For the unacquainted (which, shame on you) The Graduate is classic film from 1967 about a young college graduate, Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) who is seduced by Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), a friend's mother, while at the same time falling in love with her daughter. While this is a vastly different plot line than that of Master of None, they are linked by the secrecy and complexity of the central relationship, and the idea of forbidden lovers. Back in 2015, fresh off the success of his debut season of Master of None on Netflix, Ansari told Refinery29 that he and his co-creator , Alan Yang, spent a lot of time watching old films to get inspiration for the style of the series. "We looked to a lot of '70s films. Shampoo and Warren Beatty. That movie, he kind of decided, 'All right, I'm going to be with this lady,' and he goes to tell her he loves her, and she's like, 'No, I'm marrying this other guy.' ... And he's just kind of stuck there, just standing there confused. That resonates with me more than, 'Oh, I'm with this person and we're happy.'" That quote was referring to the end of season 1, when Dev ends things with Rachel (Noel Wells), but it could also easily apply to the main character's love journey in The Graduate.