Teenagers smoking and smoking in buildings and only rich people having cars shows that this movie was set in the 70's. During the time The Outsider was being written, personal computers were introduced, President Reagan was assassinated, and the plague of AIDS was discovered. Nothing that was happening in the world during the time this film was being written influenced the film. Kathleen Rowell wrote this piece to entertain audiences (Movie Critics, "The Outsiders"). Rowell enjoyed crime and fiction films as a child. Rowell enjoyed writing and acting, so he decided to write and later produce The Outsiders (Hinton, The Outsiders,