I can hear the young kids and fans of Disney screaming already; “He’s going to attack Disney, lynch him!!” Put your flames and pitchforks down folks. I am and have been a Disney fan for years. I can easily sit down to watch Disney classics like Alice in Wonderland or Winnie the Pooh because I choose to. Plus let’s not forget that Disney brought us our favorite Jack’s, Jack Skellington and Captain Jack Sparrow.
My issue is with the phenomenon known as High School Musical which makes high school look like everyone gets along with everyone and at the end it’s a fairytale ending of beautiful people. When did this replace movies like Grease and The Breakfast Club as a movie to watch about high school and why didn’t I get the memo.
Yes, I know Grease is a musical. But Grease covers ALL high school issues from the new girl trying to fit in to trying to find yourself and even the topic of teen pregnancy. And we all know that teenage pregnancy is becoming an issue that needs more discussion now then it even did ten years ago, right Sarah Palin??
The Breakfast Club is a classic because it shows the different groups that form in high school, the pressures that they felt by their peers and parents and that deep down everyone has something in common but high school almost forces people into separate social systems.
The High School Musical phenomenon has many of our pre-teens thinking that high school is going to be fun and happy and EVERYONE will get along. Everyone in society needs to get along before sub-social systems can ever think of being perfect.
I’m not saying to keep your kids away from High School Musical, by all means if they like it let them see it. But also let them see Grease and The Breakfast Club to even out the fairytale with some reality. And, most importantly, share your high school experiences with them because THAT is the REAL high school they need to hear about.