10 Things I Hate About You Analysis

Hello and welcome respected audience of the Shakespeare Society. I would like to start today by thanking you for allowing me to speak on the topic of how the stereotypical roles of women have changed and evolved in a positive manner since the Elizabethan era. I will start by defining a few beneficial terms before discussing how Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew has been appropriated by Gil Junger’s in the 1999 movie, 10 Things I Hate About You.

The movie 10 Things I Hate About You(1999) is a film that was based off of William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew that was a popular play in the 16th

Through intertextual relationships, detecting the significant differences and transformations between William Shakespeare's play Taming of The Shrew, and Ten Things I Hate About You, a contemporary hollywood film directed by Gil Junger enriches our understandings towards cultural issues through feminist attitudes, social hierarchy and the transformation in sentiments towards love and marriage. Both texts exert compelling issues through different techniques to proclaim to the audience that women during the 16th century were seen as obsequious, however Ten Things I Hate About You, an allusion of Taming of the Shrew, enriches our understanding of these gender role issues by proclaiming that we must reject blatant consumerism. Among this, issues of class and love are explored, and through a historical reading I was able to depict the changes in values and cultures between the production of both texts.

The historical and cultural contexts of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew (TTS) and the 1999 film 10 Things I Hate About You (10TIH) differ exceptionally, resulting in the film’s expression of values unlike those expressed in Shakespeare’s original text. Shakespeare’s play was written during the Elizabethan era, during which the belief that men were superior to women was prevalent. This concept is centralised in TTS, through incorporation of a disputably misogynistic tone and the dominance of men consequently forcing Katherina into marriage and submission. In contrast, 10TIH, a modern film appropriation of TTS, largely challenges the values of Shakespeare’s play. It presents to

The movie 10 Things I Hate About You is comparable to the book The Taming of the Shrew. William Shakespeare wrote The Taming of the Shrew with the focus of marriage in the 1500s. 10 Things I Hate About You is a romantic comedy that was made in the 1900s. In The Taming of the Shrew and 10 Things I Hate About You, Petruchio and Patrick are similar because they are manipulative and indifferent to other’s opinions of themselves; however, Patrick is more compassionate.

In the sixteenth century the role of women in society was very limited. Women were generally stereotyped as housewives and mothers. They were to be married, living their life providing for her husband and children. The patriarchal values of the Elizabethan times regarded women as the weaker sex.’ Men were considered the dominant gender and were treated with the utmost respect by females. Women were mainly restricted within the confines of their homes and were not allowed to go school or to university, but they could be educated at home by private tutors. Men were said to be the ones to provide for their families financially. Women were often seen as not intelligent. Property could not be titled in the name of a female within the family. Legally everything the female had belonged to her husband. Poor and middle class wives were kept very busy but rich women were not idle either. In a big house they had to organize and supervise the servants.

The theatrical play of ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ (1594) and the live action film ’10 Things I Hate About You’ (1999) are clearly similar in many ways (as the drama film is a modern adaptation of the classic Shakespearean text), these similarities can be recognized through themes which point out scenes, quotes and/or effects both text types share with each other. Themes include, Gender Politics/Roles, Romantic Relationships and Social Hierarchy (social status/class). The themes of Gender Politics and Social Hierarchy support the precisely represented similarities both text types share, highlighting the enduring provenance of these concerns over time.

Gender stereotypes are not a modern notion and as such expectations and limitations have always existed for both men and women. Fortunately women, who have formerly beared great burdens of discrimination, now have very liberated roles in society as a result of slowly shifting attitudes and values. Shakespeare was integral in challenging the subservient role expected of women in the 16th century. Throughout the play, ‘The Merchant of Venice’, women are expressed as powerful characters who behave, speak and live in a way that breaks away from the conformist role of females during the 16th century. Therefore, the submissive stereotype expected of women in Shakespearean time is confronted and defied through

The film “10 things I hate about you” is a romantic comedy released in 1999. It is starred by Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger. It’s a very popular film between teens. The film was made as an adaptation of the “Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare. However, the story portrays certain characteristics of a fairy tale known as “King Thrushbeard”. The film utilizes fairy tale and cinematic elements to show that judging a person can mislead the truth, by using complex characters that represent different stereotypes.

The Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeare's most famous plays, and has weathered well into our modern era. For all the praises it has garnered throughout the centuries, it is curious to note that many have considered it to be one of his most controversial in his treatment of women. The "taming" of Katherine has been contended as being excessively cruel by many writers and critics of the modern era. George Bernard Shaw himself pressed for its banning during the 19th century. The subservience of Katherine has been labeled as barbaric, antiquated, and generally demeaning. The play centers on her and her lack of suitors. It establishes in the first act her shrewish demeanor and its repercussions on her family. It is only with the introduction of the witty Petruchio as her suitor, that one begins to see an evolution in her character. Through an elaborate charade of humiliating behavior, Petruchio humbles her and by the end

Love is an ever-changing concept which varies from one person to the next. Not all love is positive for some is toxic and destructive. Shakespeare’s 1590s play ‘taming of the shrew’ is a representation of mainstream society views and ideologies of the Elizabethan era. The play displays what women should do and not do. The play is a precise preservation of how females and males acted towards one another. Since the play has first been released ideas and beliefs over certain genders and their roles have changed. The play ‘taming of the shrew’ which once embodied a love story is now seen a misogynist story. The play has since been constructed into a few films. The most well-known films are the 1967 film rendering ‘taming of the shrew’ and 1999 loose adaptation ’10 things I hate about you’. The film ‘taming of the shrew’ was directed by Franco Zeffirelli and at the time of the initial release of the film, it was seen as a love story. Certain themes can be identified in each movie. These themes consist of equality and dominance, which is mainly between the two genders, gender roles and social status in society. When I watched the movie I believed it showed very misogynistic views towards women with little evidence of a love story. In contrast, the comparative film ’10 things I hate about you’, directed by Gil Junger, display evidence of a love story with few misogynistic characters. Evidence that is easy to identify in both films is equality and dominance between characters.

Sexism is the stereotyping and discrimination based upon gender. Typically steered towards women, it has played a large part in not only our society today but in the past as well. In the play The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, it is shown in the treatment of the women by their male counterparts. It is most prevalent in the way that fortune-seeking Petruchio goes about taming his aggressive and sharp-tongued wife Katharina. By examining Petruchio’s actions and Katharina’s reactions towards his efforts at taming her, once can see that the play is indeed sexist.

Women and men’s role in Elizabethan society is completely different to modern society. The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare shows exactly what the attitudes were like. For example, the scene when Katherina is fighting with her sister because Bianca has a number of suitors waiting for her but she refuses to tell Katherina which one she prefers. Katherina gets angry and aggressive towards Bianca because she doesn’t give her an answer, Katherina starts to attack Bianca. Their father enters into the room and says “For shame, thou hilding of a devilish spirit! Why dost thou wrong her that did ne’er wrong thee? When did she cross thee with a bitter word? Baptista is expressing why Katherina would

10 things i hate about you is the hit film directed by Gil Junger based on the Shakespear classic, Taming of the shrew. Although Taming of the Shrew is a quite controversial play, Junger is able to re-create it into more of a teen romantic comedy which uses more cultural values from our time. This can be evident through the plot and how the storyline and events change. This can also be seen through the themes and how they have had to change to fit in with the social norms and morals of today. Lastly, we can see how characters have had certains ideas changed to not only be more appropriate, but also to be more relatable to the audience.

The role of woman in the society has always been really controversial, whether it was 400 years ago or now. Shakespeare's two very famous comedy plays, The Taming of the Shrew and The Merchant of Venice challenge a very serious social issue, the role and importance of woman in society. We all know the stereotypical image of woman in the society but Shakespeare questions the society on these thoughts through his plays. While Shakespeare expresses his ideas in a very unique way in each of his plays, this issue is common in both plays and is portrayed very similarly. Whether it is the way woman are treated, portrayed or judged, Shakespeare repeats the same idea through difference acts and events between the two comedies. There are some