Outer Banks Appeal Reaches Across Generations

Similarities to pop culture touchstones from the past make OBX something nobody should pass up.

Bill Kaiser, Adviser • December 4, 2024

The complete cast of OBX4 on the set in a plot reminiscent of scenes from Indiana Jones’s Raiders of the Lost Ark. The show borrows from a vast trove of relatable plots and themes. Netflix

Now in its fourth season on Netflix, Outer Banks appeals not only to today’s Gen Z but also a range of viewers from previous generations.

The show’s almost universal draw is because the writer’s of the series have worked in themes from earlier popular movies, novels and T.V. shows.

Gen X, also known as the “latchkey” generation, so dubbed because their parents both worked and left keys for their children to let themselves into the house after school, will find the characters in Outer Banks extremely relatable.

The Pogues in Outer Banks are basically on their own in life. School doesn’t exist and where parents are visible, they are either absent, uninvolved or despicable figures who use their children to further their own lust for wealth.

Other themes in the show have wide appeal such as the rivalry between haves and have-nots depicted in the show as well as a quest for a utopian, idyllic lifestyle free from societal pressures and responsibilities, something Boomers who experimented with alternative lifestyles and communal living might find appealing. Now they can relive the freedom and idealism of their youth.

But how can five teenagers achieve it and realize their dream of living the utopian dream of “Poguelandia?” Easy – find enough treasure to finance the dream without letting the bad guys take it all. Seasons one through three are a continuation of the same storyline with cliffhanger endings to build anticipation for the following seasons. Now, binge watchers don’t have to wait for a new season to come out, they can watch all of them. Season 4 launches an entirely new treasure hunt.

Learn more about how stories of treasure, mystery and utopian visions have captivated generations of viewers and provided the foundations for one of today’s most popular series’ by clicking the segments below. And if you see another link to pop culture from the past, tell us about it in the comments.

Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

(Warner Bros.)

Kids growing up in the Silent Generation, with its emphasis on the benefits of hard work leading to wealth or “pay dirt,” would have seen the film as a testament to that ethic. But also as a cautionary tale about greed and being consumed by the hunt for gold at the expense of all else.

Outer Banks follows a similar plot trajectory in that it’s about a search for gold and the corrupting influence of that quest. But it’s not known if any of the Pogues will turn on one another as Dobbs did in Sierra Madre.

The Outsiders (1967)

(Zoetrope Studios)

Very much like the group known as the greasers from S.E. Hinton’s classic novel, the protagonists in Outer Banks, known as the Pogues, struggle with a rival band of privileged teens called the Kooks, much like Hinton’s Soc’s (pronounced soshes) in the novel. Baby Boomers might have read this novel in a public school English class and found it relatable, as social and economic status were in flux during their teenage years.

Unlike the Hinton novel the cast of Outer Banks include more female characters, not just boys. But both groups are prone to experimentation with drugs, alcohol and smoking. While Boomers might be better known to Gen Z as being “out of touch” old people now, they were actually the first generation to go wild, defying their parents, protesting societal norms, and experimenting with alternative family structures.

Scooby Doo (1969-1976)

(Hanna-Barbera Productions)

Outer Banks is definitely going to hit with Gen Xers, who grew up on Saturday morning TV shows like Scooby-Doo – minus the dog, of course. Fred, Shaggy, Velma and Daphne can be compared to OBX characters John B., JJ, Pope, Kie, and Sarah in that they are travelers trying to solve a series of mysteries. Instead of the van known as the Mystery Machine, OBX Characters use a beat up Volkswagen Bus called “Twinkie” as well as a ton of boats and other conveyances that will ultimately lead them to treasure.

While the Scooby-Doo cast had a more positive relationship with law enforcement than Outer Banks members, they both succeed in outwitting the villains. But Instead of praise from the police, OBX characters are pursued by police, again underscoring a generational characteristic of Gen X – suspicion of government and the police in particular.

Indiana Jones (1981-2023)

(Paramount Pictures)

The Millennial Generation, born roughly 1981-1996, would certainly have enjoyed watching films from the Indiana Jones franchise while growing up – first on VHS tapes and later on DVD and in a world both with and without the internet. These films also had vast cross-generational appeal -- in no small part because of the sustained action sequences and the lure of finding lost treasure, which so many find appealing.

The franchise eventually produced its last installment in 2023 by attempting to wrap up a love line between Jones and Marion from the first films. Similarly, Outer Banks tries to reconcile a love line between Sarah, who grew up on the Kook side of the island, and John B, the quintessential Pogue and seeker of the bohemian lifestyle promised in the dream of Poguelandia. But he may have already found life’s greatest treasure.

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About the Contributor

Bill Kaiser, Adviser

Mr. Kaiser is currently in his 24th year as a media adviser in CUSD and was San Juan Hills High School's 2019 Teacher of the Year. He also teaches AP government to seniors and world history to sophomores. His passions include carpentry, photography, fire lookout work, hiking, fishing and being with his family when he's not working with student journalists on The Express. In the 2020-21 school year his students were recognized nationally 13 times for outstanding scholastic journalism both before and after the Covid-19 outbreak. In 2013 The Express won Best of Show for a high school newspaper 12 page broadsheet at the JEA/NSPA spring convention in San Diego.

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