#writingsomuch

I have resorted to the crude methodology of using screenshots as I’ve wasted over an hour trying to find pictures of Troy and Kelsi on Google Images, amongst other such procrastinating habits. Apparently, the Internet does not believe in the power of Trelsi. Google Play and Dropbox are beautiful things, people. :D 

In this instalment, I continue with the following question:

Question: What makes the Trelsi friendship and dynamic so friggin’ special? Why does it make me want to weep and write poetry?

I am using the following website link: 11 Signs of A True Friendship to demonstrate the worth of Troy and Kelsi’s friendship throughout their lamentably short scenes together in the HSM franchise. As I’m coming to the end of that list, I will also discuss the overall disadvantage of having Troy spend so little screentime and off-screen time with Kelsi.

9- “They don’t talk about you behind your back.”

As I have repeatedly demonstrated when answering this question, the Wildcats ostensible displays of friendship are heralded by the franchise script as being emblematic of true friendship.

This includes the notable examples where the Wildcats are implied to have talked about Troy, negatively, behind his back. Returning to my example from yesterday, where Chad owns up to his part in the HSM I Wi-Fi/camera stunt, the lead-up to this rare moment of humility for the Wildcats could only have been possible if the Wildcats had been muttering about Troy behind his back. After Coach Bolton tries to pressure Troy into focusing for the upcoming game, and Troy storms out of the gym in a terrible mood, the rest of the Wildcats (none of them coming to comfort Troy, of course) are headed in a different direction to plan their next move. Which would include, of course, muttering about Troy’s alleged insanity in trying out a new interest so close to the game. 

Their decision to meet with the brainiacs to put their plan into action counts as talking about Troy (and Gabriella) behind his back, for the purpose of destroying a potential relationship based on selfish interest. In HSM II, I have already stated that their decision to shun Troy appears heavily pre-planned and I’m sure that Chad had been muttering about Troy behind his back prior to his personal decision not to speak with the latter. After all, he told Taylor and Gabriella, “there’s a guy out there that looks just like Troy Bolton, but I have no idea who he really is.” Not only is this patently absurd, but the melodramatic glum faces of Taylor and Gabriella give one the implication that their lunchtime was spent slanging Troy. 

Oh, and speaking of HSM II, let’s not forget Taylor’s instigation of Troy-bashing; telling Gabriella that Troy “forgot” his date without waiting to hear his side of the story (to Gabriella’s credit, she defended Troy!), encouraging Gabriella to hold Troy to ridiculous standards in a relationship (”ALL dates are official. Whether the boy knows it or not.”), planting suspicion in Gabriella’s head that Troy might be straying from her to get in good with Sharpay and the Evans despite there being NO evidence for this, implying that Troy’s motivations are completely unethical throughout despite Sharpay blatantly chasing him and harassing him throughout. Taylor is an excellent friend to Gabriella, and a rotten friend to Troy.*

All of the above scenes are supposed to be glossed over, because hey! We’re all in this together! Indeed, when it comes to stabbing Troy in the back, they are all in this together. However, the ONE scene where Kelsi stands by Troy in the silent Lava Springs kitchen and communicates with him UPFRONT the reason for this undeserved silent treatment once again pours scorn on the alleged Wildcat unity and friendship. Once again, one small gesture in a Trelsi scene outshining everything else. This makes me certain that Kelsi was not involved in the mutinous mutterings against Troy that most probably accompanied Chad’s shouting match earlier on, let alone the plan to ignore him. 

10- “They allow you to have other friendships without getting jealous and possessive.”

