10 Things I Hate About You & Taming of the Shrew: Appropriation

William Shakespeare’s play, The Taming of the Shrew, and Gil Junger’s film, Ten Things I Hate About You, contain many elements that reflect the time period and society in which they were composed. The Taming of The Shrew strongly reflects on the idea of marriage being an economic agreement as well as the structured roles played by men and women that were prevalent in the 16th century and how gender affected the way a person can be viewed and courted in the same time period. This is contrasted by Gil Junger’s 1999 appropriation, Ten Things I Hate About You, in which modern teenage life and relationships are explored, touching on these same issues in relation to gender roles in a modern context. In this essay I will compare the roles of men and women in each text, as well as considering the difference in the two societies in terms of money, relationships and social status.

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.

Gender roles in the Taming of the Shrew and the movie 10 Things I Hate About You show a major difference. In the book it is evident that for a women to be free minded is highly frowned upon and the behaviors and emotions should be seamless. A

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 Taming of the Shrew, written by William Shakespeare, is historical proof that flirting and temptation, relating to the opposite sex, has been around since the earliest of times. Because males and females continue to interact, the complications in this play remain as relevant and humorous today as they did to Elizabethan audiences. This is a very fun play, full of comedy and sexual remarks. It's lasting impression imprints itself into the minds of its readers, for it is an unforgettable story of sex, flirting, and happiness. The Taming of the Shrew remains as relevant today because of its relation to the age-old story of the battle of the sexes and dynamics of marriage, as well as the woman's struggle with both of these.

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.

Men being respected and treated highly while women treated with little to no respect because society has pictured women as inferior to men. I strongly disagree with how the society portrayed women in 'Taming of The Shrew.' Portraying the female gender being a weaker gender to the male sex. Even in todays' society, women are still being portrayed as the weaker gender by society and the male gender. 'Kat' is soon to realise the unfairness of how each gender is being treated by society and becomes labeled as a 'Heinous Bitch,' quoted by 'Miss Perky,' for speaking her mind and taking a stand against the person society wants you to be. While young 'Bianca' is still yet to realise the mistake of believing the lies that the society feeds young girls to find what the 'real' meaning of the word "Beautiful." The Misogynist World that was shown in the Movie 'Taming of the Shrew' indicated how both genders were treated in the Elizabethan Era. However in '10 Things I Hate About You' the film displayed the world that appeared to be similar to our traditional society but if you look closely enough, you can see the movie to be ruled by misogynist expectations. Shakespeare grew up in the society where treating women as inferior to the male gender was acceptable but the writers of '10 Things I Hate About You', Karen McCullah Lutz & Kirsten Smith, wrote the film as an

Shakespeare 's complex play Othello holds numerous pressing issues within its intricate layers that seem to leap out to modern society. One such issue seen by many is the representation of women. Women within the play can be characterized as submissive possessions and temptresses. This ideology, though commonplace in this time period, appears controversial to the modern eye as we deconstruct the characters of this play. This dominate patriarchal society present within the setting merely conditions this belief further as it is prevalent within the characters dialogue.

The Taming of the Shrew was written by William Shakespeare in 1593. It describes the life of Katherina, the difficult older sister who few people were willing to marry, and her younger sister Bianca, with her many suitors lining up to marry her. The play was later adapted into a movie in 1999 by Touchstone Pictures which was named 10 Things I Hate About You. The movie follows Kat and Bianca in high school, where they face the same problems as Shakespeare’s original characters. In the movie there are many similarities between it and Taming of the Shrew. However, there still are many differences, which can be seen throughout the plot, the characters and the

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

By implementing a contemporary feminist viewpoint in “Othello”, contemporary responders are able to analyse and connect with the theme of womanhood and relate it to a modern context. In A.C. Bradley’s “Shakespearean Tragedy” (1957), Desdemona is described as “the sweetest and most pathetic of

Othello, by William Shakespeare is well known for its richness in literary content and elements pertinent to societal ideas. Moreover, women are portrayed in Othello in ways that confirm, but also contradict their treatment in Shakespeare’s time. Both female action and language represent these ideas such as expectations for a wife and expectations for how a woman is to act. That said, there are many other lines spoken by these characters that defy the expectations placed on women at time. Overall, the feminist critical lens allows a reader to understand Othello and the manner in which it is slightly sexist and controversial. This lens allows the reader to observe both discrepancies of how women are treated, and common characteristics found

The dehumanization of women should not be shown in a play because it is against the common morals of today’s society. In The Taming of the Shrew, the objectification of women is shown

“Romantic? Hemingway? He was an abusive, alcoholic, misogynist who squandered half of his life hanging around Picasso trying to nail his leftovers.” The Taming of The Shrew and Ten Things I Hate About You, are both considered to be of the romantic comedy genre, and focus on culminate in a happy ending. The story line of Ten Things I Hate About You is based on the same basic plot as The Taming of The Shrew. Both films are also about love and relationships, but they depict how sexism has changed over many generations. Studying these film texts illustrates that the idea of marriage and or relationships have evolved significantly throughout the Shakespearean time and that of the 1990’s yet Kat and Kate in both the play and the film, make changes to better accommodate their partners. For example, Katherine changes many things about herself and her personality to better suit Petruchio and Kat opposes her negative attitude while Patrick does the same things, in meeting her halfway, while changing things she dislikes about him as well.

In William Shakespeare’s tragic play Othello there are numerous instances of obvious sexism aimed at the three women in the drama -- Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca – and aimed at womankind generally. Let us delve into this subject in this paper.