A Musical for Tweens Captures Its Audience – New York Times
Just read this piece, and I have to say, those songs are catchy. My daughter watches this thing in pretty heavy rotation on our DVR, and the other day somebody in the house couldn’t get one out of her head.
However, the assertion made by Gary Marsh (President for entertainment of Disney Channel Worldwide) that ” ‘High School Musical’ embodies the basic DNA of who we are and the themes we represent….Express yourself, believe in yourself, celebrate your family, follow your dreams” is dubious at best.
How does “High School Musical” embody a celebration of family? None of the kids’ families are represented in the program in any way, and Troy’s (Zac Efron) dad turns out to be a complete jerk who only seems to care about whether his son will win basketball games for him (he’s also the coach).
The other three elements Marsh mentions may very well be part of their “DNA,” if by that they mean the formula they use to guarantee profits. But Disney’s management needs to be a little more careful about how they speak about their own texts if they hope the audience will find them (or their goals) credible.
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