Consider the value of being friends with Troy Bolton. You have earned instant status points, you’re considered cool, you have direct access to East High’s Primo Boy, you get to hang on his every word and make sacrifices at the altar of eternal worship. Being friends with Troy Bolton is like being elected Cardinal to the Vatican. You have entered an elite circle. It is my firm belief that Troy was Kelsi’s first real friend, at least in high school. She is never shown with anyone else with whom she shares the same level of familiarity, comfort and affection as she does with Troy. This makes their friendship doubly fortunate. Beforehand, she was sitting with the Drama Club students, working on her music. Now, she is well-liked amongst the Wildcat gang and has graduated to sitting at the Cool Girls table, made up of Taylor (who appears to be the head), Gabriella and Martha. People actually notice her now, they know her name and they appreciate her talent as a composer. Mega status points for Kelsi. 

But throughout the entire movie franchise, she never seeks to impose her own presence upon Troy’s life. In fact, I may have noted before that they rarely ever hang out outside of musical-related activities; Troy still spends the vast majority of his time with the Wildcats and with Gabriella. Kelsi is respectful to all of Troy’s other friends, is pleased when the Wildcats display unity and support Troy’s ambitions and goals, and does everything she can to maintain this harmony. In such benevolence, during HSM II, she appeared shocked when Chad and Troy had a row in the Lava Springs kitchen (TINY scene)-- later on, she persuaded Chad to forgive Troy. Now the BASIS upon which Chad was to forgive Troy is completely bogus and nonsensical in my view; Chad agrees to the following comment: [T] “I was a jerk.”, which as I have stated time and time again, is categorically untrue. 

However, Kelsi certainly never considered Troy to be a jerk throughout this film, and clearly saw that Troy (unjustly) renouncing his privileges in a show of solidarity with his team would appease Chad’s anger. So, either before or after finding Ryan, she runs to Chad, the very same person who called her “small person” in HSM I and with whom she has only shared a little dialogue** previous to plead Troy’s case.*** She doesn’t want to see Troy and Chad’s friendship ruined for anything and seems happy when they get along. This is evidenced by yet another TINY scene where Kelsi is smiling as Troy and Chad do that skipping routine in the kitchen. Scenes like that restore my hope in Troy and Chad’s friendship. 

Due the fact that Troy is one of the friendliest, most open and likeable characters in the entire cast, almost everyone is clamouring to be his friend. Those who get there first consider themselves to be the rightful owners. Cue Chad Danforth, whose has turned possessiveness into an art form. Remember, these two have been friends since pre-school, and although Chad was written as the sidekick, he is clearly the more dominant of the two. “For the record? I was a much better superhero than you were.” I know, I know I criticize Chad a lot, but I do REALLY LIKE Troy and Chad’s friendship. It IS a true brotherhood. They have great banter, their friendship is resilient as hell (secretly filming your BEST friend to destroy his relationship? Wow, Troy forgives like there’s no tomorrow), they make great partners in sport, they clearly bonded quite quickly as kids have great complementary qualities. BUT out of the two, it is Chad who feels that his blueprint must be followed. Troy NEVER imposes any idea upon Chad-- not in their professional spheres or in their social spheres. Rather, it is Chad who decides what Troy should think, what he should like, who he should hang out with, what he should decide and what he should do. And that presents a stark difference between how Chad treats Troy and how Kelsi treats him:

(What Troy should think)-- “The music in those shows isn’t hiphop... or rock. Or anything essential to culture. It’s... showtunes. Costumes and makeup. It’s frightening!”

(What Troy should like)-- “You’re a Hoops Dude. Not a musical singer person!”

(Who he should hang out with)-- (This one is indirect) “...the Drama Geeks and the Brainiacs think that they can... talk to us! Suddenly everyone wants to do other stuff, okay: stuff that’s not their stuff!”

(What he should decide)-- (Upon hearing that Troy is undecided about Juilliard) “That’s not what I wanted to hear!”

(What he should do)-- “You and me... we’re goin’ to U of A.”

Now, perhaps it is worth reiterating that despite all this, I still like their friendship! :D But with no such dialogue coming from Kelsi, who rather encourages his decisions and treats his ambitions with respect and is thoroughly devoted to his success, the glaring problem in Troy and Chad’s dynamic becomes clear. And yet they tell me that Troy is the jerk...

