High School Musical is, to be sure, a campy, self-satisfying Disney Channel Original Movie (or for us regulars, a DCOM) However, if you take the time to look deeper into it, it has the potential of making some pretty interesting points about social identity.There's a musical number called "Stick to the Status Quo" where several stereotyped teenagers (played by actors in their early to late twenties) reveal that they are capable of branching outside of their cliques and engaging in activities not listed in their expected categories. The reaction, of course, is shock and outrage.
So if you believe William James when he says "a man has as many social selves as there are individuals who recognize him", then what does it mean when there are many individuals who recognize a person as one specific thing?
For instance, in high school I became well known as a "theatre kid". As more and more people began to recognize me as such, I found that the way I acted changed. I started to embody what was expected of a "theatre kid". Does this mean that social identities can hold different weights? Every person has potentially dozens of identities, not including those provided by the "others". What I've noticed is that when there are lots of people that recognize one particular identity, it becomes a stronger part of that person's self.
If your self is made up of all of the identities that other people see you as, than it becomes possible to create a hierarchy of social identities. While I see that people act differently depending on who they are around, I think it can be said that a person's other identities trickle out, even when he is with a specific group of people. So if hundreds of people see me as a "theatre kid", that effects who I am, even when I'm not around the people who see me that way.
Cliques in high school are formed based on groupings of students who have similar social identities that the student body as a whole recognizes. It's almost a chicken-and-egg situation; do we associate ourselves with other people because we have similar social identities, or do we have similar social identities because we associate with one another. And if high school can be viewed as a microcosm of the "real world", then this sort of grouping doesn't stop upon graduation.
In summation, the more people that view you as having a particular identity, the larger a role that particular identity plays in who you are as a whole. What this does is give the external entities in your life a lot of power over who you are. The main character in High School Musical, may have always loved to sing, but until he tried out for the "Spring Musicale", he was just a basketball player, which was the strongest part of his identity. What you do, really is one of the largest factors in who you are, at least socially, and singing a rousing chorus of "We're all in this together" won't change that.
Hey Andrew!
ReplyDeleteI thought your blog was very interesting, and I have to admit that I am a high school fan myself. I loved how you were able to tie a modern movie in to what we talked about in class. I think it's very interesting how one's social self can be so different from the internalized sense of self. The points you made in your entry can further be seen in the conflict between Troy and his father. Whereas his father wants him to be a basketball star, Troy has found an interest in the spring musical and takes the leading role. The fact that both the last basketball game and the musical end up falling on the same day demonstrates a conflilct of identities. Troy has to decide to follow his heart and who he sees himself as.
Overall, great job, Andrew! I look forward to reading your future blog entries!
that was from Karin
ReplyDeleteAndrew, I really like your use of James here and your turn to the notion of 'embodiment,' particularly as you relate to your identity as a theater major. I find myself wondering here and in class if you have read Butler's work on performativity. I think you may find it very useful in the course and in your future studies. (Also, you are not the first person I've seen use HStM to discuss social identities. I will really have to watch it at some point!)
ReplyDeleteAndrew, I like how you bring a very relevant and simple example to help develop what some of the people we have been talking are saying. A lot of that material is super dense to me and I don't really understand it all.
ReplyDeleteI think this example is also important because when society comes out with these movies people don't think too far into them. I think its very cool that you did. Its fun to see how filled they are with identity and conflict.