34 pages • 1 hour read
This Is Our Youth
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Background
Authorial Context: Kenneth Lonergan
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of substance use.
Lonergan is an American playwright, director, and screenwriter. He was born in 1962 and grew up during the mid-20th century and the height of cultural change in the US. Lonergan writes stories that feature complex characters, simplistic settings, and plotlines that are tied to the events of their time. Lonergan wrote his first play, The Rennings Children, in 1982 while he was still in university. He followed with off-Broadway success with This Is Our Youth, The Waverly Gallery, and Lobby Hero. Each was eventually revived on Broadway, and This Is Our Youth received the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play.
Lonergan is also involved in film and won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Manchester by the Sea. He also co-wrote Gangs of New York. Lonergan’s work spans decades and eras. His inspiration for This Is Our Youth came from his own experiences growing up in the early 1980s, and how he felt unsure of the future trajectory of his life. Like the characters in the play, Lonergan was born to an affluent family in the Upper West Side of Manhattan and was expected to become a financial success. Lonergan also had a dream about the two main characters, Dennis and Warren.
Throughout his career, Lonergan has won several awards, including the Sundance 2000 Grand Jury Prize, Best Screenplay of 2001 (National Board of Review), and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award.
Historical Context: The 1980s in the United States
The 1980s in the US was a time of massive political shifts and changes within the social culture that redefined the US as a place where the pursuit of materialistic gain was celebrated and prioritized. Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1980, and his tax policies created more wealth for the rich while taking more from low-income individuals and families. Corporatism, industry, and monetary wealth became prominent forces following the end of the Vietnam War and the aging of 1970s youth into more conservative adults. Many who grew up fighting for freedom and against the injustices of the Vietnam War, as well as civil rights injustices, eventually settled down, started families, and took up stable careers. They began to perceive material wealth as increasingly important, alongside sex and drugs.
The late 1970s and early 1980s saw a cocaine boom in the US. Psychedelics fell out of favor and were replaced by drugs that were perceived to enhance productivity and allow people to maintain a busy, chaotic lifestyle. These drugs were also more dangerous. They eventually led to the government’s doubling down on the “War on Drugs.” The death of the socialist movements that defined the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s gave way to an era of greed, decadence, and superficiality. This shift toward conservatism extended until the early 1990s, following the Reagan era and the George H. W. Bush administration.
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