I will discuss Gabriella’s controlling tendencies later on, but the Wildcats’ possessiveness of Troy becomes clear when he’s becoming popular with the Redhawks. After all, they invite him to scrimmage within moments of meeting him, give him a jacket and a ride in their (cool!) car. They talk and joke with him like he’s their best buddy, and he gets lunch with them and Mr. Evans. Of course, Troy is cultivating friendships with them for good reasons (and don’t let anyone deceive you otherwise), but to the Wildcats, this appears as though Troy thinks he is too good for his friends. (Their interpretation, not mine). As a result, they shun and insult him. According to Zeke, who has no reason to be so insulting, “...Troy bailed on us, so whatever!” In other words, the Wildcats act like a spurned lover when Troy doesn’t lavish them with the attention they feel entitled to. This gives the impression that they friendship with him is at least partially motivated by the status boost they receive, and if Troy’s attention is on other people, that threatens their own popularity. Interestingly, they do not apply this theory to Kelsi, who is quickly absorbed into their group despite her high uncool points. But maybe this is because Troy likes her, so they see this as a sign of approval.

Long story short: the Trelsi friendship NEVER has these problems. 

11- “You have so many inside jokes and funny memories with them that you’ve lost count.”

I have to use speculation here, since there are no scenes to give an appropriate insight into what Troy and Kelsi hanging out what look like. But there are several canonical points worth remembering: 1)- their friendship is uniquely esoteric, 2)- it is built upon unspoken understanding, 3)- they both have a great sense of humour, and are fond of sarcasm, 4)- they share many great friendship moments together. In light of this, I can see them having inside jokes and funny/great memories were they allowed more scenes together, particularly scenes that didn’t involve preparation for the musicals. Perhaps there are some canonical funny memories though: (Kelsi, from HSM II about the Ladies Luncheon) “Won’t exactly be rocking out!”. My screenshot way up above shows Troy’s amusement and somewhat affectionate indulging in Kelsi’s sarcasm. And Kelsi certainly finds his decision to steal Jimmie’s clothes in HSM III hilarious. (Don’t ask me). In the same film, we get a glimpse of the potential teasing, sarcastic sense of humour that could characterize their off-screen conversations: “Hoops Man! Over here! You look like you’re having the time of your life!” To add to the esoteric nature of their relationship, the use of nicknames seems likely. 

On the topic of nicknames, Troy and Kelsi are the only ones who use nicknames in a reciprocal fashion. Gabriella calls Troy “Wildcat” (in an often patronizing fashion), but Troy just calls her “Gabriella”. Chad calls Troy “Hoops”, but Troy just calls him “Chad”. With his and Kelsi’s friendship, such is the equal nature of it that even the nicknames are shared. He confers on her the status of Playmaker, she calls him Hoops Man. Interestingly, Troy does not mind this coming from Kelsi-- most likely because she has never viewed him entirely through the prism of being a basketball player. Even MORE interestingly, she uses a basketball-related nickname during THEATRE rehearsals. The very side of Troy that he still struggles to reveal thanks to how his basketball career overshadows his past, present and future. Why does Kelsi do this? At first glance, this might appear counter-productive. But consider this in context; they have had a disastrous rehearsal, everyone is pissed with Troy, the energy is down. Kelsi calling him Hoops Man snaps him right back to attention. He’s focused. It’s like the Coach during practice, and Troy knows this like the back of his hand. Instantly, he turns around, his attention drawn away from the disastrous rehearsal. So Kelsi is once again bringing him back from the brink of self-doubt and endless blame. Also, the nickname “Hoops Man” is a definite compliment. Chad calls him “Hoops”, which makes him sound like an inanimate object. Kelsi calls him “Hoops Man”, showing there’s a human being behind the skill. This is coming from someone who doesn’t know what a Game Ball is and wanders around twirling it in her hands, looking extremely awkward, not to mention “basketball class”, and “Playmaker...??” And by referring to Troy’s skill in basketball, she is basically telling him that he can kill it on stage just like he does on the basketball court. The results of this pep talk (minus the odious Gabriella worship!) are to calm Troy considerably so that by the next scene, when he is preparing for prom, he is showing happiness and excitement for the first time in a while. (Of course, this is cruelly crushed just moments later, but... *sigh*) 

I will expand on why Troy and Kelsi NEEDED more scenes together in the next instalment and provide some areas where this might have helped.

