Writing Wrongs

October 20, 2006

So, last night after dinner, I got everyone bathed and in pajamas (or dramas as Kyra calls them), and then we settled down to watch High School Musical. Of course, I suppose it�s possible you don�t know what High School Musical is, especially if you�re not around anyone in its target demographic (mainly tweens).

Well, there�s not much you need to know. It�s brought to you by the fine people at Disney, and the recap goes something like:

Gabriella Montez is a shy, studious new student at East High School; but that all changes when she is forced to sing at a karaoke contest with Troy Bolton, the captain of the school's basketball team. After spending time with each other, both realize they share a passionate love for music and singing. But will they retain this love when their school is telling them they cannot be together?

It�s sort of like Grease without the drag racing, smoking/drinking, dressing up like a slut to get the guy part of it.

So we settled down to watch, which lasted until the second musical number, when the kids got up to dance. Kyra wanted to be Gabriella, because she�s pretty and has �crinkly� (curly) hair. Kyra so wants crinkly hair. So does her mom.

Andrew wanted to know why they were singing about �static woe.� Actually, it was a song about the status quo. Static woe is what happens when you run out of dryer sheets. But it spawned a great conversation about what status quo means and why people get upset when you go against it. (Side note: when you go up against static woe, it wins, every time.)

This, from Disney. Go figure.

Actually, that�s the theme of the movie, but the conflict is so mild-mannered, the kids--even the antagonists--so nice (or non-threatening) that I sat there and thought: Hmm. If I add song and dance routines, I don�t need to raise the stakes.

During Gabriella�s �broken heart� song, Kyra sighed. �Oh, her is so sad. Wait! That�s me! I�m sad. Awww.�

Andrew gave it the ten-year-old boy seal of approval: the one and only kiss is a peck on the cheek. No lips. �Thank goodness, Mommy,� he said. Ha. Let�s wait a few years, shall we?

At one point, Andrew turned to me and said: �You know, Mommy, if there was only one main character, you could call this The Geek Girl�s Guide to Music because Gabriella�s smart. She knows what sixteen over pi is.�

And I realized, egad, he�s right. Maybe I should rethink those song and dance routines.

Charity Tahmaseb wrote at 1:14 p.m.

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