One of the biggest events in kid culture happened this past weekend.
Did you catch it?
In 2006 Disney aired its biggest Original Movie ever – High School Musical. During its preview week this fresh, new, preteen hip hop musical garnered over 7.7 million viewers!
It took the kid world by storm!
What started out as a low budget, made for TV movie, has turned into a multi-billion dollar franchise that covers everything from movies, t-shirts, posters, toys, Broadway spinoffs, Disney on Ice show, concerts, etc.
It is huge!
In 2007 Disney released HSM’s sequel which drew over twice as many viewers as its predecessor – $17.3 Million on the first night! Kids were hosting “High School Musical Parties” and inviting friends over to spend the night and sing along with
Last Friday Disney released High School Musical 3. This time the show wasn’t launched on TV, but made its way to the big screen raking in more than $82 Million dollars in its opening weekend. That’s a lot of dough.
So, what makes High School Musical so popular?
Kids love the catchy songs, the fresh look, the high energy, and the pure fun of the films. Parents like them because they are relatively clean movies that reinforce core values such as friendship, hard work, loyalty, humility, team work, kindness, equality, and treating everyone as equals – regardless of popularity or perceived abilities.
Paul Asay, writer for Focus on the Family’s “Plugged In” movie reviews states, “HSM3 salutes friendship, family, responsibility and opportunity. It embraces the idea of dreaming big?”
Whether you agree with movies or not, we must recognize that the High School Musical franchise is big. So big in fact, that it has made tremendous ripples on the
I guarantee, even in apostolic churches, that the majority of our kids have seen HSM 1 & 2, and will most likely see 3 some time in the near future.
Knowing this, what are your thoughts concerning the use of movies to illustrate Biblical principles of friendship, loyalty, accepting people despite their differences, hard work, maturity, selfishness, etc?
Is there value in such a tactic?
I’m not promoting this idea, just opening the door for discussion. Whichever side you fall on, we must all recognize the major impact HSM has made in the world of Kids. If we let it go unanalyzed, we could potentially miss something that could give us a clue into the minds and interests of this generation of kids.
So please, comment below and let me know your thoughts. Would you use clips from HSM in your Kid’s Church or Bible Study? Would you use the popularity of this phenomenon to help convey Biblical truths? Is there value in it? Or does it take away from spirituality and Biblical teaching?
2 comments:
NO WAY! I understand the culture, and the need to reach out to the "youth culture", but Jesus Christ has never had to have "tricks" to pull in followers. I am tired of thinking we have to pull rabbits out of hats to make church interesting. Putting secular movies into church is just another way of trying to make the church "relevant". I don't see anywhere in the Bible where they took the world's culture to win souls. Jesus Christ is enough! I would be upset as a parent if my child saw High School musical in church. I think the church is trying too hard to "fit in" with the world. We should never fit in this world. I hope my church and family sticks out like a sore thumb against the culture of this world. And I firmly believe that our kids should not be watching HSM at home either.
Sis. McLaughlin,
I love your comment. I agree, too many times we try to emulate the world to reach the world. I do believe there is some value in using what people are interested in to reach them, but NEVER to the point of compromise.
Thanks for posting, please don't stop! By the way, I absolutely love your husband. He evangelized at our church during a particularly hard season in my life and the message he brought gave me the strength to keep going. I've never forgotten that night.
God bless!
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