For tweens, a mega dose of sugar can be a good thing - Columns

By Jane Holahan

Updated Nov 08, 2007 10:43

Tweens everywhere know what a pop phenomenon 'High School Musical' is.

Never heard of it?

Well, the made-for-TV movie, which first appeared on the Disney Channel six months ago, has been seen by 37 million people ' most of them not yet teens but in that middle ground known as tweens.

Its soundtrack, loaded with songs filled with good messages and bright voices, has been in the top 10 since January. And the DVD, which was released about six weeks ago, has sold more than 2 million copies.

But don't get nervous wondering where the controversy is.

There isn't any.

'High School Musical' is a sweet, G-rated, wholesome show that encourages kids to defy stereotypes, follow their dreams and open themselves up to new ideas.

There's no sex, no violence, no profanity, no nasty parents or disrespectful kids. Nobody is pierced or tattooed, and I didn't see a zit on anyone.

I first heard about it from a mother of three who is delighted with the phenomenon and urged me to write about it.

The movie is about a boy named Troy who is the star of his basketball team. But after singing a duet with a mysterious girl named Gabriella at a resort over Christmas vacation, he realizes how much he likes to sing.

And then Gabriella shows up at his school (what are the odds), and the two decide to try out for the high school musical.

There's a problem, though. Jocks never try out for the musical at East High. They only think about sports.

And brainiacs like Gabriella are never interested in jocks.

And Sharpay and her brother, Ryan, are the ones who always get the leads in the shows.

And nobody rocks the boat.

But Troy's courage to break the mold inspires the whole school, and pretty soon everyone is sharing their secret dreams. One jock loves to bake. Another plays the cello, and a heavyset girl (the only one in the entire school) loves to dance.

The kids are all incredibly nice, except maybe for Sharpay, and you won't see a hint of anything remotely bad or scary in the movie.

And East High is happily integrated. No racial conflict anywhere.

The kids who loooove 'High School Musical' are watching a fantasy world, but you need a fantasy world when you're 12. Otherwise, you'll never be willing to go to high school.

And where do 12-year-olds get that fantasy world anymore?

TV is filled with shows, both good and bad, that can be morally ambiguous. The murderer outwits the police, the sitcom star accidentally sleeps with a married woman, kids are abused and get pregnant.

Superhero movies, even ones designed for kids, are rated PG-13. Comics characters get cancer, and their dogs die. And song lyrics are enough to give parents a heart attack.

It's harder and harder to find a safe haven.

The answer isn't to turn the whole culture into 'High School Musical.' We'd all die from high blood sugar levels.

But I like the idea that 'High School Musical' is so popular it will invite imitators. I want to see more movies and shows that choose to ignore the complicated realities of the real world and offer a nice fantasy version of it.

Of course, it dawned on me as I was watching the movie that Troy and Gabriella were the kind of kids I loved to hate in high school. They are super smart, super talented, super nice and so perfect you want to smack them.

Aah, but here I go being cynical. Twelve-year-olds shouldn't be cynical. There's enough time for that when they become teenagers.

Jane Holahan is a New Era staff writer. Her column appears every other Wednesday.

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