The Outsiders Hot

[Dallas Querry]

Outsidersis an American television drama series created by Peter Mattei. Set in the fictional town of Blackburg in Crockett County, Kentucky, the series tells the story of the Farrell clan and their struggle for power and control in the hills of Appalachia. It is WGN America's third original series, which debuted on January 26, 2016. On March 11, 2016, WGN America renewed Outsiders for a second season which premiered on January 24, 2017.[1] On April 14, 2017, WGN America announced that the series had been canceled after two seasons, with the then-forthcoming last episode of the second season airing as a series finale on the channel.

Set in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky, the series revolves around the interaction of a group of mountain folk known as the Farrell clan and the locals in the nearby town of Blackburg, Kentucky.

The Farrells are an isolationist group who shun normal society and live a spartan existence in the woods. Extremely paranoid of outsiders, the Farrells have lived on Shay Mountain for over 200 years. The mountain is now coveted by a national mining outfit for its coal deposits.

At the start of the series, Asa Farrell, a cousin of the ruling family, returns to the mountain after leaving a decade prior in order to experience life in normal society. His arrival coincides with the family matriarch Lady Ray Farrell announcing her intention to cede power to her son, "Big Foster" Farrell. Big Foster, who never forgave Asa for leaving his family, has Asa imprisoned in a cage for six months until he is freed due to his ability to read after an eviction notice is posted at the entrance of the mountain.

In town, the mining company has gained approval to evict the Farrell family from the mountain and seeks to expedite the process so mining operations can begin as soon as possible. Deputy Sheriff Wade Houghton is assigned the task to carry out the eviction process. However, Houghton suffers from alcoholism, opiate addiction, and PTSD due to previous encounters with the Farrell family and the death of his wife. Houghton attempts to warn his superiors that any sort of eviction process will be bloody, result in loss of life on both sides, and will eventually devolve into a lengthy siege with the Farrells holding the advantage through their extensive knowledge of the mountains.

The eviction leads to a power struggle, as Lady Ray believes that the impending eviction is the apocalyptic event foretold in a family prophecy. Because of this, she pardons Asa, freeing him from the cage, and announces a delay in turning over authority to her son. She continues to refuse to change her mind when Big Foster, upset at being denied power, arranges a raid in town of a local gun owner that goes badly and costs the life of Big Foster's youngest son.

The series, first titled Titans, was created by playwright Peter Mattei, and produced by Peter Tolan and Paul Giamatti for Sony Pictures Television and Tribune Studios.[7] WGN America announced a 13-episode straight-to-series order in August 2014.[8] Production began in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area on May 5, 2015 and ran through September.[9] Mountaintop exteriors were filmed in Henry Kaufmann Family Park in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, while interiors were constructed at 31st Street Studios in the Strip District. Scenes in Blackburg, Kentucky, the fictional town at the base of the mountain, were filmed in Millvale.[10] WGN America renewed the series for a second season. Production resumed in mid-2016 using the same locations around Pittsburgh.[11]

On review aggregator Metacritic, Outsiders holds a score of 63/100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[38] On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 78%, stating "Outsiders' gritty performances keeps the backwoods drama intriguing, even when the story gets stuck in the mud."[39]

I was chatting with my friend Shruti Rajagopalan yesterday, and we were discussing people we have recorded with recently. She reminded me of an excellent frame proposed by Larry Summers to look at people who try to bring about change: that of Insiders and Outsiders.

An insider works towards making small changes now. She works on the supply side of the political marketplace. She realises that fundamental changes in the system may not be possible, but incremental changes can accumulate and do a lot of good.

Outsiders like me can be pessimistic about the short term. I see the dysfunction of the state and the fractures in our society, and it seems to me that the world is going to hell. The incentives for those who run the country is to increase the power of the state, not to reduce it. How can change happen?

Bad apples of this sort are the norm, not the exception. I have learnt to spot both sorts from a mile away. I avoid them. But I have had many genuine insiders and outsiders on The Seen and the Unseen, and have come to respect both approaches.

Larry\u2019s tone was in the friendly-advice category. He teed it up this way: I had a choice. I could be an insider or I could be an outsider. Outsiders can say whatever they want. But people on the inside don\u2019t listen to them. Insiders, however, get lots of access and a chance to push their ideas. People \u2014 powerful people \u2014 listen to what they have to say. But insiders also understand one unbreakable rule: They don\u2019t criticize other insiders.

I\u2019m an example of a classic outsider. As a journalist and blogger and podcaster, I\u2019ve criticized every government we\u2019ve had over the last 20 years. It doesn\u2019t matter which party is in power \u2014 I\u2019ll speak truth to power. Our system is so broken, so dysfunctional, that I\u2019ll always find material to rant about. There\u2019s plenty of low-hanging fruit.

An insider, on the other hand, could be an economist or a policy maker who chooses to change things from the inside. She will never criticize the powers that be, or fight with other insiders. Her public pronouncements will be minimal. There will be no pontification or virtue signalling. She knows that change will be incremental, and often invisible. But she also knows that change can come only from the inside \u2014 and that at the scale of a state, any positive impact can be huge.

Insiders also know that while politicians like to drive hot-button policy, a lot of the time, the deep state drives policy, and it doesn\u2019t matter which party is in power. There is continuity. (See the video at the end of this post for an illustration of this.)

Insiders are optimistic, because they see the impact their tiny changes have made, which are often invisible to the outside world. They also point out that much of the great reform that happened between 1991 and 2011 happened despite those incentives. We contain multitudes \u2014 and our incentives also come in multitudes. Many politicians and bureaucrats are not automatons responding to one set of structural incentives \u2014 they also want to do good in the world.

In a sense, few people would have the ability or inclination to play either. My character and temperament make me an outsider. But I have come to respect insiders, after having disdain for them for the longest time. On my show, I\u2019ve had outsiders who passionately argue for their values \u2014 and insiders who explain the nuts and bolts of what they do. We need them both.

Three years ago, the kids played Greasers and Socs at recess. Last year, spontaneous applause erupted when we hit the last page. Netflix was abandoned on weekend sleepovers to watch the 1983 movie version of the book.

This year, however, I really began to understand the impact the book has on students as seventh graders in several surrounding communities were reading the book simultaneously. I warned my classes not to discuss it with friends from other schools. The secrets of the Greasers deserve to be discovered by each and every reader.

But the beans were spilled at karate, swim, and even by a well meaning Rabbi who mixed the teachings of the Torah with the teachings of The Outsiders in his Hebrew School class before he knew my school was only on Chapter 7. The kids arrived the next day devastated.

At the most simplistic level, a plot complete with rumbles and rescues from burning buildings holds their attention. But dig deeper and you will find the characters have a wide, almost universal, appeal.

But as they stumble through this awkward and turbulent phase of their lives, I feel good that I have introduced them to Pony and Johnny, Sodapop and Darry, who in turn have offered them an opportunity for introspection and perhaps a little bit of comfort in the fact that we are, in some way, all outsiders.

Laurie Lichtenstein has been teaching 7th and 8th grade English and Social Studies in Westchester County, NY for the better part of two decades. In whatever spare time she can scrounge up, she writes about education and parenting her three children. Her work can be seen in Motherwellmag.com, the Bedford Patch, and The Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter @thriceblessed.

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