true confessions--i'm abnormal

-i have never read a harry potter novel. i have never watched a harry potter movie from beginning to end.
-i have never read the lord of the rings trilogy. i only managed to watch the first lord of the rings movie, and i probably wouldn't have finished it if i hadn't actually PAID to see it in the theater--i didn't know what i was getting into.
-i have no desire to see twilight or read the books. remember, i said i wasn't normal.
-i have only watched parts of the star wars movies because mark and noah are superfans--mark denies the 'superfan' label, but would my two boys know anything about it if it wasn't for his influence?? (luke doesn't say much, but he can say "star wars.")
-i didn't care for the one chronicles of narnia movie we rented, but i thought the saturday night live digital short "the chronic(what?)cles of narnia" was HILARIOUS.

this all leads me to the latest movie franchise that all the youngins are lovin' and i'm thinking "why???"--high school musical. i saw a clip for high school musical 3 on a talk show while waiting at the doctor's office. it is a classic moment with the basketball team down 1 pt. with only seconds left and in this moment of truth they take to the court singing and dancing AND playing basketball. REALLY??? it was pretty awesome. it reminded me of this clip from sesame street we found on youtube a while back while looking for elmo clips for luke, but now i have a whole new appreciation for it's clever parody. "preschool musical, preschool musicaAaAaAaAal!"

so help me, what am i missing in all these movies and books? are there any other cultural phenomenons everyone loves that you don't quite understand?