tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070623657970000135.post1373379694867002286..comments2024-01-27T02:33:23.675-08:00Comments on Beverly in Movieland: The Graduate Returns to BerkeleyBeverlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15515783219367479399noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070623657970000135.post-89049439937800098642012-11-15T19:16:07.182-08:002012-11-15T19:16:07.182-08:00I think Sixties radicals -- those who still keep t...I think Sixties radicals -- those who still keep the torch burning -- would have something colorful to say about the way the hotel is trading on the vibes of their era! Thanks for writing, Sandy! Beverlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15515783219367479399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070623657970000135.post-12390785000431655042012-11-15T09:57:53.309-08:002012-11-15T09:57:53.309-08:00You captured it beautifully, Beverly. I love how t...You captured it beautifully, Beverly. I love how the hotel didn't take itself too seriously while working to connect with Berkeley's college-town, war-protesting, bra-burning image. <br /><br />Sandy BeckwithSandra Beckwithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03337084378952000158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070623657970000135.post-29767517009864220552012-11-14T14:06:09.714-08:002012-11-14T14:06:09.714-08:00Oops -- misspelled Rorschach, one of those annoyin...Oops -- misspelled Rorschach, one of those annoyingly tough words that always stumps me. Sorry about that. <br />Beverlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15515783219367479399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070623657970000135.post-25240089123868472332012-11-14T13:45:46.306-08:002012-11-14T13:45:46.306-08:00Thanks for writing, Minda. What intrigued me at th...Thanks for writing, Minda. What intrigued me at the Durant was how the very serious passions of the Sixties were transformed via the hotel's decor into fun and games. Also, the fact that a Berkeley crowd was so excited about a football game shows the extent to which times have changed. In 1967, I suspect there would never have been this kind of big-game hoopla at Cal, though I may be wrong.<br /><br />Regarding The Graduate, I've come to view it as something of a Rohrschach test, with everyone both then and now seeing it in the light of very personal issues. For me it's about learning to defy your parents' expectations, but I've had great conversations with women who've focused on Mrs. Robinson and the tragedy of being a bored housewife. I've discovered there are all sorts of other points of identification too (for some guys it's certainly about sexual liberation!), but I'll stop here, and maybe write more at a future date. Beverlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15515783219367479399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070623657970000135.post-34457274503573035782012-11-14T08:38:23.321-08:002012-11-14T08:38:23.321-08:00I thought the hotel was quite comfortable and the ...I thought the hotel was quite comfortable and the faux-college touches were silly but fairly easy to ignore (another was that the guest info folder in the room was made to look like a composition book). Also, the Graduate poster and streakers were the decor in all the rooms, it would've been better if they'd mixed things up a bit. <br /><br />The only time things went off the rails a bit was when the Durant (as we were repeatedly warned) went nuts Saturday night during a Berkeley home game. Even that was easy to ignore with my door and window closed, but the following morning, with the hotel overfull, any attempt to use my in-room coffee maker shorted out half the circuits in my room, and apparently the whole hotel. <br /><br />As to the movie itself, I remember watching it in my own early 20s (which would have been the early 80s) and thinking that it was trying to tell me...something...but I couldn't quite get it. But times had changed very dramatically by then.Minda Zetlinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02185989876293620382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070623657970000135.post-89754999077807474082012-11-13T22:40:28.881-08:002012-11-13T22:40:28.881-08:00I enjoyed it (and appreciated how much material it...I enjoyed it (and appreciated how much material it gave me for a blog post!), but the overall effect was a tiny bit weird. <br />Beverlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15515783219367479399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070623657970000135.post-75586131481715710012012-11-13T21:22:16.431-08:002012-11-13T21:22:16.431-08:00It's been a while since I've seen The Grad...It's been a while since I've seen The Graduate - but I certainly didn't look at it with an eye to its style or sensibilities - but that it was evocative of a late 50's era while being ostensibly set in the early 60's makes sense. I think I need to see the movie again now - and it's bound to have a different impact since I was roughly Benjamin's age (a little younger, actuallY) when I first saw it. <br /><br />I love your description of the Durant - was the overall effect fun, or does it come off forced and cheesy?Craig Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06037542638067599437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070623657970000135.post-77533036799220868312012-11-13T13:53:44.175-08:002012-11-13T13:53:44.175-08:00Actually, The Graduate was meant to reflect the ye...Actually, The Graduate was meant to reflect the year of the novel it's based on, which was published in 1963. In point of fact, a young man in 1967 could never have been as aimless as Ben, for the simple reason that he would have been subject to the draft. Some young people loudly faulted the film for that reason. But many feel that The Graduate lives on partly because it's NOT really so very era-specific. Beverlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15515783219367479399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070623657970000135.post-13180605135034095522012-11-13T13:45:16.178-08:002012-11-13T13:45:16.178-08:00Interesting -- I never thought about the fact that...Interesting -- I never thought about the fact that The Graduate, while embodying a lot of the mindset of youths in the sixties, doesn't incorporate anything about hippies. Definitely a lot of the interior decor, etc. looks late fifties, now that I think about it.Hilaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06745796592284210732noreply@blogger.com