A classic literature film adaptation made for a teen audience can only succeed with proper casting that embodies the stereotype of the modern day teenager. The success of the adaptation also relies heavily on the on-screen representation of teenagers’ daily activities and values, namely drugs and sex. Clueless, based on the classic novel Emma, and 10 Things I Hate About You, based on Shakespeare’s play The Taming of the Shrew, both include a full cast of teenage character stereotypes and a script filled with adolescent debauchery and fornication amidst their classic “high brow” story lines. While the 2013 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet gives the audience none of the elements they desire in a teen film. The audience leaves the movie theater feeling more like they just experienced a high school English class rather than the next big teen film of 2016.
Teenagers are vital for the success of the film industry. In a 2015 survey, 56% of
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Colón Semenza, he reminds filmmakers that they must find the sexual and risque elements in the texts and exploit them. Much of the success of Clueless and 10 Things I Hate About You can be credited to the themes of teenage experimentation with drugs and sex. In an poll on Forever Young Adult, the films Clueless and 10 Things I Hate About You tied for first place as thousands of teenagers voted for the best teen film of all time. The sub-categories which represented the most important themes in both movies included, but were not limited to, which movie had a better high school caste system, a better party, and a better looking teen heartthrob to play the love interest. This poll, made by teens for teens, proves that in a piece of classical literature can only be adapted into one of the most successful teen films of all time if the filmmakers find suggestive and exciting themes in the text and bring them to life on
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.
In the essay, “High School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies,” David Denby argues that teen movies reflect each other and lack originality. To prove his argument, Denby illustrates the majority of teen movie’s typical characters and events such as the antagonists that are the popular rich girl with long blonde hair, a dense quarterback, the geeky protagonist who is usually an outsider with family and/or friends struggles, and the importance of prom night. His purpose is to expose teen movies for having a pattern of cliches and in order to convey his this, Denby addresses the stereotypes and lack of creativity. Denby addresses teenagers and others who had similar experiences in their high school career and appeals to them by using a casual,
It’s a very difficult thing for adults to write accurate and believable teenage characters. Often times, people my age are written to be significantly too stereotypical. Apparently, the middle aged white men who write most of these movies think every single teenager in high school is either an athlete with no passions other than sports or a nerd who has never looked up from a book. As someone who has only been out of high school for 6 months, I feel pretty confident in saying those stereotypes rarely exist in real life.
Even though society standards change over time, the predicaments faced stay the same but are viewed as a different lens of value. This allows for classic novels to be reconstructed into films. After reading Emma and then watching Clueless, I’ve discovered that the plot lines are roughly the same but altered to fit the different eras. “But more significantly, both stories are about the same kind of people, in the same kind of environments, approached with the same sort of satirical winking.”
The tragedy, “Romeo and Juliet” was originally a play created by William Shakespeare, one of many world famous plays by the same. This play has been converted into its intended style many times in the past, the earliest version in 1968 was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, the latest film in 1996 by Baz Luhrmann. The latter is quite modern and only occassionally uses the words of Shakespeare. On the contrary, the older version was very traditional, and almost completely stuck to the original script. In this essay, I will compare the modern day film to the traditional version of the tragic play, “Romeo and Juliet.
Texts can be re-contextualised and manipulated in order to be relevant to a modern day society. However, the transformation is usually apparent and thus a link can be established between the original and the new. The transformation can give the audience a better understanding of societal values and attitudes present in the texts. Jane Austen's book Emma(1816), relevant to society in Regency England, is relived in a modern day context relevant to the 20th century American society in Amy Heckerling's “teen flick” Clueless(1995). Social status plays a crucial part in both texts.
Teenage readers, take than anyone,undoubtedly relate to the characters’ sense of helplessness. they believe that parents, teachers, ministers, and every second authority is restricting their individuality and their freedom.
It was not until later that the book gained its status as an American treasure. This inspired a number of movie adaptations. The most recent is the 2013 version, directed by Baz Luhrmann. Although he managed to capture the excess of the 20s, he failed to capture the full personas of the lively group of characters in the story. Luhrmann, the creator of the modernistic version of “Romeo+Juliet”, directed
Many describe Shakespeare’s works as timeless because, throughout several centuries, they have maintained a certain level of validity in their representation of society. This timelessness, however, is dependent upon the interpretations of the pieces and the transformations that they undertake when transcribed to the stage or film. The movie, 10 Thing I Hate About You, transforms the 16th century play into a late 20th century film in order to present Shakespeare’s ideas in a way that the people of modern times can best receive them. Due to the enormous differences between the 16th and the 20th centuries, Shakespeare’s original words are abandoned almost entirely, however, the deeper meaning remains very similar.
Before crossing the frozen tundra of Hillsdale College and sitting in one of the seats of Markel Auditorium, I had never seen a performance or been exposed to Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Or so I thought. A little known fact about myself is that I am a budding connoisseur of 1990’s romantic comedies. Halfway through the night, I felt a sense of déjà vu. I kept thinking that this play was similar to a movie I hold dear to my heart. As soon as intermission came, I pulled out my iPhone and did a quick web search. My suspicions were indeed confirmed. The 90’s classic, Ten Things I Hate About You was similar to Kiss Me Kate. Both were modern takes on William Shakespeare’s classic play. With this knowledge, I believed I was able to better appreciate both the play, plot, and
What’s your perception of teenagers? What has shaped your opinion? It’s pretty much common knowledge to think that all teens are lazy, antisocial and glued to their phones. Film has a large influence on the perception of the public. As one of the most popular forms of entertainment, films have the power to shape the lives and minds of adolescents globally. Many of these films depict life as a teenager, including
Do you sometimes wish you could just escape your mundane existence? A good book has the ability to transport you into another world, a world where you can let your imaginations and creativity run wild. This magical feeling you experience is the result of vivid descriptions and passion created by the author, which makes reading a book so special. So, if reading is so exciting, why do you think so many book adaptations are made into movies? Why do college students after reading the book would want to watch the movie? The main reason why college students would want to watch the film version of the books Harold and Maude and World War Z to not only compare their imagination of the book to the movie but also use the
Baz Lurhmann’s creation of the film Romeo and Juliet has shown that today’s audience can still understand and appreciate William Shakespeare. Typically, when a modern audience think of Shakespeare, they immediately think it will be boring, yet Lurhmann successfully rejuvenates Romeo and Juliet. In his film production he uses a number of different cinematic techniques, costumes and a formidably enjoyable soundtrack; yet changes not one word from Shakespeare’s original play, thus making it appeal to a modern audience.
Baz Luhrmann has used props to further modernise the film adaptation of a play that was originally written during the Elizabethan era to connect with his large teenage demographic. One way Luhrmann has done this is by exchanging the original props with props that are the modern versions of these items, for example: horses have been replaced with cars, swords have been replaced with guns and a sheriff on a horse has been replaced with a police officer in a car or helicopter. Another way Luhrmann has modernised props to make them appealing to a younger audience is by using objects associated with teenage rebellion such as guns, ecstasy tablets and cigarettes. These have also been used to create a ‘bad boy’ image of Romeo so his character will
An old-time play called Othello and the movie from 2001 named O is a copy of Othello, but teenagers from this generation are the ones with consequences instead of adults. The way O was filmed, it is amazing. I like how they used high school teenagers in the movie O and each teenager had a role from Othello. I love how Othello is an acting play, it makes it unique and intriguing.