Name: Julia Paternain-Muniz

Media Bias Analysis Worksheet

1. Which film did you watch? Please provide a 1-2 sentence description.

I conducted my media bias analysis on Disney’s High School Musical 3 (rated G). The film is
about Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) and Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens) having to face the idea
of being separated from each other as they embark on different paths upon graduating from high
school. The film also documents how the rest of the Wildcats are preparing for their spring
musical which is to reflect upon their anticipations and aspirations for the future.

2. Summarize your coding analysis of the film.

A) HETEROSEXUAL BIAS (Martin & Kazyak): What did you conclude after
using the authors’ coding scheme?

After using the authors’ coding scheme, I was able to see that the film does contain a significant
amount of heterosexual bias. I found that the film seems to have a very rich and pervasive
heterosexual landscape just like Martin and Kazyak found in many of their own media
observations. For example, the film has a very hetero-romantic story line, as can be seen by the
fact that the major plot focuses around Troy and Gabriella’s love for one another and their
struggle with the idea of being separated as college approaches. However, although much of the
narrative is about Troy and Gabriella there is significant amount of screen time devoted to the
rest of the Wildcats as they stage a musical together. Yet, it must still be noted that there would
be no movie, or even trilogy, without the main focus being on Troy and Gabriella’s love story.

Moreover, the hetero-romantic storyline continues as Troy and Gabriella’s romantic heterosexual
relationship is clearly portrayed as special, distinct and magical- just like Martin and Kazyak
observe in their coding scheme. For example, there is a scene in the film (minute 31:45) where
Troy and Gabriella are dancing on a rooftop garden. They are surrounded by beautiful flowers
creating a distinct imagery of love and romance as they peacefully waltz and sing to each other.
Finally, during this scene their hetero-romantic love is only embodied through kissing rather than
being sexually embodied demonstrating the unique power of a heterosexual kiss.

On the other hand, there is also evidence of some heterosexuality during the movie. For instance,
there is not much oogling of women’s bodies, with the only example of this being when Sharpay
is wearing a short pink dress and a group of boys exclaim “Ooo!” as she struts down center stage
(minute 44). Moreover, there is not much evidence of sexiness throughout the film as Sharpay is
the only female character who seems to wear slightly provocative clothing, such as when she
performs “I Want it All”. Whereas the leading female role, Gabriella, is always wearing
conservative clothing and never puts forward this image of “sexy”. Also, male bodies are
definitely the site of jokes in this film which is very different to how the women’s bodies are
portrayed. Women’s genitals are never mentioned or invoked in any way but when Troy and
Chad steal the clothes of two male students on the basketball team, the two almost naked boys
become a big source of laughter.
Therefore, through using Martin and Kazyak’s color-coding scheme I have been able to conclude
that although there is some evidence of heterosexuality during High School Musical 3, the
producers seem to have placed a much greater emphasis on the hetero-romantic storyline instead.

B) BECHDEL’S GENDER BIAS TEST:

Does the film feature at least two women who have names?

Yes, Gabriella Montez and Sharpay Evans.

Does the film include at least two women with names who talk to each other?

Yes, there is a scene where Gabriella gets invited to an early orientation for the
Freshman Honors Program at Stanford and her and Taylor discuss this (minute
48).

Does the film include at least two women with names who talk to each other
about something other than a man/men?

Yes, Sharpay and her assistant, Tiara, talk about Gabriella’s acceptance into the
Freshman Honors Program and how the program will clash with the musical
(minute 48).

C) BECHDEL’S RACIAL BIAS TEST:

Does the film feature at least two people of color who have names?

Yes, Chad Danforth and Taylor McKessie.

Does the film include at least two people of color with names who talk to each
other?

Yes, Chad and Taylor frequently talk to each other as they are in a relationship.

Does the film include at least two people of color with names who talk to each
other about something other than a white person/white people?

Yes, there is a scene where Chad asks Taylor to go to senior formal with him
(minute 39).

