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Dec. 3rd, 2014 09:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skygiantsFor the third day of the December meme, saramily wanted to know what it is about terrible High School Musical-esque movies that makes us love them so.
Now, for the record,saramily was there when I watched High School Musical 1 and 2. It was 2009, we were in shati's basement, and we had all had MUCH TOO MUCH SUGAR to even begin to cope with the rapidly increasing surreality of these films. By the time we hit the point where Ashley Tisdale kidnaps Zac Efron, takes him to a secret cave, and attempts to seduce him by attacking him with sparkly fish costumes while he stares in increasingly traumatized horror --
You think I'm kidding? I'm not kidding.
-- ANYWAY, by this point we were all in what can only be described as an altered state of mind. Wisely or unwisely, we went to bed.
The next morning we woke up in horror.
EMMY: I dreamed about Zac Efron!
BECCA: SO DID I.
EMMY: He was my fiance and I had to introduce him to my parents!
BECCA: We were on a secret mission where we had to pretend to be married!
SHATI: I had insomnia. :(
So Shati was spared a mystical somnolent marriage to Zac Efron ... AT THAT TIME. HOWEVER. Three weeks later, we decided our lives would not be complete unless we watched High School Musical 3. Which we did. Over Skype.
The next morning:
SHATI: Guys, I had my Zefron dream! We had to sacrifice him to make the crops grow!
BECCA AND EMMY: ...
SHATI: In a way I think this means he symbolically married the world! :D?
...anyway. That was a long digression, which is not what Emmy actually asked me about, because she already knows the secret of how to summon Zac Efron on the astral plane for a ritual sacrifice. The actual question is WHY. Why did we feel so compelled to watch all three High School Musical movies? WHAT'S GOING ON HERE. IS IT RELATED TO HOW MUCH WE LOVE NEWSIES. (Yes, yes it is.)
And honestly, you know, I think there's a pretty simple answer: it's because a.) they are RIDICULOUS but b.) they are ridiculous without having a mean-spirited bone in their bodies. Like, lots of movies are ridiculous. Lots of movies are ridiculous with music. Take, like, Pitch Perfect, for example. Highly ridiculous! Certainly has its charms. But I can honestly say I will never have the deep affection for it that I do for High School Musical because Pitch Perfect (and Glee, and all those other self-aware teen musical extravaganzas) are straight-up mean in a lot of ways, while High School Musical is both hilarious and so earnest. We ARE all in this together! You CAN bet on Zac Efron or whoever you wish to bet on! The world will know, and the journal too! IT'S OK. Everything's OK.
...everything except the fish song. The fish song is not, in any universe or dimension, OK.
(But as a palate cleanser you can go watch the greatest musical seduction scene ever committed to film:
YOU'RE WELCOME.)
saramily wanted to know what it is about terrible High School Musical-esque movies that makes us love them so.Now, for the record,
saramily was there when I watched High School Musical 1 and 2. It was 2009, we were in shati's basement, and we had all had MUCH TOO MUCH SUGAR to even begin to cope with the rapidly increasing surreality of these films. By the time we hit the point where Ashley Tisdale kidnaps Zac Efron, takes him to a secret cave, and attempts to seduce him by attacking him with sparkly fish costumes while he stares in increasingly traumatized horror --You think I'm kidding? I'm not kidding.
-- ANYWAY, by this point we were all in what can only be described as an altered state of mind. Wisely or unwisely, we went to bed.
The next morning we woke up in horror.
EMMY: I dreamed about Zac Efron!
BECCA: SO DID I.
EMMY: He was my fiance and I had to introduce him to my parents!
BECCA: We were on a secret mission where we had to pretend to be married!
SHATI: I had insomnia. :(
So Shati was spared a mystical somnolent marriage to Zac Efron ... AT THAT TIME. HOWEVER. Three weeks later, we decided our lives would not be complete unless we watched High School Musical 3. Which we did. Over Skype.
The next morning:
SHATI: Guys, I had my Zefron dream! We had to sacrifice him to make the crops grow!
BECCA AND EMMY: ...
SHATI: In a way I think this means he symbolically married the world! :D?
...anyway. That was a long digression, which is not what Emmy actually asked me about, because she already knows the secret of how to summon Zac Efron on the astral plane for a ritual sacrifice. The actual question is WHY. Why did we feel so compelled to watch all three High School Musical movies? WHAT'S GOING ON HERE. IS IT RELATED TO HOW MUCH WE LOVE NEWSIES. (Yes, yes it is.)
And honestly, you know, I think there's a pretty simple answer: it's because a.) they are RIDICULOUS but b.) they are ridiculous without having a mean-spirited bone in their bodies. Like, lots of movies are ridiculous. Lots of movies are ridiculous with music. Take, like, Pitch Perfect, for example. Highly ridiculous! Certainly has its charms. But I can honestly say I will never have the deep affection for it that I do for High School Musical because Pitch Perfect (and Glee, and all those other self-aware teen musical extravaganzas) are straight-up mean in a lot of ways, while High School Musical is both hilarious and so earnest. We ARE all in this together! You CAN bet on Zac Efron or whoever you wish to bet on! The world will know, and the journal too! IT'S OK. Everything's OK.
...everything except the fish song. The fish song is not, in any universe or dimension, OK.
(But as a palate cleanser you can go watch the greatest musical seduction scene ever committed to film:
YOU'RE WELCOME.)
no subject
Date: 2014-12-04 03:27 am (UTC)dance scenesKoolaid is.no subject
Date: 2014-12-04 02:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-12-04 03:35 pm (UTC)*lurks*
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Date: 2014-12-04 05:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-12-04 02:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-12-04 06:44 am (UTC)These movies are silly and lovely and frothy and earnest, so earnest.
no subject
Date: 2014-12-04 02:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-12-04 05:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-12-04 03:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-12-04 05:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-12-04 05:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-12-04 10:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-12-04 10:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-12-05 07:58 pm (UTC)But yes, I love so many Disney made-for-TV movies for just the reason you said, because they're so sweet and earnest!
See:
-Halloweentown, which is all about FAMILY and BELIEVING IN YOURSELF
-Eddie's Million Dollar Cook-Off, which is all about SEXISM IS WRONG GUYS, YOU DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, WHETHER THAT'S BAKE OR PLAY BASEBALL, SHUT UP, EDDIE'S DAD.
-Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century, which...granted I don't remember what it was about, actually, but it had baby Raven Symone in it and I can still sing the boy band's "Zoom" song from memory.
no subject
Date: 2014-12-05 09:43 pm (UTC)I have managed to miss all the High School Musical films. Perhaps I should remedy this. I suspect my offspring will roll their eyes at me.