When I was younger, I looked forward to attending high school because I thought it would be how it was portrayed in movies that shaped my adolescence, like “High School Musical,” “10 Things I Hate About You,” and “Mean Girls.” But now that I have experienced high school for myself, it is not exactly what I expected. In high school movies, we see characters portrayed unrealistically, simply because they are not real teenagers. While there are many differences between high school movies and reality, there are some parallels that can be observed in both. High school movies are often dramatized to be seen as more entertaining. For example, high school at our school is interesting, but one month here is not nearly as drama-filled as one day in any of these fictional high schools.
“High School Musical,” a Disney movie with a primarily young audience, was released in 2006, but some parts of the movie still hold true today. This movie led me to believe that school would be filled with endless fun every day. From randomly singing together and having pre-choreographed dance breaks, to there being no real-world struggles present, this movie set unrealistic standards for me when I was younger, anticipating my future high school experience.
Many events in this movie are unlikely to happen in a real high school setting. In real life, high school is not a place where groups break into song at any given moment. Sure, we have a choir and theater department here, but that does not mean we have students singing in the hallways together and having huge dance numbers out of nowhere. In “High School Musical,” pep rallies are also an important part of the school experience. At our school, we do not have pep rallies because there is not a space where we can fit almost 3,000 students. The school spirit at East High (the school in the “High School Musical” franchise) is amplified compared to reality since the sports games at our school do not have as many students in attendance.
On the other hand, the academic pressure placed on the students in “High School Musical” is similar to reality. The students’ number one priority is obviously musical rehearsal, but they learn how to balance school work, sports, and their rehearsal schedules. Troy’s passion was originally playing basketball, but he discovers his love for singing and is faced with the challenge of managing his time between basketball and the musical. People at our school who multi-task school responsibilities and activities may relate to Troy, who is a well-known, “popular” student at East High. The cliques in “High School Musical” play a great role in making the movie so entertaining since they highlight the differences between fictional high school and our school. But by the end of the movie, the characters are able to recognize that they are not as different as they once thought, and they realize that they are “All in This Together.”
“10 Things I Hate About You,” a movie with a primarily teenage audience, was released in 1999. One difference between Padua High (the school in “10 Things I Hate About You”) and our school is the unrealistic classroom size. While we do have some large classrooms at our school, most of them are an average size, since they are obviously not meant for having large cameras in them to film scenes. Another difference in this movie is that Kat’s character is a non-conforming feminist who was primarily against dating at the beginning of the movie, showing how she is independent and does not rely on a significant other to feel complete. While many students in reality were eager to be in relationships, Kat was outright about her disapproval. Reality is different, because many high school students believe that being in a romantic relationship will make them feel fulfilled.
When Kat eventually ends up dating Patrick, she is conforming to the standards that she once judged her classmates for. By dating someone and attending the prom with him, Kat complied with the majority of people, which most of us end up doing in reality since it is hard to resist the peer pressure to conform to the standards surrounding us. Another point to consider is that high school in movies usually lacks realistic school activities, such as essays, exams, and lectures. But something that this movie does well is showing the characters having assignments in school. One assignment in Kat and Patrick’s English class was to write a poem.
“Mean Girls” was released in 2004, so it is evident that there are many differences in this movie from then compared to now. In reality, there are not as well-defined friend groups. Contrarily, in the movie, there are strict rules of how to behave when being around certain people. In The Plastics’ (a clique of popular girls), the requirements are that they can only have their hair up one day per week, they cannot wear sweatpants, and famously, they wear pink on Wednesdays. “Mean Girls” is definitely a dramatic movie since it is narrated through the eyes of Cady, a teenage girl experiencing public high school for the first time. TV tends to over-exaggerate characters’ personalities in order to make a character more memorable to the audience. Another difference is the appearance of high school students, since they are often played by older actors. Rachel McAdams was 25 years old when she was playing the 17-year old character, Regina George. This makes her character’s appearance less realistic.
One of the similarities between this movie and reality is the fact that high school students can be full of judgment. Cliques are formed because of shared similar interests, and people who do not necessarily “fit in” may be judged because of their differences. This can be seen in our school because people want to fit in with their peers. However, the pressure of wanting to be liked or hoping to be “popular” is less harsh in real high school due to the diversity of our school. There are various groups of different people, so everyone has a chance to feel included. That being said, there are definitely groups of students who are more well-known than others. Real high school also deals with gossip and drama, even if that means there’s not a Burn Book (the notebook in “Mean Girls” where gossip and rumors are written about the characters’ classmates) in real life.
When I think of a high school movie, the common ideas of navigating different cultures, social hierarchies, romantic connections, and drama come to mind. The three movies discussed have all of these things in common. While TV tends to portray high school students differently from how we actually behave, it is still fun to watch because of intriguing storylines and entertaining characters.
