On Jan. 20, 2006, Disney Channel unveiled one of their biggest ever smash-hit original movies, "High School Musical." Despite having a very simplistic and predictable plot, the movie was a gigantic success among the target demographic: elementary and early middle school students. Being in said age range, I will always remember hearing classmates talk about the movie all the time for the following week, slowly gaining more momentum as more people saw it. Of course, I refused to acknowledge the hype, and did not wind up seeing the movie until a year after it was first released. (Oddly enough, I would take a similar approach to Glee some years later -- maybe I am just pessimistic about music on the television screen.)

Regardless of whether I was on board, "High School Musical" became a huge success, both in viewership and in marketing. The film launched the acting careers of Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, and to a lesser extent Corbin Bleu and Lucas Grabeel. Soon after the release, boatloads and boatloads of merchandise could be seen both on the shelves of stores, and just about anywhere you went. As a college student, it is a hard craze to really explain. Even in high school, my friends and I would struggle to understand it, often making it the butt of jokes. Now, as a college student, however, there is some distance between it and me.

*Note: "High School Musical" magic eight ball

*Note: "High School Musical" cereal

However, this separation halted a couple of nights ago, when I went to see the Mermaid Players’ "Miscast Cabaret," a night of gender-bending, archetype alterations, and sheer laughter. (Stay tuned, this could become an article later on!) Between seeing a group of females put on a song from "Spring Awakening," with language inappropriate to write in this article, to two males put on “Take Me or Leave Me,” from "Rent," there was a lot of fun to be had. But one pairing was two females that put on “Getcha Head in the Game” from "High School Musical."

As such, I was wrenched back into that world, and it caused me to reevaluate the song from a college student’s perspective. I realized that there was more to the song than I initially thought. Allow me to explain. And a quick disclaimer, take what I say as being anywhere from absolutely brilliant, to a crazy madman…

Upon first glance, the musical number is something new at least. It is obvious that Zac Efron is lip syncing, and even so, the lyrics are about as cheesy as they come. I personally love how the lyrics talk about shooting the outside “j” (jumper), when he is clearly shooting a mid-range jumper. The cinematography initially is pretty neat when the players are actually practicing basketball, but then falls flat when they stop to sing in place. The choreography at worst is dreadful and childish, at its best – well I will get to that in a moment. Also, one has to question the content of their “practicing.” What will spinning a basketball on a finger do for actually playing the game? On a final note, what was the point of everyone missing the shot in the final bit of the song? The players are trying to make a shot, not have bad shooting form. Okay, with that off my chest, let me proceed.

The song combines two worlds: that of sport and that of the arts. But are the worlds all that different? In basketball, there is a phrase -- shooting in rhythm. It refers not only to taking a shot at the proper moment, but also keeping the same consistent shooting motion. While the rhythm may vary from shooter to shooter, it is important to keep the rhythm in time and at the proper speed. The same can be said about music, whether it be singing or dancing. There’s also the phrase “poetry in motion,” which applies a similar connotation between the arts and sports.

But for me, perhaps the biggest assertion this number makes on this matter is the similarities between playing basketball and choreography. In this piece, a good amount of the choreography is dribbling the basketball, passing the basketball, and doing other warmup routines. The intentions of each player are prescribed through what the choreographer wants, similar to how a coach will “choreograph” a play to try and get some offense going. Certainly, this piece blurs the line between sports and the arts.

Another intriguing thing is the complexity of the themes of the song. Yes, I know, the lyrics are really simple and campy, but the themes it depicts are not. Upon further thinking, I realized that the song embodies not only the difficulty of concentration and staying focused, but other everyday problems. It focuses on peer pressure and making tough decisions. As ridiculous as the fourth wall break in this number is, especially with the random spotlight, Efron’s character depicts his challenges in facing change and trying new things. How does one explain finding something new that he likes, which is completely out of character from what he has been trying to become most of his life? And even more than that, what other people expect from him?

East High School has put him on a pedestal as the best basketball player on the team, who will help the school win the championship; however, it is not something he has much of a say in -- not that he would originally oppose the label or placement anyways. But now, he is unsure of his place on the pedestal because of its isolation; it is a tough realization to come to terms with. It is easy for us as an audience to tell him to just go to the auditions, but it is a lot more complex than that. There are a lot of complex themes involved in this piece.

(Just breaking up some of the text with another Efron featured piece from the second movie.)

Lastly, I will focus on the music. I will not even touch the lyrics or the predictability of the song’s notes and progression; however this is what is to be expected from a movie geared towards younger audiences. What I found most intriguing here is the use of extended techniques, or better yet, different sounds for the music. In the piece, the both the bouncing of the basketball and the squeaking of the sneakers on the floor are used for the music. John Cage would love it! Like earlier with basketball and the arts, this piece blurs the definition of music and sound. As with the movie as a whole, the piece is about breaking the status quo and merging different paths to success and happiness.

Now whether you think Disney had all this in mind in making the movie is up for debate. By now, you probably think I look like the Doctor in the picture below. So I will leave you to ponder my queries, while I go watch something completely different from "High School Musical."