Black graduation caps with gold tassels form a small pyramid against a deep blue background.

Original artwork, not a still

Robert Orben

A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that 'individuality' is the key to success.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Orben pokes fun at a familiar contradiction: a room full of graduates dressed exactly alike, listening to a speech that praises standing out as the secret to getting ahead. The irony is the whole point, individuality preached to an audience united by uniform sameness.

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