The American Dream Reflected in the Idealized Women of Film: Sunset Boulevard and The Graduate Anonymous 10th Grade

The Graduate and Sunset Boulevard are two films that follow young men who, though clearly talented and intelligent, cannot seem to succeed in the way they wish they could. In The Graduate, Benjamin Braddock, an accomplished twenty-one year old college graduate, returns home with absolutely no idea what he wants to do with his future. Benjamin struggles with pressure and expectations placed on him by his parents and their wealthy friends. Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard is older than Benjamin, and in a completely different profession, however, he, too, struggles to succeed and thrive in his environment. Both Benjamin and Joe become involved with older women past their prime, yet both end up falling in love with younger ones. Both Benjamin and Joe are chasing success and their own versions of the American dream. The only difference is that Benjamin does not know what his American dream is, let alone whether or not he wants to achieve it, whereas Joe knows what he wants– he just doesn’t know how to get it.

In The Graduate and Sunset Boulevard, the glamour and ultimate futility of the American dream is symbolized through the idealization of setting and women. The majority of The Graduate takes place in a wealthy neighborhood in Los...