Working Plan

1. Working Plan

1. Getting acquainted + targets
2. A few facts about the film & background
3. Vocabulary list and expressions ~50
4. Time to watch: 1.5 hrs
5. Discussion
(individual opinions, talk in pairs, group work)

2. THE GRADUATE (1967, USA)

Romantic comedy, 16+
The Graduate is a 1967 American
romantic comedy-drama film directed
by Mike Nichols and written by Buck
Henry and Calder Willingham, based
on the 1963 novel by Charles Webb.
Rating: 8.0 / 10

3. A few facts about the movie

The film tells the story of 21-year-old Benjamin Braddock, a recent college
graduate with no well-defined aim in life, who is seduced by an older woman,
and then falls in love with her daughter.
The film was released in 1967, received positive reviews and grossed $104.9
million in the U.S. and Canada.
It won the Academy Award for Best Director and was nominated in six
other categories. In 1996, The Graduate was selected for preservation in the
U.S. National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically
significant."
The film is placed at number 17 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies list in 2007
Many of the exterior university campus shots of Berkeley were actually filmed
on the brick campus in Los Angeles.
The film boosted the profile of folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel.
The Graduate was met with positive reviews from critics upon its release. The
film was called a "delightful satirical comedy-drama" and also the "funniest
American comedy of the year".

4. The Graduate / Vocabulary (1)

1) The sound you have just heard is landing
gear locking into place - a wheeled structure
beneath an aircraft, typically retracted when not in
use, which supports the aircraft on the ground
2) Come on, let’s get cracking - informal to start
doing smth or going somewhere quickly: e.g. I
think we need to get cracking if we're going to
catch this train
3) Won’t have too much trouble picking them
up in that[car], will you? The girls, the chicks,
the teeny boppers.
Chick old-fashioned slang a girl or woman.
Teeny bopper old-fashioned term - teenage girls
who often love musicians who specialize in cute
looks and stupid love songs

5. The Graduate / Vocabulary (2)

4) How are you, track star? – Track and field"
are sports such as running and long jumping that
are popular in schools, and in the Olympics.
5) There’s a great future in plastics - there
was a noticeable increase in the fabrication of
products and parts from polymers through the
60s and 70s. Obviously “plastics” also means
everything false and fake in the American life of
the 60’s as demonstrated by the Los Angeles
suburbanites and the plastic lives they were all
living.
6) Captain of the cross country team - a race
that involves running or SKIING across
countryside and fields, not on a track, or the
sport of doing this

6. The Graduate / Vocabulary (3)

7) Do you know how to work a foreign shift?
[car] = "stick shift" in a car, which allows a driver to
change gears, or speed
8) Haven’t you ever seen anyone in a slip
before? - a piece of underwear, similar to a thin
dress or skirt, that a woman wears under a dress or
skirt: a white silk slip
9) Come to the railing – check the picture)
10) Let’s have a nightcap together - an alcoholic
drink that you have at the end of the evening, just
before you go to bed
11) Sow a few wild oats - If a
young man sows his wild oats, he has a period of
his life when he does a lot of exciting things and has
a lot of sexual relationships

7. The Graduate / Vocabulary (4)

12) You think that’s sound advice? - sensible
and likely to produce the right results: The book
is full of sound advice; a sound investment
13) You have yourself a few flings this
summer. I bet you’re quite a ladies’ man Fling - 1. a short and not very serious sexual
relationship; 2. short period of time during which
you enjoy yourself without worrying about
anything. A ladies’ man a man who enjoys
spending time and flirting with women
14) You look to me like the kind of guy who
has to fight them [girls] off - to keep someone
away, or stop them doing something to you, by
fighting or opposing them: Bodyguards had to
fight off the crowds.

