High School Musical does not live up to high school expectations

The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.

by Eric Sese

Staff Writer

Since its release in 2006, High School Musical has been a cornerstone of modern American culture. Young love, teenage drama, cool trends (of the early 2000s), High School Musical is everything awesome about high school. However, while it’s easy to look forward to a perfect high school life, it’s also easy to get disappointed. High School Musical may capture some of the immersive aspects of high school, but Bradley students agree: it does not live up to high school expectations.

Just as the name suggests, High School Musical is a musical about high school. Everywhere you look, a student or staff member is always singing and dancing like there is no tomorrow. Although it may be a common belief that singing and dancing is a commonplace in American schools, Aidan Perkins (9) is pretty sure “[he] doesn’t walk around and sing everywhere.” While the soundtrack of High School Musical may be memorable, it may come to a surprise to some that no one sings and dances to it in high school.

Although it’s easy to criticize High School Musical for its glorification of song and dance, Andre Brown (9) critiques it’s depiction of social life. He believes that the movie provides a “false, biased” perception of the social environment of high school. To Brown, it isn’t just “based on popularity,” but the larger picture concerns divisions based on “sexuality, gender, and race.” It is very true that the plot of High School Musical largely revolves around cliques, but in the end, we are all in this together.

Movies are an easy escape from reality. Unfortunately, realistic fiction movies, such as High School Musical, can give people the wrong impressions about high school life. Science teacher Mrs. Baker thinks that the movie “over glamorizes everything”. As a teacher, she believes that in reality, “some students have struggles with classes and friends.” It’s easy for movies to filter out the negative aspects of life, and high school is no exception.

The dramatic aspect of High School Musical tackles teenage relationships and the ups and downs of young love. Regarding the false perceptions movies can give, math teacher Miss Kowalski suggests that “drama they [deal] with [is] not like the drama you deal with in high school.” High school isn’t all about relationships and love, and just because a movie tells you it is doesn’t mean you should expect something out of it.

It’s easy to look forward to a perfect high school life, but it’s also easy to get disappointed. As cool as living a life like High School Musical could be for some people, it is always important to remember that these movies are fictional.