Haochung Hsu '25
Edited by Kelly Lee '25
A few weeks ago, I went to watch Notre Dame de Paris at the Shanghai Culture Square. It's
a stunning musical adapted from Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame, filled to the
brim with incredible music, choreography and production elements, all centred around a
poignant love story between the outcasts of society. It's truly a musical worth watching just
by the merits of its performance alone. But more than that, it's a musical that asks us age-
old questions that society still has not solved to this day, 600 years from its setting.
Central to the story is a struggle between the powers of the church and the refugees.
Persecuted because of a difference in class and religion, the refugees are barred from
sanctuary and asylum, constantly hounded by the guards, and taken advantage of by the
head of Notre Dame himself. It strikes close to home for me, seeing similar stories of how
queer folk are constantly harassed, used as political pawns, fetishized in pornography and
more. I think more than anything, this is a musical that highlights the way the difference in
class and power will always be a corrupting force in our society. We see it in the musical,
with Frodo assaulting Esmeralda, giving her an ultimatum because he holds material and
physical power over her, we see it in how the conflict in Palestine no longer discussed as
the genocide and tragedy it is, but as a talking point for different political parties to deliver
empty promises of peace. (I'm looking at you Democrats). In SAS, we are beyond lucky. We
live in a safe bubble where material concerns largely do not affect our student population,
we come from families with highly educated backgrounds, we order enough take out every
week to form micro-landfills in our hallways. In many ways, we are a school that fails to
meet our mantra of being “ethical global citizens”.
To me, this musical was a call to action. I strongly believe that as a school, we must
develop better class consciousness, both in our curriculum but in the everyday actions
that we take. Something simple I think we can all choose to do is to have more empathy for
one another, so we are a kinder school. Look up to Esmeralda, who was willing to see past
Quasimodo's physical ugliness, and lift a bowl of water to his parched lips. Say hello and
thank you to the guards and ayis when you pass them, when you buy your food. When you
order take out, make sure to clean it up, and try to order from a sustainable company or
even better, order less often! Trust me, cafeteria food won't kill you! At the same time, have
empathy for yourself, know that even if you don't live in a war zone, you still have struggles
that are difficult, and take effort to overcome. In this honestly messed up world, we are all
villains, we are all victims, and helping each other, being willing to sacrifice for one another
is the only way we can overcome difficulties as seemingly impossible as climate change or
the next exam season.
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