8. The Graduate (1967)
Sure it's an overrated slab of mediocrity, but The Graduate is still the first and most resounding film to capture the "what next?" disillusionment of the counter culture. No other film to date portrayed youth with such accuracy - uncomfortable sexual awareness; pressure from parents to do more; a burning desire to take time off and de-stress after 18 plus years of schooling. The film practically shouted, "Yes! This is how today's youth feel, but this is how it's always been! This is nothing new!" And that's one of the most honest things we can say about society. It was nothing new then and it's nothing new now. Despite the fact our parents suffered the same awkward experience, they rush to perpetuate history's fallacies and there's not a doubt in my mind that our generation will be found guilty of such as well. We can claim to be much different from our parents all we want but remember: their Occupation Wall Street was Woodstock; their Gay Rights Movement was the Civil Rights Movement; their hipsters were also called hipsters. And our parents actually achieved social change - we still have not. The filmmakers behind The Graduate knew today's youth would experience much the same they did and so perhaps it's crucial to look to these films as guides for how to make it/survive/do something. Of course, The Graduate ends on an ambiguously dark note so maybe I'm just blowing smoke.