No specific day month is given, but from dialog we learn it is the fall of 1960, the start of the school year.
Remember this is an election year, Kennedy -vs- Nixon, the fourth televised debate was held on 21 October 1960. This debate will occur during the fictional time that elapses (months) in the film.
If you know the film... after the Albatross leaves the port where the boys missed the dawn sailing of the Albatross the Christmas decorations are up, and next port of call is Grenada (the girls' school party scene). So time in film has moved to after Christmas 1960, possibly into early January 1961.
However, in between departing from the island where the boys missed the boat, and before arriving in Grenada, there is a scene where a few of the boys are on deck near the wheel, and the radio is playing.
It is John F. Kennedy's 22 October 1962 speech to the nation about the Cuban Missile Crisis. (No WS youtube clip matches this scene, but it is at 0:47:40 if you have the DVD).
Anachronism... or was this done deliberately. White Squall is foundational to whatever is going on with Q. If it is not an anachronism...
Here is that portion of the speech transcript which can be heard in the background of the on-screen action:
"...unlike that of the Soviets since the end of World War II--demonstrates that we have no desire to dominate or conquer any other nation or impose our system upon its people. Nevertheless, American citizens have become adjusted to living daily on the Bull's-eye of Soviet missiles located inside the U.S.S.R. or in submarines.
In that sense, missiles in Cuba add to an already clear and present danger--although it should be noted the nations of Latin America have never previously been subjected to a potential nuclear threat.
But this secret, swift, and extraordinary buildup of Communist missiles--in an area well known to have a special and historical relationship to the United States and the nations of the Western Hemisphere, in violation of Soviet assurances, and in defiance of American and hemispheric policy--this sudden," ...
In the film there is a scene where a Cuban patrol boat captain and a few crew members board the Albatross to harass its crew. The situation de-escalates when a convoy of warships appears on the horizon... which the voice over explains to have been on their way to "a little know destination known as the Bay of Pigs."
Bay of Pigs D-Day was 4/17/61
There are 17 crew members on the Albatross.
In the film, the maritime hearing (final scene) to investigate the shipwreck of the Albatross takes place on October 1, 1961.
On the day before the hearing, the surviving boys are discussing what had happened, and one of the boys is reading a newspaper with a front page headline about the hearing and that newspaper is dated 30 September 1961.
An oddity, the actual article under the headline discusses Robert McNamara's memoir, In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam (1995), which had just been released during the time of the filming. The film was released in February of 1996, which put principle filming in 1995 when McNamara's book was released and the article written (byline Lolita Huckaby). The headline and name of the newspaper were mocked up over the article.
Lastly, the White Squall DVD was re-released on 11/17/19.
White Squall trivia:
Clip below of the opening scene of White Squall.
Mystic Connecticut, 1960
https://youtu.be/ZULUvJiFeFM?t=190
No specific day month is given, but from dialog we learn it is the fall of 1960, the start of the school year.
Remember this is an election year, Kennedy -vs- Nixon, the fourth televised debate was held on 21 October 1960. This debate will occur during the fictional time that elapses (months) in the film.
If you know the film... after the Albatross leaves the port where the boys missed the dawn sailing of the Albatross the Christmas decorations are up, and next port of call is Grenada (the girls' school party scene). So time in film has moved to after Christmas 1960, possibly into early January 1961.
However, in between departing from the island where the boys missed the boat, and before arriving in Grenada, there is a scene where a few of the boys are on deck near the wheel, and the radio is playing.
It is John F. Kennedy's 22 October 1962 speech to the nation about the Cuban Missile Crisis. (No WS youtube clip matches this scene, but it is at 0:47:40 if you have the DVD).
Anachronism... or was this done deliberately. White Squall is foundational to whatever is going on with Q. If it is not an anachronism...
https://youtu.be/yKcxPpwp5i4?t=4 (click and pause)
Here is that portion of the speech transcript which can be heard in the background of the on-screen action:
"...unlike that of the Soviets since the end of World War II--demonstrates that we have no desire to dominate or conquer any other nation or impose our system upon its people. Nevertheless, American citizens have become adjusted to living daily on the Bull's-eye of Soviet missiles located inside the U.S.S.R. or in submarines.
In that sense, missiles in Cuba add to an already clear and present danger--although it should be noted the nations of Latin America have never previously been subjected to a potential nuclear threat.
But this secret, swift, and extraordinary buildup of Communist missiles--in an area well known to have a special and historical relationship to the United States and the nations of the Western Hemisphere, in violation of Soviet assurances, and in defiance of American and hemispheric policy--this sudden," ...
(scene ends)
https://youtu.be/u07rkwHTPLk?t=408 (time stamp / match portion in White Squall)
https://youtu.be/u07rkwHTPLk (full speech / no time stamp)
Access to the radio broadcast and (scroll down) to a full transcript in link below.
https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/historic-speeches/address-during-the-cuban-missile-crisis
In the film there is a scene where a Cuban patrol boat captain and a few crew members board the Albatross to harass its crew. The situation de-escalates when a convoy of warships appears on the horizon... which the voice over explains to have been on their way to "a little know destination known as the Bay of Pigs."
Bay of Pigs D-Day was 4/17/61
There are 17 crew members on the Albatross.
In the film, the maritime hearing (final scene) to investigate the shipwreck of the Albatross takes place on October 1, 1961.
On the day before the hearing, the surviving boys are discussing what had happened, and one of the boys is reading a newspaper with a front page headline about the hearing and that newspaper is dated 30 September 1961.
An oddity, the actual article under the headline discusses Robert McNamara's memoir, In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam (1995), which had just been released during the time of the filming. The film was released in February of 1996, which put principle filming in 1995 when McNamara's book was released and the article written (byline Lolita Huckaby). The headline and name of the newspaper were mocked up over the article.
Lastly, the White Squall DVD was re-released on 11/17/19.
Thank you for that info, very nice dig.