High School Musical is about Communism.
This was originally published on my old website on 28/12/2019
If you were born between 1996 and 2001, High School Musical (also known as HSM) was most definitely a topic of conversation growing up. Whether it be arguments over Sharapay vs Gabriella, the annoyingly catchy songs or melodramatic teen storylines, HSM cemented itself at the centre of the musical zeitgeist of the mid to late 2000s. Distributed by Disney under their Disney Channel banner, the trilogy is most probably seen as mindless yet enjoyable entertainment to many my age and above but I’d like to put forward an argument that there’s more beneath the surface.
High School Musical (2006) dir. Kenny Ortega
If you haven’t seen HSM (which I doubt), here’s the quick rundown:
The film centres around two strangers who meet on New Year’s Eve through being forced into singing karaoke together at the expense of their own embarrassment. Due to this, they realise that they can both sing and they like each other but must go their separate ways. However, when the pair head back to their schools after Christmas break, they realise that they attend the same high school and hijinks ensue. We are automatically thrust into the hierarchy of East High, Troy (Zac Efron) is a jock and this can be read as the upper crust of teenage existence within this universe (and within our own) whilst Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) is a nerd, a polar opposite part of the social spectrum.
This very same hierarchy is later enforced through ‘Stick to The Status Quo’ a song sung by Sharpay Evans the resident ‘mean girl’ of East High who is shocked to find that Troy and Gabriella share a common interest in singing; an interest that she believes that only her and her brother deserve to have. Through this musical number, we learn that East High has been sectioned off into groups of classes. These classes are forbidden from interacting due to social pressure and are controlled by the bourgeoisie (Sharpay) through the concept of false class consciousness. Nobody is physically forced to not interact but they do so because it has been established for generations that these groups shall never interact for the good of the school (and society). ‘Stick to The Status Quo’ is ultimately the catalyst in HSM reveals the separation of the groups for what it is, class control. The film is about overcoming the messaging of the bourgeoisie and understanding that joining together as one can allow the proletariat to reclaim their place within society and no longer be downtrodden.
High School Musical 2 (2007) dir. Kenny Ortega
The second film of the trilogy is High School Musical 2 and unlike the first film this is set during the summer and thus does not focus on school life but instead the core cast attempting to work to pay for hobbies, treats and some saving for school. Troy is selected for a job at a country club owned by Sharpay due to her attraction to him, but mistakenly the entire friend group is hired instead. In this film, the divide between the classes is seen more obvious than either of the other two films, as it places the proletariat in a less neutral playing field as they are in the hub of wealth and excess.
The friends find their jobs demeaning & uninspiring as they are placed on kitchen duties, and due to this we enter a musical number called ‘Work This Out’. During this number, the friends recall what’s motivating them & that it’s going to be a faint memory when they’re wealthy. Hegemonic theory suggests that the values of the upper class are viewed as the general interests of society as a whole and thus this becomes the norm. As explained in Cultural Theory and Popular Culture, ‘This concept is used to suggest a society in which in despite oppression, and exploitation, there is a high degree of consensus, a large measure of social stability and subscribe to values, ideals, objectives cultural and political meanings which bind them’. The song directly links to the idea that those that are working-class should continue to work in these low paid positions that only benefit those above due to the chance that they one day may rise above, that they may one day become the class above.
Further along within the movie, we realise that the central conflict within this film is between Troy and his friends due to his focus on getting a scholarship for college instead of focusing on the summer at hand. This becomes the main catalyst for the eventual abandonment of Troy. Troy’s focus on his athletic scholarship through the chances given by Sharpay’s family due to her attraction to him is due to the fact he can not afford college. He’s not academically advanced like his girlfriend, and thus his only chance is through sports. However, this is spun to make Troy seem as if he thinks he’s better than his friends when in reality it’s merely showing us the lengths one must go through to fund their college education within America. Troy isn’t abandoning his friends but instead securing his uncertain future. This film is showing us the choices one must make to support themselves within the highly capitalist country that is America. Unlike HSM 1, HSM 2 shows us what can break apart a revolution that is banded together against capitalist forces.
High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008) dir. Kenny Ortega
SM 3 is the third and final film of the series and unlike the previous two films, it was shown in cinemas alongside a higher budget. The core values of the film, however, do not change as the premise is still residing upon Troy and his college choices. Within the song ‘Scream’ which occurs at the halfway point of the film Troy Bolton, now a senior is faced with the choices of going to a music school or a sports school, he must pick between his love for theatre or his livelihood as a basketball player / making his father proud. This song examines the psyche of a working-class college student who must decide between the degree that they want or the degree they need for a career in order to provide for themselves. The former is a luxury only rich people can afford but Troy manages to find a way that he can do both. According to William Morris that is exactly what a classless society would look like, “ In a communist society, nobody has an exclusive area of activity and each can train himself in any brand he wishes, making it possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow”.
Thus the conclusion is that the High School Musical series is a look into the economic anxieties of not only high school students but the class hierarchy we place onto society as a whole and should be looked at as an example of how we can move into a classless society.
Citation:
Storey, J. Cultural theory and popular culture. 7th ed. Routledge
