, but the pay-off, and Hoffman’s
jubilation that leads to kissing a complete stranger, is so worthwhile that
maybe, just maybe, it’s worth a shot.
Lost in Translation (2003)
This film is existential and
meditative to the point that some may (inaccurately) label it as boring.
Indeed, the premise is deceptively simple: Scarlett Johansson’s young graduate
and newlywed meets Bill Murray’s well-worn actor in Toyko, but past this point
the film is very hard to describe. All that can be said is that the brief
overlapping of these two people’s lives profoundly affects them, resulting in a
beautiful relationship and dealing with themes including marriage, aging, disillusionment,
and loneliness. With its bittersweet
ending, Lost in Translation may not
be particularly comforting, but it is exquisitely made, often very funny, and
presents a highly poignant view of life that will resonate with anyone unsure
of their place in the world.
Toy Story 3 (2010)
It may be from the point-of-view
of a group of sentient toys, and the plot is driven by Andy starting university rather than
graduating from it, but that does not stop Toy
Story 3 from being any less powerful. If you grew up loving the first two Toy Story films, there is no doubt that
watching the third anywhere between starting and leaving university is a
particularly personal, nostalgic, and emotional experience. We do not only
align ourselves with Andy, who leaves his childhood behind when he says goodbye
to Woody, Buzz and pals, but also the toys themselves, who must deal with
having to move on from the comfort and security of their former life. With its
hopeful ending it reminds us that these things are not the end, but actually
the beginning of a new life, as positive a message there can be for any new
graduate.
The Graduate (1967)
No list of films about graduation
would be complete without this enduring classic; it may seem a clichéd choice,
but it is a cliché for a reason as the film is just as resonant today as it was
in 1967. The opening credits alone perfectly capture the uncertainty and
pressure that new graduates face: Dustin Hoffman’s Benjamin Braddock, having
just arrived back from college at his home town’s airport, stands stock still and
lets himself be carried slowly along by the conveyor, unable to deal with the overwhelmingly
lost feeling while others swiftly overtake him. His wide-eyed expression is one
of utter terror, as if being unwillingly sent into battle, and entirely
relatable as he stares ahead into the unknown abyss that is his future. Punctuated
by the melancholy tones of Simon and Garfunkel’s soundtrack, there is not a
more effective cinematic encapsulation of the post-graduation depression. Given
the common link of Dustin Hoffman, however, it helps to think of this as a
prequel to Kramer vs. Kramer, and
that everything will turn out fine in the end.
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