Richard Roeper of the Chicago Suntimes (and also of Ebert and Roeper), wrote an interesting article about the hit High School Musical 2. While many conservative groups are applauding it as "proof" that "wholesome, family entertainment" can become a hit and "Hollywood" is missing the boat, Roeper has a different take on it.
Some right-wingers wasted no time in jumping on the "Disney's High School Musical 2" express on Monday, claiming the record ratings as a victory for family values -- and a blow to all those smut-peddlers in Hollywood.
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From MRC president Brent Bozell III: "Hollywood likes to tell us there isn't a market for family-friendly television shows. Those smut and violence peddlers don't have a clue. The phenomenal, record-breaking success of 'High School Musical 2' proves it, in spades."
Adds Robert Knight of the Media Research Center's Culture and Media Institute: "Millions tuned in Friday to watch a show without violence, sex or bad language. . . . Not everyone wants to drown in a sea of sexual innuendo and violence."
Note to Bozell and Knight: "Disney's High School Musical 2" is a product of, wait for it, DISNEY -- as mainstream Hollywood as it gets. Given the billions the company has made off wholesome fare, they might not be totally clueless about the family-friendly market.
With movies, stage adaptations, sing-along versions, dolls, books, a video game, a documentary, etc., etc., this is a mega-franchise. "High School Musical" is pure Disney, pure Hollywood.
And let's not forget either that Disney has been the target of numerous boycott calls from various conservative groups. It is on the boycott list of one conservative group opposed to Planned Parenthood. And until a few years ago, the Southern Baptists boycotted Disney for its tolerance of the non-Disney Gay Days festivities. So I find all this to be rather ironic, to say the least.
Zz.
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