Ponyboy and Johnny don’t enjoy violence.
Ponyboy lost his parents some time ago, and he lives with his older brothers. He’s doing everything he can to dodge the government worker who’d send him away to a boys’ home. Johnny, meanwhile, spends most nights out of his home and away from his abusive parents.
The two of them look out of place among the rest of their gang, the Greasers. While the rest of those guys boast about fights they’ve been in and the throbbing of their fingers after they’ve thrown a punch, Ponyboy and Johnny aren’t as convinced that fighting solves much of anything. Still, for all the violence that comes with being a part of the run-down Greasers, there’s a sense of brotherhood and security, too.
But violence comes their way when Ponyboy connects with Cherry. She’s a “Soc,” one of a group of rich teens whose put-together appearances belie their fist-swinging rivalry with the Greasers. And while Ponyboy and Cherry find each other quite pleasant, Cherry’s Soc boyfriend, Bob, can’t forgive Ponyboy’s advances.
The Socs corner Ponyboy and Johnny as they talk in a park. They trade insults, then blows. Bob personally assists in attempting to drown Ponyboy in the park fountain. Desperate to save Ponyboy, Johnny resorts to the only thing he’s known.
Violence.
He stabs Bob, killing him and scaring off the rest of the Socs. The two of them flee to hardened Greaser Dallas, who gives them money and tells them to lay low for some time. Maybe things will pass over.
Or maybe more violence will come their way.
Johnny, the heart of the Greasers, encourages Ponyboy to “stay gold” throughout the film, a reference to Robert Frost’s poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay.” Johnny reminds Ponyboy of the joys of life, warning him to not let the darkness of their situation make him numb to the world. He sees Ponyboy as thoughtful and empathetic, and Johnny compels him to not lose that part of himself to the violence they face.
And it’s evident the brotherly affections the Greasers have for each other. They’re harsh at times, but only because they want to keep each other safe. They’re willing to sacrifice for one another, and there’s a general message that love and loyalty aren’t limited to biological ties.
Another notable theme involves viewing others as greater than their societal labels. The idea is explored through Ponyboy and Johnny’s disillusionment with the Greaser-Soc rivalry. But it comes to a head when a Soc named Randy asks to meet with Ponyboy to explain why he won’t be joining a big fight. Randy admits his frustration that, even if the Greasers win the fight, it’s the Socs who will remain on topic, socially. The two look at each other beyond their Greaser-Soc labels, seeing each other as violence-hating people rather than “the enemy.” And Cherry helps to connect the two groups as well, explaining that while the Socs are indeed better off, both groups face their own “rough” issues.
Dallas and Bob, meanwhile, are Greaser and Soc examples of those who never receive the care and love they need to break from their destructive lifestyles, eventually destroying themselves in the process. Both become hardened in their respective environments, lacking any healthy guidance and expressing it through violence. Their unresolved rage toward others eventually consumes them—another message that comes through clearly for viewers.
Ponyboy and Johnny rescue children from a burning school (Dallas eventually joins in, too). Not only does the moment help show the world how these outcast kids can still be good, but it also illustrates the priority of pursuing that good over violence in a broken world.
Ponyboy and Johnny spend a week in an abandoned church. But other than that backdrop, there’s nothing substantive in terms of spiritual content.
A man lifts up a girl’s skirt against her consent, revealing her underwear. We catch a scene at the drive-in that pictures a woman in her underwear. We also see Dallas in his underwear. A man steps out of the shower in a towel. We see many of the Greasers shirtless.
An intoxicated man grabs his crotch while making a rude reference.
Dallas harshly asks Cherry about an intimate matter. Though she’s clearly uncomfortable, he continues to encroach on her personal space and make crude advances.
A 16-year-old boy is critically injured beneath flaming debris; he later succumbs to his wounds in the hospital. Someone else intentionally draws an empty gun on police so that they’ll shoot and kill him, and he dies as a result. Johnny stabs a boy offscreen. (We don’t see the attack, but we do see the boy’s body on the ground afterward.)
The Greasers and the Socs engage in a large fistfight: We see men and boys punched, kicked, slammed to the ground and tossed about. There’s a bit of blood, and one boy suffers some major scrapes. One Greaser nurses a bite wound from the fight, too. In another instance, the Socs attempt to drown Ponyboy. And throughout the film, the two groups punch and pull knives on others.
A boy frequently considers suicide. Johnny comes from an abusive household, and he admits his father beats him. Someone pushes another boy to the ground in an outburst of anger.
People suffer from smoke inhalation and minor injuries from a fire. We see a van get hit by a train, the event that killed Ponyboy’s parents.
We hear the s-word once. There are the occasional uses of “a–,” “b–ch,” “d–n,” “h—” and “b–tard.” God’s name is taken in vain five times, including once with “d–n.” Jesus’ name is likewise misused three times. Someone tells another person, “Go to hell!”
Underaged teens drink beer and liquor. Some stumble around inebriated. People also smoke cigarettes, and they talk about marijuana. A character chews tobacco.
Ponyboy vomits.
Nothing gold can stay.
So writes Robert Frost as he considers the fleeting beauty in a broken world. That which is good does not stay so for long as the passage of time wears it away.
And it’s that depressing, Ecclesiastes-esque thought that brings us The Outsiders, a film (and, originally, a novel) that showcases a lot of broken people in this broken world. The Greasers put on a tough, stoic exterior, but their lives are filled with pain and misery. The Socs enjoy the comforts of wealth and society, but their hearts are nevertheless plagued by longing for something better. Who can say if one group defeating the other would make their lives happier. But the story tells us that this conflict gives everyone someone to blame, someone to hate.
The film isn’t afraid to show the crude outflowing of the human condition onscreen—the violence, the profanity, the pain. It reminds the viewer that there must be something more.
Amid this gloom and violence, Johnny encourages Ponyboy not to succumb to the weariness that comes from time, violence and circumstance. Though the sunrise fades away and the leaves fall from the tree, he doesn’t need to go the way of such things. Rather, despite all that he faces, he must continue to seek the good and pure things and keep his heart from sinking into bitter tragedy. He must, despite the nature of things, seek the good and stay gold.
The Outsiders isn’t a Christian movie by any means, but I think that longing to stay gold pierces the hearts of many who yearn for the day when evil is vanquished; when pain and suffering fade from memory; and when tears cease their necessity. As we await that day, the fulfillment of God’s promise to wipe away every tear (Revelation 21:4), the Christian is nevertheless commanded to pursue good amidst evil, to love in the midst of hate, to “stay gold” despite the evil all around.
The Christian knows that such a hope is our future reality, won through the redemptive blood of Jesus Christ for sins. On that day, to borrow this film’s metaphor, we will not only stay gold, but remain gold unto eternity.
Until that day, however, we traverse our broken world as pilgrims offering hope, something that many of the characters in The Outsiders desperately struggle to hold on to.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He’s also an avid cook. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
