Shock to the system

The first snowfall of the season -- even a dusting such as today's -- always comes as such a shock to my system.
I stood at the kitchen sink washing dishes this morning, with British punk rock blaring, and watched the swirling snowflakes outside the window.
Snow already?
Now, I am watching Ko Nakahira's classic "Kurutta Kajitsu (Crazed Fruit)" on DVD and thinking how this 1956 film must have seemed like a shock to Japan's system.
The teenagers in the film dismiss what their teachers say and instead accept boredom as their credo.
Although their rejection of Japanese society seems so tame these days (they water-ski instead of looking for summer jobs, oh my!), at the time it must have seemed as shocking as the punk rock I heard while doing the dishes.