Whether you love, hate or are simply mystified by High School Musical, it is undeniably the most successful film musical franchise of all time.
The soundtrack to of High School Musical sold over 4 million copies making it the best selling top-selling CD in 2006. 7.7 million viewers watched the premiere broadcast of this film and the DVD release set sales records as the fastest selling television film of all time. There have been successful two sequels (with another one rumored to be in pre-production), and merchandising including backpacks, lunchboxes, school folders, and clothing (working in an elementary school, I’ve seen it all).
I don’t necessarily think that something is good just because it’s popular however when something is as huge a success as High School Musical it becomes part of our culture. In order to stay culturally literate and have a better understanding of the art that my students enjoy I felt that it was necessary to watch High School Musical. Well, I was able to avoid watching it for three years but I glad I finally did.
My inner music snob (which over the years has diminished) did not like the idea of such a pop music orientated musical. The mass popularity of it could not possibly be a good thing. That sort of thinking does not make the most amount of sense but there is a feeling that great music, true “art” music is not something that the masses could ever understand so therefore something so popular cannot possibly be good. Now, even though I disagree with this idea it does make sense on some level as many of the greatest pieces of art are not really all that popular. The why’s and how’s of that are part of a different discussion but regardless High School Musical was not seem appealing to me.
So on the Sunday night of Valentine’s day weekend my wife and I sat down and watched High School Musical. It’s not bad, actually it’s very good. I am making this statement with an important caveat. I say that, not comparing it to other musicals like West Side Story or my personal favorite Mary Poppins but in considering the artists’ intention and how effective they accomplishes their goals. If a song is made with every intention to be sad then saying it’s a bad song because it doesn’t make you happy isn’t really a fair assessment of the quality of the artist’s work. However, if it is clear that a musician is trying to make you happy and the song does not express happiness then it is not an effective piece of art.
If you are over the age of twenty, no fifteen, you probably are not going to enjoy watching High School Musical. If you don’t enjoy the sound of modern day pop music, seeing people randomly break out into song and dance sequences (that are both inexplicable and mystifying) and predictable and derivative plots then please don’t watch High School Musical. You are not going to be happy with your viewing experience. However, if you can put yourself in the mindset of an 8 year old this is transcendent musical experience.
High School Musical like many modern musicals speaks in a musical language that is both familiar and non-threatening. With shows like The Lion King and Jersey Boys, the audience knows exactly what to expect musically. They are no artistically challenge to the audiences’ ears. The artistic adventure comes in other ways like the puppetry in The Lion King and the sets in Jersey Boys. Maybe the lack of familiarity of the music in musicals is a reason for the decline in the popularity of musicals and that is probably the reasons we’ve seen more and more musicals use pre-existing music.
Every song in High School Musical pulls form, chords, harmony and even lyrics from pop music. This is mostly a late 1990s sound with slight nods to hip-hop. For most kids growing up this is their musical language. If you are going to draw people in to see a musical you might as well speak to them in a language that they understand, and High School Musical does this incredibly effectively.
This film exists works within “musical logic.” One has to suspend their level of disbelief quite a lot to believe that Troy, the main character can sing as well as he does without any training or intention to be a singer. This isn’t any less ridiculous than a nun teaching a bunch of children their Do, Re, MI's over in 2 minutes. (ask any music teacher you know and they will tell you that it takes MONTHS to teach kids to utilize their Do, Re, Mi’s like they Von Trapps do).
The plot is well nothing extraordinary, but it makes sense why it is so simple. the other day I was talking about what my favorite book was to some of my fourth grade students and started to explain the plot to Grapes of Wrath. They were of course utterly confused. Young kids need to be taught about good guys and bad guys, the way plots develop and how stories usually play out. There is a rhythm and language in the way that plots are put together and having a musical that follows in a predictable way deriving many of its plot points from other stories helps teach children the way that stories are told which is an essential and important part of their education.
Great art is able to appeal to people who are beyond its target audience and High School Musical doesn’t really do that. It’s effective, it’s fun and well-crafted. The actors in the film commit completely to the characters. The production is excellent in the way high school atmosphere is created and in the intricate and impressive dance sequences. However, unlike a musical like Mary Poppins, which speaks not only to kids but also to adults, High School Musical lacks depth. Like many things that children love, most kids will probably outgrow High School Musical and only look back at it in a nostalgic way to remember how it made them feel.
The film’s major theme is the creation of the adolescent identity. Young adults want to assert their own identity and be individuals while at the same time they want to fit in with everyone else. The song that captures the spirit and innate conflict in this struggle is “Stick To The Status Quo.” Three students have the urge to express their true passion and the other students at the table encourage them to, but when they express something that doesn’t fit in with their clique they back up and tell them to stick with the status quo. This song expresses the way many young people feel who want to get something else but don’t feel comfortable because of peer pressure. We can’t fault the other students too much for not understanding why they want to be something other than they appear to be. By the end of the film, the student body comes together beyond the cliques to support each other in a way that speaks more to friendships then to cliques. This may not be realistic but is a nice thought.
High School Musical is about working against the status quo to be true to yourself, embracing your passions as Gabriella reminds us, “Do you remember in kindergarten, how you'd meet a kid, and know nothing about them, then 10 seconds later you'd be playing like you were best friends, because you didn't have to be anyone but yourself?” Though that may sound overly simple, but that might actually be all it really takes to make meaningful connections with people.
Even thought I enjoyed High School Musical, I’m probably never going to watch it ever again but I’m glad so many young people love this show. It has a great message and is a fantastic introduction to the world of musicals and music in general. I love the excitement that kids get when they have a piece of art that they love. It encompasses their whole lives, they want to experience it repeatedly, and it may annoy the rest of us but their excitement is a beautiful thing that leads passion and love for art that stays with them for the rest of our lives.
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