Look Me in the Eye asks a question that most societies struggle with: What do we do with those who don’t fit in? Is conformity necessary to keep society’s gears lubricated? While it may be essential to maintain some degree of order and to make society governable, it also stifles creativity and discourages difference. The 1950s in the United States was an era noted for its conformity. To ensure the smooth functioning of society, citizens were expected to do their part, and that usually meant graduating, getting a job, and raising a family. Conformity bred stability, and in the aftermath of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War, stability was highly valued. Difference equaled deviance, and deviance could disrupt the delicate pillars on which the West had built its superpower status.

Unfortunately, however, the 1950s was also an era rampant with stories of frustrated housewives, closeted gay men, and unhappy marriages. The conformity of the ’50s laid the groundwork for the rebellion of the ’60s. Growing up in the early ’60s (before the counterculture really took hold), Robison experiences that pressure to conform, on the playground, in school, and in the workplace. Despite his creative gifts, his school only sees a disruptive troublemaker, and he eventually drops out.