Subcultures via ABC/Disney

Reading Hebdige's book made me think about a show I watched this past Monday on ABC. It was the first time I watched this show, but it was actually decent. Okay, so don't laugh, but the show is called "High School Musical: Get in the Picture." It's the reality show that picks the next up-and-coming Disney star, I guess, and they get to be in the new "HSM 3" movie. Anyway, in this particular episode the finalists had to perform "A Whole New World" (from Disney's "Aladdin") in a musical style that was different from their own. It was kinda humorous and some of the styles that were explored were Goth, folk, rock, and a few others that I can't recall off-hand. You can view it online, and I think it's worth watching at least the scenes in which they dress up in character and do their thang. lol It's the 9/2/08 episode called "Other People's Shoes" and can be found at: http://abc.go.com/player/

But isn't it kind of ironic that a major corporation like Disney is bringing indie music and their subcultures to life on network television by using one of their songs: "A Whole New World"? At least they showed that everyone has a different style and what may seem weird to one person may be a way of life for another.