TO BE CONTINUED

(*FOOTNOTE-- I like Taylor McKessie. She’s fierce and fun and bubbly and smart. But her prejudice and subsequent behaviour towards Troy is inexcusable. What is interesting is that prior to Gabriella taking an interest in Troy, Taylor was quite happy for the world to hear about her disdain for Primo Boys/Sports Stars. During the detention scene in HSM I, she barely uses a whisper when she mocks Chad, who is sitting right in front of her: “That’ll be tough for Chad since he probably can’t count that high!” And later, she has a derogatory poster of Troy made with no shame whatsoever. (Again, I give Gabriella credit for not finding this amusing or persuasive). It’s hilarious and completely uncalled for. But she’s openly disdainful. By the time we get to HSM II, she’s smiling to Troy’s face and denigrating him behind his back. Why the change? I think it’s because she can’t bring herself to admit that Troy DOESN’T represent any of the stereotypes that she attaches to Primo Boys; her apparent vendetta against him is based on his status more than it is on him. In HSM I, she called him a lunkhead twice. In HSM II and HSM III, she no longer does this. Sadly, based on her behaviour in HSM II, it’s not because she had some moral epiphany, but she’s found another way to criticize him. You can see the rationale in her head: based on HSM I, she now concludes “Troy’s a nice guy”, and then BUT... Cue the new round of criticism. This is astonishing, as out of the two it is CHAD who is more of a douche throughout the movies, but she’s willing to give him the benefit of the doubt because of her feelings towards him. As she has no feelings for Troy, it is easier to maintain her prejudices against Primo Boy status. And Chad, who is supposed to be Troy’s best friend, allows her to talk smack about his buddy in front of him with no comment whatsoever. ([C] “Troy would never do that!”/[T] “You’ve got eyes: use them!”) Insane hypocrisy, but I’ve come to expect this from the Wildcats by now).

(**FOOTNOTE-- Despite Chad’s dismissive way of addressing Kelsi in HSM I, it appears by HSM II that he quite likes her. I am intrigued by what they were discussing prior to the Silent Treatment scene. [K] “It’s okay, Ryan can help!” Help what? By this time, they know that they will not be able to participate in the Lava Springs Talent Show, and yet I am always led to assume that Kelsi meant something dance-related. Maybe I am wrong. And the recipient of this help appears to be Chad, who says, [C] “I don’t know...” But Kelsi remains optimistic: [K] “He’ll get it, eventually!” I have no idea what they are referring to, much less when Chad and Kelsi were on friendly chatting terms over breakfast. Not that I object to this, as Kelsi would no doubt be a good influence on Chad! But the show never shows the transition from calling someone “small person” to discussing something like one might discuss the weather. However, I will draw the viewer’s attention back to early HSM II, where Kelsi babbles on about her beloved Talent Show, claiming “I’ve got ideas for EVERYONE; you guys can sing the lead, and maybe CHAD and ZEKE can do backup and everyone can dance!” (Capital emphasis my own). How did Kelsi come upon the information that Chad was capable of doing backup vocals? Did Chad suddenly show an interest in music in between the Winter Musical and the Summer Holidays? Did Kelsi do a survey? It would have been nice to have these details. Anyway, this apparent knowledge that Kelsi has of Chad’s musical skills further undermine his silly pantomime of braggadocio in that glorious waste of time called “I Don’t Dance”.)