3. Analyze your findings: In general, how do you feel the film portrayed sexuality, gender,
and race? Is it appropriate or stereotypical? Could the portrayal lead to negative
outcomes about how people think men and women should be? Or how we think about
white people and people of color? (Consider who is in leading roles vs. secondary roles;
people’s appearances and backstories, etc.)
In general, I feel as though the film portrayed sexuality, gender and race in a fairly stereotypical
way. For example, the leading roles are white (Troy and Gabriella) and the secondary roles are
black (Taylor and Chad). Taylor and Chad’s relationship gets far less screen time than Troy and
Gabriella’s does. Also, the black couple gets repeatedly overshadowed by their white
counterparts. For example, Troy is the captain of the basketball team and Gabriella is supposedly
the smartest person in the school even though Taylor is also portrayed as very intelligent.
Gabriella always seems to be one step ahead of Taylor as evidenced by her acceptance into the
Stanford Freshman Honors Program. I believe this portrayal of race could lead to negative
outcomes about how we think about white people and people of color as it engrains the notion
that white people are more successful and talented than black people. Moreover, the fact that the
two black characters in the film are paired in a relationship with each other gives out an
extremely damaging message that a black person and white person should not be together. Even
Kelsey and Ryan (a secondary white couple) get their own song at (minute 49) unlike Chad and
Taylor.

Moreover, the film portrays sexuality in a pretty stereotypical way too as shown by the
conclusions I was able to make through the use of Martin and Kazyak’s coding scheme. There is
a clear emphasis on heterosexuality with the only character who could possibly be gay being
Ryan Evans yet, he is still paired up with Kelsey to avoid giving off the impression that he is
homosexual. Additionally, everyone from the parents down in this film is also heterosexual.

Finally, the film also seems to portray gender in a very stereotypical way. For example, during
Sharpay’s performance of “I Want it All”, Gabriella is pretending to be a maid and cleaning the
room around Sharpay. It is interesting that it is a woman, not a man doing this role play,
reemphasizing the gender stereotype that women should be doing the domestic work and not
men. Additionally, there is a point in the movie where Sharpay and Ryan are getting reading in
separate dressing rooms and Sharpay’s room is pink and Ryan’s is blue. Thus, reemphasizing the
gender stereotype that girls should like pink and boys should like blue and that any deviation
from this norm is considered strange. Also, one of the lines in the song “A Night to Remember”
is “Dressing to impress the boys”, once again pushing forward the stereotype that girls only try
to look beautiful for the pleasure of men.

4. Connect the portrayal of sexuality, gender, and race to at least two concepts or ideas
that have emerged from our class. Do not merely describe the course concept, but discuss
why it is significant and meaningful.

The portrayal of gender in this movie through Sharpay often being designated the color pink and
Ryan being given blue connects to the idea that social and cultural forces make women and men.
This concept that gender is something cultures and society create is meaningful because the film
is clearly promoting the message that this is the way that both of these genders should be
portrayed. This is a dangerous stereotype because it reinforces the notion that anything outside of
these cultural norms is “weird” creating a damaging message to those who do not find
themselves fitting into these typical social molds. Also, this portrayal of gender is evident in a
very small segment of the film and I would not have noticed this if I had not been closely
watching. Thus, this minor detail is a demonstration of the concept that gender is often in hidden
messages within society that we are unaware of.

Secondly, the film’s portrayal of race also links to another concept which has emerged from our
class- that institutionalized racism exists. Dr. Camara Jones argues that there are “three levels of
racism in US society” and High School Musical 3’s portrayal of race fits into the
institutionalized level. This level originated in historical events but is perpetuated by current
structures. In High School Musical 3, Taylor and Chad’s secondary role in this movie
perpetuates these racist ideals. This is significant because young children will be watching this
movie and could take away hidden messages that could be potentially very damaging to the way
they view race in the future.

We should care about the fact that this film is clear evidence of how we value white people’s
roles more than those of black people. It shows that implementing things like color blind policies
is not a good idea because we are not even close to being an equal society. Moreover, this
institutionalized racism shows how the media favors air time for white people so strongly which
we should care about as a society because the media shapes the minds of our young ones so
much.

5. What is your overall reaction to your analysis of this film and the observations you
make about sexuality, gender, and race in other media?

My overall reaction to my analysis of this film and the observations I made about sexuality,
gender and race in other media is that High School Musical 3 seems to correlate with most of the
media’s portrayal of these things. For example, I think that film and television forms of media
tend to have a predominant focus on white characters, heterosexuality and women’s domesticity.
However, when I compare High School Musical 3 to my observations of the music industry I
think it is much less progressive. The music industry seems to emphasize more people of color,
such as Nicki Minaj and Cardi B, and different sexualities like Katy Perry’s hit single “I Kissed a
Girl” whereas my findings showed that High School Musical 3 did not feature a very diverse cast
and was not as open to different sexualities as the music industry is.