There's an immense amount of pressure on high schoolers today, from competing to get into top colleges, to managing school work and extracurriculars, to dealing with the stress of life during a pandemic. For many young people, that pressure is too much. In a 2019 Pew Research Center Survey, about 61% of teens surveyed said they felt a lot of pressure to get good grades. By comparison, the second highest concern in the survey was to look good, with 29% of respondents saying they feel a lot of pressure to do so.
A new HBO documentary follows students starring in a musical that explores this pressure. My So-Called High School Rank, premiering on November 29, follows students in a production of the high school musical, Ranked, a show all about just how far students and parents will go to secure their academic futures.
My So-Called High School Rank dives into the lives of students at Granite Bay High School in Granite Bay, California, where Ranked originated. At that school, drama teacher Kyle Holmes and musical director David Taylor Gomes asked students in 2018 what matters most to them, and what they don't see being portrayed on stage. According to the musical's website, the students overwhelmingly told their teachers, “we are stressed, we are overwhelmed, we are drowning and we don’t feel like anyone is going to save us any time soon.” What was behind those feelings? Largely pressure to get into college, and to not feel like a failure. Based on those feelings, Ranked was born, investigating the ways in which students manage that stress, and how it impacts their lives. The production premiered right after news of the College Admissions Scandal broke.
As we see in the film, the musical resonated with more than just the students at Granite Bay — the production has been licensed at more than 50 schools. The new documentary follows the making of the musical and its rapid success, and is underscored by the personal stories of Granite Bay students, showing just how true to life the stage production can be. And, as the musical is adapted by more and more theater departments, the COVID-19 pandemic hits and shutters schools across the country. Research has shown that the pandemic worsened many students' mental health, but the film shows how creativity can be an outlet to combat that.
My So-Called High School Rank, produced and directed by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg, premieres on November 29 on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max. Get your first look at the trailer here:
