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Aside from being one of the greatest films ever produced, The Graduate gives a biting social commentary. When the film was released in 1967, it was hailed for what it had to say about contemporary society. It is surprising, now almost 40 years later, how much of that commentary rings true for me and other new graduates.

The major conflict of the film is the fact that Ben, played by Dustin Hoffman, has graduated college but still has no idea what he wants to do with his life. And that’s the same conflict many of us are struggling with. Ben’s generation was characterized by the war, protests and cultural revolution of the ’60s, and they saw a need to rebel against the materialism of their parents.

Their rebellion, however, was often halted when they graduated and went on to find jobs and start their adult lives. Similarly, our generation could be characterized by a quiet rebellion against the finality of the future. We have lived our entire lives being told that we can be anything and do anything. As we graduate, we find an end to limitless possibilities of youth and must face head-on the challenge of finding our own paths in life.

The ending is considered to be one of the greatest in the history of cinema, endlessly parodied and studied. After showing up to stop a wedding and whisking away the bride, Ben leaves with her on a bus. They are joyful that they escaped from the lives their parents tried to force them into. But their smiles quickly fade as they stare blankly, unspeaking, worried about the future. As artful an ending as it is, it didn’t provide me with any answers and was a lot more depressing this time around with my graduation so near.

To liven my mood, I put in a disc of Wonderfalls, the best failed television series of all time. Last year I reviewed the DVD set when it was released, stating that it was the perfect gift for any graduating senior. Revisiting it as a graduating senior, I couldn’t agree more with my earlier assessment. It is a hilarious, joyful and inspiring series with a cast of miserable and sarcastic characters. The plot centers around Jaye Tyler, an Ivy League graduate working retail in a gift shop.

Jaye is Ben for a new generation--she is unsure of just about everything, except that she doesn’t want to turn out like her family. What is uplifting about the series, aside from its witty sense of humor and fantastical plotlines, is that it validates the experience of taking time to plan your life instead of racing to land the first job you come across. The series praises Jaye for her individuality and free spirit but at the same time criticizes her for so willingly embracing the slacker lifestyle. A person shouldn’t be judged solely on what they have achieved, but a person also shouldn’t resolve themselves to not trying to accomplish anything either.

The series even dealt with the issue of the slacker lifestyle in one of its first episodes. A reporter does a story on Jaye because she is the prototype for the growing trend of intelligent young people not trying to live up to their potential. The episode speaks volumes to those who look at the others around them and sympathize with Jaye when she says “Well, just look at them. They all work really hard everyday and they’re dissatisfied. I mean, I can be dissatisfied without hardly working at all.” Sadly, we live in a time where it seems dissatisfaction is becoming the norm.

But hope is not lost, as Wonderfalls goes on to show Jaye finally taking responsibility for herself and shows her life improving because of it. It shows the importance of living for yourself and trying to fulfill only your destiny and not what you have been told is your potential. As we graduate, we must look back at our time together with fondness, but remember to still look forward. Take time to reflect and make thorough decisions, but try and keep momentum. And if ever you need some inspiration, look to the crass words of the talking pink flamingo from Wonderfalls--“Get off your ass.”