Hats Off to 'What Now?'

By: Alex

Art by Alex

As we grow up, we experience plenty of moments of desperation that make us say ‘what now?’. But nothing prompts that thought more than one event: graduation. Yes, graduation season is here, and as we lie on the brink of summer, I thought it would be appropriate to recognize the event that many have been awaiting and fearing for quite sometime now.

Graduation is a monster because it comes in a two-pronged attack. On one side, graduation is great because it gives us the chance to move on and start fresh. On the other side, graduation is awful because it takes us out of our comfort zone and makes us think about the most daunting thing ever… the future.

As someone who has graduated once, I see graduation on more of the awful side, the fact that it makes me think about everything that I don’t have figured out and prompts my thought, ‘what now?’. To articulate these feelings, I’ve complied a list of my favorite, completely relatable, graduation movies that illustrate the ‘what now?’ feeling so well. Hats off to these five gems of cinema:

•  The Graduate (1967)- Ben Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) graduates college at age 20 with a shining resume and a lot of promise, but he has no idea where to move next with his life. Ben spends time trying to figure it all out in the summer of a lifetime, as he has an affair with an older woman, meets the girl of his dreams, and tries to render some meaning from life. As Ben drifts along, we see him struggle with the inner turmoil of figuring out just what he should be doing next, all to the sounds of Simon & Garfunkel.
• Ghost World (2001)- Best friends Enid and Rebecca (Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson) graduate high school, feeling free and totally awesome, as they leave a place they hated so much. But the day after gradation, the two best friends are completely unsure of what to do next. Their ambivalence and snarky wit prompt new adventures and friendships with some interesting characters as the two girls try to figure out where their lives should take them.
• American Graffiti (1973)- On the night before they leave for college, a group of friends have one last hoorah in their hometown. After graduating, the kids (among them being Ron Howard and Richard Dreyfus) think they have everything figured out, but the night before they are about to leave, they start to question their futures, and things begin to change. Though they may have matured, they still don’t have it all figured out.
• St. Elmo’s Fire (1985)- A few months after graduation, a group of college friends try to get their lives together. Though some of them (being Judd Nelson and Ally Sheedy) have their lives on the right path, others (Rob Lowe and Demi Moore) are headed down the wrong path. These friends work together to help each other in post-grad life and try to keep each other afloat and successful. Though they had a tight bond in college, they realize that nothing could prepare them for the shock of the real world.
•  High School Musical 3 (2008)- (Sorry, I had to) Troy (Zac Efron) and his friends come together for one final installment of the High School Musical movies. In this finale, the story centers on the Wildcats’ graduation and all the feelings of anxiety and excitement that come with the opportunity. It’s campy, but in the serious moment when I see Zac Efron accept his diploma, I must admit, I shed a tear. 
• Reality Bites (1994)- Lelaina (Winona Ryder) is an aspiring filmmaker who just recently graduated college at the top of her class. While she seemed to have it all together during school,  she discovers that the reality of the post-grad world totally bites. She spends the next few months trying to 'make it,' only to find failure again and again. We watch Lelaina struggle for validation while guitarist, Troy Dyer (Ethan Hawke), chases her affections. Told mainly in a documentary-style, this film shows the raw and gritty side of post-grad life and (bonus) features Ben Stiller in his amazing directorial debut. 

As Winona Ryder says in her valedictorian speech, "the question remains, what are we going to do now? The answer is... I don't know." Though these movies do a great job at illustrating what the shock and confusion of post-grad life feels like, it doesn't mean that I suddenly have all the answers. Though I haven't come to a definitive moment in my life from watching these films, these films have given me something that matters; they make me feel less alone. If I can get away for two hours and see these characters struggle with the same things that bother me, it makes me feel a little better about not having it all figured out. Graduation doesn't mean that the struggle is over. As we flip our tassels,  a new wave of problems are just beginning, but they are not impossible to face, especially with these great movies to guide us through.