The Outsiders Movie Analysis

The film The Outsiders is based on a novel written by S. E. Hinton which was published in 1967. The book was adapted to film by a well-known director of the time named Francis Ford Coppola. With his guidance, a ninety-one-minute version of the original story was introduced to the masses on March 25, 1983. The film has been touted as a coming of age drama based in the 1960’s as it follows two teen groups of the time, the wealthy “soc’es” and the poor “greasers”, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The story showcases the black and white style of viewing the world teens categorically take on and the distinct socioeconomic differences between the two groups as they struggle with their place in the world.

The movie is portrayed from the greaser’s point of view, specifically focused on the life of the protagonist, Ponyboy Curtis. Ponyboy is a fourteen-year-old boy trying to find his way after the loss of his parents. He invests himself in a sixteen-year-old named Johnny Cade, a kindred spirit who faces similar struggles but by different means. The struggle between the soc’es and the greasers are centered around Ponyboy as well as the connection he and Johnny have. The film opens with Ponyboy putting pen to paper as he begins to narrate the tale which will soon be shown on the screen. Coppola dissolves from paper to a time past where Ponyboy begins his own story. Ponyboy is seen at the drive-in movies with his friends Johnny, and a seventeen-year-old teen named Dallas. Dallas is the