In the movie 'The Graduate' 1967:

Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word. Benjamin: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Benjamin: Yes, I am.
Mr. McGuire: Plastics.

What does the 'plastics' refer to? The blooming petro-plastic industry in the 60s, or he did refer to 'condom'? Also, why did Mr. McGuire use 'plastics' in that setting? Plastic is a blooming industry so Ben would look for a career in the field?

You may recall the famous scene from the 1967 film "The Graduate" in which "Mr. McGuire," a family friend, tells young Ben Braddock the secret of future economic success. He pulls the new college graduate aside and conspiratorially whispers in his ear just one word: "Plastics."

I believe he was referring to the entire plastics industry. Making everything out of plastic was still a relatively new concept. It may also be a reference to "It's a Wonderful Life" when George had the opportunity to get in on the ground floor in the industry producing plane parts out of a lightweight, heavy-duty plastic.


Frustrated by George's lack of response to her affectionate maneuvers, Mary smashes the record that she had put on just for him and demands that he leave. Then the phone rings. It's Sam Wainright, the friend who introduced George to Mary, and he informs her that George's previous tip about plastics has turned out to be excellent advice, but that he's still looking for a place to produce his goods. George advises Sam to consider Bedford Falls' recently closed factory, which, along with its former workforce, could suit his needs. George and Mary share the telephone earpiece as Sam tells George that his father wants to give George a job with generous pay and a prosperous future and that "It's the chance of a lifetime." George, utterly torn between two choices, shouts, "Now, you listen to me! I don't want any plastics, and I don't want any ground floors, and I don't want to get married, ever, to anyone! You understand that? I want to do what I want to do. And you're—and you're—"
At this moment, he realizes he must again make another sacrifice for love, and embraces Mary. At the same time, George also realizes that he must marry his love while at the same time denying himself the prosperous job. After all, the Bailey Building & Loan needs protection from Mr. Potter, and the Bailey Building & Loan needs to protect Bedford Falls from Mr. Potter, too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It's_a_Wonderful_Life

I always interpreted that scene from "The Graduate" as the older successful Mr. McGuire advising Ben "to be fake" which is what "plastics" represents. Young Ben appears so hopeless as he faces this "fake" world but the movie goes on to where Ben is able not to be "fake" and prove his great courage for the woman he loves.

Remember this movie was made in the Sixties.

"At the risk of sounding like Mr. McGuire in the movie "The Graduate," who pompously intoned that the future lay in plastics..."
http://partners.nytimes.com/library/sports/baseball/101399bbn-vecsey-column.html

Acting in the 1967 hit movie The Graduate, Walter Brooke had no idea what he was on to when he forced this nutty piece of advice on Dustin Hoffman:

Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word.
Benjamin: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Benjamin: Yes, I am.
Mr. McGuire: Plastics.

To Brooke's sincere astonishment, "plastics" took the stock market by storm the very next year. The success of plastic, with uses limited only by the imagination, became one of the most important legacies of the 19th and 20th Centuries.

http://simmonsdrumpaddiscounted.blogspot.com/2011/12/look-at-history-of-memory-foam.html