Kyora Wallace, Staff Writer |
They say that you spend most of your adulthood chasing the things you loved as a child. This can speak to anything from your hobbies to the way you decorate your home. I think this mostly applies to the entertainment industry. As more and more of our favorite childhood shows get added to different streaming services, we’re watching them as adults. We are watching pre-teen shows with adult brains and noticing that some things don’t make much sense.
One of the biggest mistakes we’ve noticed is that some of our favorite characters may have been misrepresented as villains. From Disney movies to horror classics, it seems that people are becoming more sympathetic to those who might just be misunderstood. And I must say, I absolutely hate it. Don’t get me wrong, my mind has also changed on a few things, but I feel that some characters are getting a redemption narrative that they don’t deserve. Sometimes people just suck for no good reason. Maybe it’s the rise of woke culture, maybe it’s the water, I have no clue but there are some people who just suck and it’s okay.
The biggest example that comes to mind is Sharpay Evans from High School Musical. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with High School Musical. I had dolls, posters, school supplies, toiletries, and probably whatever else you can think of. I’ve grown out of that stage now but there still isn’t much you can tell me about the trilogy that I don’t know. So, I have come out of retirement to set the record straight. People are making the argument that she was just misunderstood, and it was Troy and Gabriella who were in the wrong. The main arguments are that she had a right to be upset about Troy and Gabriella auditioning and that she did a lot for Troy in the second movie. Let’s start with the first point. As a current theatre kid, I totally understand her frustration. If I had given the drama club my all just to have a part taken from me by outsiders, I would have been mad too. At this point, you would just have to let your talent speak for itself and nail the callback, right? Not Sharpay. Instead, she had to coax the teacher into changing the time, so that they couldn’t make it. I’m sorry but that is insecure and unhinged behavior. Did she have a right to be upset? Yes. Was her reaction totally insane and unnecessary when she could’ve talked to Ms. Darbus? Also, yes.
As for her really trying to help Troy in the second movie, that’s also true. She really did try to help Troy set up for his future, too bad he didn’t ask. She’s being praised for doing all these things for a guy who didn’t like her that much and she knew that. Nothing she did in the second movie was to help Troy, it was to get him to like her and make him feel indebted to her. What she did was try to isolate him from his friends and girlfriend and put him in multiple uncomfortable situations. You seriously don’t think she knew exactly what she was doing by asking him to sing with her while at dinner with her parents? And it’s worth mentioning that Sharpay doesn’t even really like Troy. She just thinks he’s cute and that they should date because they’re both popular. Not once in all three High School Musical Movies does she say she thinks he’s smart, funny, or fun to be around. Plus, she can’t like him that much if she was willing to make him miss the callbacks just to keep the lead roles, right?
Sharpay Evans is a textbook manipulator and that’s okay. She was the villain, but she was the best villain in the most influential Disney movie of all time. She even got a spinoff movie about becoming a big Broadway star. I believe that some people have to look bad so that others can shine. And Sharpay’s character looks very bad in the High School Musical series!
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