I have a special relationship with this movie. Shortly after college, I went through a nihilistic phase and lost my virginity to a much older woman who was a good friend of mine. At the time, I figured, as may as well watch the Graduate.

I totally get why it's a pivotal movie. Like with American Beauty, it's more than just a gimmick romance movie. It's a battle of cultures. It's a battle of the silent WWII generation versus the Baby Boomer generation.

We see marriage as a institution of love and happiness, but that's only a recent trend. As we see with Robinson and her husband, many marriages back then were purely about status and stability. Disturbingly enough, Mr. Robinson wasn't nearly as offended with the affair and his dead relationship with his wife as he was about his professional stature being degraded.

Ben initially wants to have substantive relationship with Ms Robinson, but after he realizes that she's superficial and practically a lost cause, he looks toward her daughter. It's clear why she wouldn't let Ben date her daughter. Anyone who is good enough for her is NOT good enough for her daughter.

Make no mistake about it that every character in this movie is really selfish. But I can definitely see Ben's motivation in wanting to save the daughter from becoming like her mother. He is essentially doing the closest thing possible to taking a time machine and changing her trajectory. The daughter is at a crossroads. She can follow the rules society tells her to follow and end up like her mother, or she can govern her behavior by the passions and marry a daredevil like Ben.