Ten Things I Hate About You Analysis

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The 1999 teen movie Ten Things I Hate About You is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. It appealed to teens but was still able to keep the key themes and values of Shakespeare’s work evident throughout the film. These themes included romance, the importance of social order, patriarchal values and transformation. Many of the themes and values stayed the same but in order to represent and appeal to the modern teen some of these had to be altered. Without these alterations the movie would have seemed unrealistic and the intended audience would not have related to the film. To stay true to the basic plot of The Taming of the Shrew, characters were kept similar having parallel personality traits. For example, Kate and Kat were similar both being independent and intelligent individuals with their own morals and not caring what anyone else thought of them. Bianca in both adaptations is the object of desire because of her attractiveness and submissive manners. The concept of …show more content…

This is represented in the movie by the books she reads, music she likes, and the college she wants to attend. Money plays a big role in the plot of both the play and the movie. Petruchio and Patrick both at first only pursue Kate and Kat for the money. Petruchio is interested in Kate for his own benefit so he can have the dowry and property of Kate's father which comes along with marriage. While Patrick is paid by Joey to take out Kat on a date so his is able to take out Bianca. The transformation of the characters is another similaty between Shakespeare’s play and the movie. In The Taming of the Shrew, Kate transforms from someone who rebels against all acts of conforming into an obedient and polite wife who respects her husband. In the movie Kat has a massive transformation in her views and behavior because of her experiences throughout the