Analysis of Francis Ford Coppola's Film The Outsiders

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Analysis of Francis Ford Coppola's Film The Outsiders

Francis Ford Coppola's film "The Outsiders" is a 1980's melodrama, based on teenage behavior in the 1950's. The film is about two groups of teenagers who attend the same high school and live in the same town, but lead radically different lives. One group, known as The South-Side Socials (more casually called "socs"), is the more privileged group. The second group, The Greasers, are the less privileged kids, who just so happen to live on the wrong side of town. These two groups have had rivalry against each other for many years, but on one particular night, this rivalry turns deadly as one of the greasers, Johnny, stabs and kills a soc, Bob, in defense of his friend, Pony boy Curtis. The rivalry becomes more severe on both sides after the murder; the socs' trying to avenge the death of their friend; the greasers trying to get the town to understand that the socs' are at fault also. Coppola's film is a vivid depiction of how social groups can define our behavior, and how deviance and crime are viewed in relation to our social group.

In the text "Sociology in our Times: Second Edition", A social group is defined as a collection of two or more people who interact frequently with one another, share a sense of belonging and have a feeling of interdependence. It is obvious that both the socs' and the greasers care deeply for each member of the respective group. Towards the end of the film, as Johnny is being hospitalized for severe burns and is near death, Pony Boy tells him that he doesn't think that he could get along with out him. These boys have formed such strong social bonds with one another that even the thought of losing one of their group causes a severe emoti...

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...e drinking, or already drunk. At not one instance in the film are the greasers under the influence of any substance. Yet, it is made clear that if the police ever picks up Pony Boy, Soda Pop, or Dallas, they will be sent immediately to a boys home. This unfair advantage that the socs' have over the greasers' is a perfect example of the ill effects that labeling can cause.

In conclusion, Francis Ford Coppola's film "The Outsiders," with its brilliant cast of characters, masterfully illustrates the perils that con come from competition between groups. It illuminates the hardships that In-groups, out groups, Ethnocentrism, and conformity can cause. It shows us that human behavior, mainly deviance, is the result of the point of view you are approaching it from.

Bibliography:

Kendall, D. Sociology in our times second edition. Wadsworth publishing; 1999.

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