The Outsiders In The 1960's

The setting of The Outsiders was an unnamed city in 1965. This was a time of civil unrest in the United States. The Civil Rights movement was going on and many schools were still segregated. There were some women who worked outside the home, but for the most part, they remained at home raising families and taking care of their households. It was also a time of the Vietnam War. Young men were being drafted to serve in the military during a very vicious battle overseas and there were some leaving the country to avoid serving. The leadership of the U.S. had also been handed a blow because John Fitzgerald Kennedy had been assassinated in 1963.
There were many good things about 1965 as well. Some of the most popular television shows of the time

were Bonanza, Bewitched, and The Beverly Hillbillies. The Beatles, Supremes, and the Beach Boys were at the top of the billboard chart in this year. The top grossing movie of 1965 was The Sound of Music. It’s possible, however, that Ponyboy and his crew could have been watching Clint Eastwood in the western, For a Few Dollars More, or Jane Fonda in Cat Ballou.
I am not sure that I would have enjoyed being a teenager during this time. The music was good but not my style. I might not have fit in at school because I am of mixed ethnicity which would have made life difficult. Television was in black and white as were many movies. I enjoy a good spy movie or science fiction which were not as popular then as they are now. I like the TV shows that were on but cartoons were only available on Saturday mornings and there were limited channels to watch. I also think it would have been difficult if you had older brothers, and you had to watch them go off to war. Many of these fine young people did not come back and that was very hard on the families. It was difficult for Ponyboy, and many of the other boys in The Outsiders, because their families were not typical and society (Socs) looked down on them. This was like me because I was raised by a single mom.