Ask the average teenager if they have ever faced problems at school and they will be very likely to say yes. The constant pressures we deal with through school go way beyond exam worries and films such as High School Musical (HSM) are guilty of adding to that pressure.

HSM and other films in the high school genre, replicate most schools in many respects - mainly social grouping, the divisions and hierarchies between students. Due to pop culture influences such as American high school movies, our generation has been brought up with already established views of who they can and should be. Our understanding of social grouping is perpetuated by these films that help polarise young people into jocks, nerds, goths, emos, rockers, skaters, chavs and barbies to name but a few of the social groupings we know so well.

The problem in my opinion is that these films appear perfectly innocent. They provide a fulfilling, humorous and romantic view of the world, giving a little insight into the excitements of American High Schools. However they are exaggerations and follow set formulas and predictable storylines many of us believe are true to reality. We can’t help but aspire to be like characters we admire, real or fictional. It does not occur to many that continually making nasty and unacceptable behaviour glamorous, showing the ridiculing of so called nerds and making the handsome sports player the protagonist, takes its toll on young minds. Many youngsters make these role models their idols. In HSM a main character, Sharpay is essentially a spoiled drama queen but is made to look somewhat popular and cool. I feel film makers need to start rewriting the scripts and not go for the obvious. They need to mix things up a bit.  I for one don’t want a nation dominated with wannabe drama queens, do you?

Olivia Steven, 13

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