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HSM3: Movie Review

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LIsten In... to the High School Musical 3 Interviews

Vanessa, how was your character's high school experience different or similar to your own? (28 sec.)

What happened when the director said, "That's a wrap"? (1:28 min.)

Zac and Corbin, were you guys really crying when the shooting was finished?
(57 sec.)

What did Kenny Ortega, the director, say to you all that lead to a flow of tears?
(1:23 min.)

*Audio Courtesy of Disney™

MOVIES

HSM3: Most Likely to Succeed (No Matter What)

By Hannah Goodwyn
CBN.com Producer

CBN.com - Ever wanted to achieve something so badly that you didn’t care what you had to do to get it? That kind of means-to-an-end mentality can get us into trouble.

A great example of this is in the character of Sharpay Evans (Ashley Tisdale) in High School Musical 3. Sharpay, along with her brother Ryan, are the rich kids at East High who love to dominate the school’s drama scene. From the first High School Musical TV movie through this third film, Sharpay has lived up to her standards – however low and rotten they may be. She’s never slow to manipulate a situation for her personal gain and rarely regrets hurting others as she claws her way to the top of the high school hierarchy. Sharpay does have her occasional moments of conscience, but even they don’t last for more than a few seconds.

Her selfishness feeds her ambitious pride. She’s not about to let anyone ruin her chances of making it to Broadway or getting the guy – basketball team captain and heartthrob Troy Bolton (Zac Efron). Of course, she thinks she’s the best singer, dancer, performer, all-around girl at East High. Instead of working toward achieving her dreams, she spends her time sabotaging the lives of everyone who she sees in her way.

In High School Musical 3, Sharpay and Ryan (Lucas Grabeel) sing a most appropriate song titled “I Want It All.” Although Ryan is slowly reforming his ways, he’s still trying to figure out how to balance wanting to be famous and not becoming another Sharpay. All the while, she’s trying to convince her brother it’s OK to push a few people out of the way of your dreams.

Does God Want Our Success?

Sure, God wants us to be successful. But at what cost? He would never want us to choose a goal over treating someone with kindness and dignity.

Ambition is tricky. It’s one thing to desire a particular achievement in your life, but when that “thing” becomes an obsession that causes you to disregard others, it begins controlling you. This is what Paul’s letter was warning the church in Galatia about.

“It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time… a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness… paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants… small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.

This isn't the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God's kingdom.” Galatians 5:19-21 (The Message)

Sharpay is cutthroat at times because she thinks that it’s the only way get her dream of becoming a celebrity. It’s interesting that this issue of selfishness is in a movie featuring actors who are facing this pressure right now in their careers. These young stars are seeing their names in lights literally around the world because of this franchise’s success. The key is to keep their hearts focused on what’s important, and not letting personal ambition cloud their judgment. The same goes for all of us, non-jet-setting types. We may never go to the lengths Sharpay does, but we can't claim to be void of jealousy and selfishness either.

Watch Out for Selfish Living

If we allow our personal dreams to cloud our judgment of how to handle situations and people in our lives, then we’re not following Christ’s example.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Philippians 2:3-5 (NLT)

Jesus put the well-being of others before himself. The other extreme of that is Satan, whose pride compelled him to want more power than God. His ambition was his destruction. And selfish living can be our downfall as well.

Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here's what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It's the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn't wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn't wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn't wisdom. It's the furthest thing from wisdom—it's animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you're trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others' throats. James 3:13-16 (The Message)

Nothing good can come from treating people badly. Trust me, HSM3 doesn’t end up the way Sharpay wants. It’s those who prefer others, even in High School Musical 3, who come out on top. We all want success in life; just don't let your desires be a license to walk all over everyone else. Take this advice from Matthew 23:11-12:

Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you'll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you're content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty. (The Message)

Hannah Goodwyn serves as a producer for LivingTheLife.com and CBN.com. She also writes regularly for these sites. For more articles and information, visit Hannah's bio page.

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