High School Musical: Forced Obsession?

High School Musical holds the record for the most watched television program in history. Millions of kids and their families tuned in to Disney Channel to watch both High School Musical and High School Musical 2. The producers of the series discovered the immense popularity it gained. Is a High School Musical 3 really necessary? One anonymous viewer wrote, “One sequel was enough. They took the plot too far.”

But they can’t just stop with three movies. Taking one trip through Wal-Mart, I see great amounts of merchandise relating to the show, from shirts to advertisements on cereal boxes, to dolls and girls’ undergarments with the stars' faces. I really do believe this movie has gone too far. A teenage girl writes, “It's ridiculous! Like they're trying to get all the kids in America to join a High School Musical cult.”

“It was really cute and really good and fun at first, but then it just got stupid.” writes another viewer. How are people going to react if they create a High School Musical 4? Or create a short series? Could these children that are being sucked into this show become completely obsessed? Or will they realize that the producers are pushing the plot too far?

The unrealistic situations in the movie don’t reflect the true personalities of High School Students, but you will get a taste of lust and "teenage desires" if you stray into the other works of the High School Musical Stars. Vanessa Hudgens starts to sing about mature subjects while Ashley Tisdale stars in movies containing vulgure topics.

This would be fine for the average actress, but these kids know their favorite actors, and they will follow all their work. Parents will be in for a treat once they start seeing their children dancing to Vanessa’s music and finding out Ashley Tisdale is talking about “getting deflowered in the tower”. Be prepared to explain to these kids that they can’t see their favorite stars these programs.

Liking a show is fine, but parents are being pressured to buy all these items related to the show. Do you think it’s gone too far?