Unit 3 The Graduate （毕业生）I. Understanding the Movie1. Cultural Background This is a film of the 1960s. It is about the revolt of a new generation of young adults against the values of the old generation -- their own parents. The parents' generation wants to assert authority, yet the younger people reject it and are intent on leading their own lives. The two generations don't understand each other. Neither is shown as admirable. The story was originally a novel by Charles Webb. Calder Willingham and Buck Henry adapted it for the cinema. And it was very successful, gaining awards both for the direction and for the screen adaptation. It has the status of a classic. It catches the mood and concerns of a decade of significant change.America in the 1960sNote: Understanding the world of the Braddocks and the Robinsons. Some of the major events and movements of the 1960s are briefly described below. According to the material, answer the questions on the relation between the film The Graduate and the time in which the story is set.The Depression The Great Depression (or The Slump) began with the stock market crash of 1929 and spread to all the capitalist countries of the West. It lasted for ten years, until the outbreak of the Second World War. Almost nobody in that part of the world was unaffected by the depression and its consequences. Stocks fell, and the value of people's savings disappeared overnight. Banks failed, and there was mass unemployment. People who like the older Braddocks and Robinsons, were middle-aged in the 1960s could remember the hardships and uncertainties of that time. These were the events that shaped theft attitudes. They value the stability, security and material...
