People Talking Without Speaking

I just watched "The Graduate" on TV. I have seen it many times before, but this time I saw it through new eyes. This time the pathos of the satire rather than the comedy touched me. This time when the friend advised Benjamin to go into plastics and we could see the plastic future that was being offered up to him by his family and society, this time I focused on that. I am not even going to talk about the brilliance of Mike Nichols' camera angles and wide shots  to create a feeling of isolation. The fact that he won an Oscar for his work covers that. What I did take away this time was Benjamin's  isolation from those around him, even (especially)Mrs. Robinson. He was observing life rather than living it. Look at the scene where they go to the hotel room for the first time. She says "I am going to get undressed now" and when she suggest he watch he says "thank you". Yes that is funny. But it is more sad than funny because even in a sexual encounter he is "an observer". But then in the scenes where he is with Elaine he is living. Then he starts to observe again when he follows her to Berkley. On the bus at the end of the movie their faces go from happiness to "what have we done and what do we do now?" in a matter of seconds. I personally think they will end up in their parents plastic world.

"Hello darkness my old friend" I would like to hide in your protective cover and observe from afar.
"People talking without speaking." people telling me to get on with life when they have no way of knowing how impossible that is.

"Silence like a cancer grows" I know I need to talk about my feelings to someone. But everyone wants to offer me hope and I don't want  their shallow counsel.