For the past few years, the singing and dancing delights of the High School Musical series have captured young imaginations. To these viewers, high school is a magical place where love is pure and everyone is accepted for who they are. I am not one of the wide-eyed tweens who worship the franchise, but I still rushed out with my roommate to see the spectacle on the big screen. Now, two weeks later, with the high-energy tunes stuck on repeat in my head, I’ve found I need something powerful to counteract the bubblegum pop. The solution? Christian Slater and grunge-era teen angst, of course!
But I don’t want to go with the expected black comedy classic; Heathers is deliciously dark, but I’ll take my social critique without the crazy, if you don’t mind. I’m thinking of Pump Up the Volume, which was released in 1990 — a year after the Winona Ryder flick. Volume is original and fun and it hasn’t gotten an ounce of the attention that it deserves.
Mark Hunter (Slater) is a shy new student at Hubert Humphrey High, a school with an impressive reputation nestled in a sprawling suburb in Arizona. Like so many of his classmates, Mark is unhappy at the school, which is ruled by the domineering Principal Creswood (Annie Ross). Mark vents his frustrations every night on his pirate radio program, which he broadcasts under the alias “Hard Harry.” Harry regularly dispenses advice, plays music and engages in generally offensive behavior.
As more and more students tune in to Harry’s program and take his riotous words to heart, the school administration becomes more oppressive as it searches for the mysterious broadcaster. Luckily for Mark, the only person who has caught on to his extracurricular activities is Nora (Samantha Mathis), a fellow student who is more interested in changing the world than turning him in. As tensions in the community rise to a fever pitch, Mark must decide whether he wants to remain a silent bystander or if he should stand up, challenge authority and “talk hard.”
Today, the idea of teenagers sparking a revolution via radio seems a little quaint. Despite this, much of the film feels familiar. Four years removed, the dramas of high school are usually something I roll my eyes at, but I can still remember the pressures and the misunderstandings. The world Mark inhabits is not too different from our own. School administrators are obsessed with test scores and accreditation. Guidance counselors recite meaningless, cheerful slogans that help no one. The hypocrisy of adults is depicted in contrast to the passion of youth. The film emphasizes the power of speech and the ability of the individual to create change for a larger group.
The ending of Pump Up the Volume is somewhat ambiguous — it is clear that Hard Harry has had a massive effect on the school, but the exact results are uncertain. Ultimately, though, whether the administrators are defeated or not is unimportant. The students have broken out of the ideological cages that they had been put into and they have realized the power of their voices. The lesson of Pump Up the Volume is that, no matter what, you should always speak your mind and stand up for yourself. And if what you have to say might offend the Troy Boltons of the world, so be it.
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