“High School Musical” (HSM) is a legend. Everybody secretly loves it and tries to cover that up by claiming they love it ironically. Our generation can quote the series like we were cast in them, convincing little sixth graders everywhere that HSM is an accurate representation of high school. To prove or disprove their beliefs, I’m going to compare the HSM world with the real world by awarding points to the reality which is more accepting and generally decent. I will analyze three popular songs from the movie and decide whether or not to award the points to HSM or JHS.

• Get’cha head in the game

In HSM, Troy has a dilemma to face. He fears that he may enjoy singing more than basketball. I know, this is getting deep. So, like all stereotypical movie plots, his friends and father force him to choose one, resulting in a sad and confused Troy.

In JHS, we support show choir almost more than we support basketball. We don’t care who is in both, we respect them for managing their lives well enough to be able to participate in them.

Point JHS.

• Breaking free

In HSM, Troy and Gabriella sing “Breaking Free” together as their audition for the school musical. Their duet shows their struggle to incorporate multiple aspects into their lives, including basketball, scholastic decathlon, singing, and of course, young love.

In JHS, the term “breaking free” refers to the dismissal bell and the stampede from the building out to our cars.

Point HSM.

• Stick to the status quo

In HSM, the entire cafeteria bursts into song once people start outing themselves as a cello player or various other random things.

In JHS, nobody will sing together randomly (except the occasional newspaper mini-musical), and we don’t really care about odd hobbies. I think of the people in marching band that are also on the football team or cheerleaders. There is an extremely wide variety of people in all art classes and in marching band that covers about every friend-group in the school, and nobody really cares that much.

Point JHS.

In the end, JHS wins with an astounding 2-1 score. Sorry sixth graders, but watching Zac Efron dance around with a basketball is not going to prepare you for what’s ahead.