8. The Graduate / Vocabulary (5)

15) Ladies and gentlemen, your attention,
please, for this afternoon’s feature attraction - a
part of smth that you notice as it seems important,
interesting, or typical: Air bags are a standard
feature in most new cars.
16) Let me amend this - formal to correct or make
small changes to smth that is written or spoken: The
law was amended to include women.
17) I am a bit nervous. I mean it’s pretty hard to
be suave when… Someone who is suave is polite,
confident, and relaxed, sometimes in an insincere
way: a suave and sophisticated gentleman
18) I would say I’m just drifting. 1. to move slowly
on water or in the air 2. to move, change, or do
smth without any plan or purpose

9. The Graduate / Vocabulary (6)

19) You got me - 1. = I don't know the answer to
your question. 2. = You caught me, or you win.
20) After a few weeks I believe that person
would want to take some stock in himself and
his situation and start to think about getting off
his ass. Take stock in himself old-fashioned
examine or use the skills that he has. Take stock
(of smth) to think carefully about the things that
have happened in a situation in order to decide
what to do next
21) I want you to call her up this time - informal
esp American English to telephone someone: He
called me up to tell me about it.
22) I think you two would hit it off real well
together - informal if two people hit it off, they like
each other as soon as they meet

10. The Graduate / Vocabulary (7)

23) Benjamin, I don’t want to pry into your
affairs, but I’d rather you didn’t say anything
at all than be dishonest - to try to find out details
about someone else's private life in an impolite
way
24) Do you think we could liven it up with a
conversation for a change? - to become more
exciting, or to make an event become more
exciting
25) I’m too slimy to associate with your
daughter – 1. covered with SLIME, or wet and
slippery like slime: slimy mud
2. informal friendly in an unpleasant way that does
not seem sincere - used to show disapproval: a
slimy politician

11. The Graduate / Vocabulary (8)

26) This is the sickest, most perverted thing
that ever happened to me - morally wrong: He
derives a perverted pleasure from hurting other
people.
27) It’s about time you got around to this to find time to do something
28) I want you to keep your wits about you
tonight - wits your ability to think quickly and
make the right decisions. Keep/have your wits
about you = be ready to think quickly and do what
is necessary in a difficult situation
29) I’ve had this kind of compulsion that I have
to be rude - a strong and unreasonable desire to
do smth: The desire to laugh became a
compulsion.

12. The Graduate / Vocabulary (9)

30) This whole idea sounds pretty half-baked informal insufficiently thought out; ill-conceived:
a half-baked scheme
31) They don’t seem to mind. They’ve been
very congenial about it - pleasant in a way that
makes you feel comfortable and relaxed
32) Glad to meet you. Swell seeing you American English old-fashioned very good
33) How could you possibly rape my mother? to force (another person) to submit to sex acts,
esp sexual intercourse
34) I don’t think we’ll have any more of this
agitation – 1. when you are so anxious, nervous,
or upset that you cannot think calmly. 2. public
argument or action for social or political change

13. The Graduate / Vocabulary (10)

35) I don’t mean to be pushy… - someone who is
pushy does everything they can to get what they want
from other people - used to show disapproval
36) Do you have a special grudge against me? - a
feeling of dislike for someone because you cannot
forget that they harmed you in the past
37) Do you feel a particularly strong resentment? a feeling of anger because something has happened
that you think is unfair
38) Is there something I’ve said that’s caused that
contempt? Or just the things I stand for that you
despise - Contempt a feeling that someone or
something is not important and deserves no respect
Stand for - to support particular principles or values

14. The Graduate / Vocabulary (11)

39) Do you want to unclench your fists, please - release (a clenched part of
the body): Slowly she unclenched her fist.
40) I think I can get you behind bars if you ever look at my daughter again
- informal in prison: Her killer was finally put behind bars
41) I don’t want to mince words with you - mince to cut food, esp meat, into
very small pieces, usually using a machine: minced lamb; mince words to
soften the effect of one's words
42) You are to get her out of your filthy mind right now - 1. covered or
smeared with filth; disgustingly dirty; 2. obscene; 3. vile; nasty
43) I think you are scum - 1. an unpleasant dirty substance that forms on the
surface of water 2. informal nasty, unpleasant people:
44) Where’s the Make Out King getting married? - informal engage in sexual
activity
45) I’m Reverend Smith - a title of respect used before the name of a minister
in the Christian church

15.

This is Benjamin.
He’s a little worried
about his future.

16. Topics to discuss:

1) What makes this film a comedy?
2) Do you think it’s necessary for a young man/ girl
to “drift” for some time after the college to get
some thoughts together, why?
3) Is there any moral / lesson in the film, from your
viewpoint? What is it?
4) Is the movie still timely for today’s youngsters?
5) Suggest an alternative title for the film

17. THE GRADUATE (1967, USA) Romantic comedy-drama

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contribution!