Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
By Mark Frost, Chronicle Editor
The Glen Drive-In on Route 9 in Queensbury will offer a special showing of the 1983 movie The Outsiders on Wednesday, Aug. 6.
The screening was set in motion by Victoria Mason and Olivia Sutton, English teachers at in South Glens Falls.
Mrs. Mason said the 1967 book on which the coming-of-age movie is based has long been a staple of the school curriculum. She expects both students and alumni will relish seeing the Francis Coppola movie version on the big screen.
They approached Glen Drive-In owner Brett Gardner through The Chronicle to request the screening. He said yes.
“I think number one for Olivia and I as teachers it’s more than just a novel…,” Mrs. Mason said. “We incorporate a lot of SEL [social and emotional learning] lessons throughout teaching this book…..
“This novel allows us to guide our students through many complex feelings. The students are able to navigate these feelings in a way that makes them feel safe and frankly, the plot of this novel is very relatable to many of our kids.
“It speaks to so many in regards to struggles and emotions that middle schoolers face. Things like identity, belonging, loyalty, peer pressure. Overall, the basic desire to be understood.
“We also love teaching it because it builds empathy. Our students begin to realize that people are more than labels.” Mrs. Sutton said, “The Outsiders is important because it is timeless.
“The story deals with themes that transcend time so no matter what generation you have grown up in you can relate to the characters, their internal and external struggles.
“As a seventh grader at Queensbury middle school I can remember reading the novel, and we wanted to emulate that experience with our students at Oliver W Winch middle school decades later.
“One of the best things is that you will have parents email and ask to borrow a copy of the book as they want to reread the story with their child.”
The movie cast includes Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze and C. Thomas Howell as the lead character Ponyboy.
Mrs. Sutton says, “Obviously, for the movie you’ve got these heartthrob actors who for many of them it was maybe their first job that they ever had in Hollywood! So watching them on the screen is not a tough task lol!
“But I think what I have noticed with a lot of the students’ reactions is that they love how it follows the novel and many of the lines you hear in the script and you hear the actors deliver, are nearly Word for Word from the book.
“I think it was a huge impact to have the author, S.E. Hinton, on set while filming the movie. It definitely made a difference in the final product for sure. This is something that I stress with students as we’re watching the film and they recognize the various lines and language.”
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