The 1999 rom-com "10 Things I Hate About You" showcases the lives of two sisters, Kat and Bianca, who are almost opposite from each other. It illustrates teenage romance in a fictional world with a plethora of high-school cliches and specific teenage characterizations. Its representation of teenagers, specifically also what makes high-school girls "desirable" is what I will be analyzing, along with classic stereotypes known in teenage films.
The movie's classic high-school feel most-likely stems from the representation of the stereotypical high-school. This not only includes the setting, but most effectively the characterized groups of "crowds". Some of the most recognizable include:
Popular kids (subgroup: Mean girls)
Nerds/geeks
Jocks
Skaters
Hipsters
Emo kids
While this only includes a short list, they are some of the iconic/well-known stereotypical high-school groups showcased in films involving high-schools, especially in the 90's/ early 2000's movies. In the film 10 Things I Hate About You, there's a whole scene dedicated to navigating Cameron, a new student at the school and selflessly passionate main character, through the school. The scene begins by introducing Cameron to his soon-to-be good friend Michael who will be showing him around. From the start of the scene, high-schools categorical system is depicted with Cameron saying "...normally they send in one of those audio visual geeks." The rest of the scene displays more of the crowds, including some that are rather unconventional like the "coffee" kids, perhaps to mock the normalization of high-school subgroups. As the scene continues, Michael reflects on his removal out of one of the groups, also representing high-school social life as exclusive and selective, once again feeding into the stereotypical representation of high-school. Check out the scene below:
Stereotypical Dynamics
The film also includes other stereotypical characterizations. For example, Kat and Bianca's dynamic is one that is typical when illustrating the relationship between an older and little sister. While the main character Kat is called anti-social and difficult, as she sneers at the idiocy of teenage social life, her little sister Bianca is a popular girl at their high school who draws all the guys attention by her "innocent" and "sweet" exterior.Their clashing bond mainly has to do with their contrasting personalities, considering that they are each at different stages of not only their high-school experience, but of their adolescence.
Additional from the sisters relationship is the dynamic between the girls and their father, Walter Stratford. He is a gynecologist and overprotective of his daughters social life. The role of a stereotypical overprotective father includes setting rules and boundaries, which Walter does, expressing his concern for his daughters repeatedly. His house rule is "no dating till you graduate", but then changes it to depend on Kat's dating life, which is challenged in the film. His normal attire being of a (tie with a) button up shirt in his home represent him as stern and formal, being serious in his ways. He is constantly challenged by Bianca's want to date and meet her peers expectations of herself, and by Kat's rather rebellious attitude and individualized character. Overall, the dynamic between him and his daughters is one that is found in movies such as Clueless and other classic high-school films.
Representation of Young Women
The film is a modern-adaptation of William Shakespeare's play, "The Taming of the Shrew", which was controversial due to its misogynistic ideals, with the main character Katherina not being interested in Petruchio but deemed a shrew and considered difficult due to her assertiveness. Despite her unwillingness to be with Petruchio, he "tames" her into becoming his ideal wife. "It can also be read as a cautionary tale", says www.cbr.com, "a parody of how men react to powerful women. ...the act of taming isn't supposed to showcase feminine arrogance but rather the audacity of toxic masculinity." In other words, Shakespeare might be saying that men need to fix their desperate desires for domination instead of forcing women to become submissive in a very implicit way.
With this background in mind, the film diverges from those direct misogynistic ideals, but still keeps some of the plot features that could be considered questionable. Competition between the men in the 1999 film to "tame the shrew" Kat and win their prize girl Bianca mirrors the play, leaving questions for the films characterizations.
The movie represents young women as different archetypes, with the most noticeable contrast in the sisters. This difference in character leads them to be socially accepted in different ways. For example, in the film Kat is said to have been popular before she was the "shrew". She used to get the popular guys attention and now guys Her wardrobe choices, consisting of a leather jacket on a night out and a red long sleeve on a day-to-day, represents her as bold and proud. Her feministic and rock side also insinuate that she wouldn't care about her peers judgements, making her seem "difficult" for not conforming.
Her sister Bianca is more innocent and feminine, represented by her pink blouses and floral dresses. She is also at times brand-obsessed, with her entry line into the film being, “There’s a difference between like and love. Because I like my like my Sketchers, but I love my Prada backpack.” She is more submissive, with examples of conformity into her high-school social life including how she has to be at a party because people are "expecting her to be there". This implies that girls who are more concerned with societal expectations and that are less outwardly opinionated are more desirable, as she is a boy-magnet in the school as compared to Kat, who is loud and proud. In summary, the movie's depiction of teenage romance/what makes a desirable women leaves room for discussion on how teenagers and their relationships are represented not just in this classic movie, but in the media in general.
The End
While these are only a few observations of the films representations, it goes to show how specific choices made by creators does reflect back onto the consumers, effecting audience's perception of groups of people, events, and more. The movie's depiction of teenage romance/what makes a desirable women leaves room for discussion on how teenagers and their relationships, as well as the "stereotypical" social subgroups and the people in them are represented not just in this classic movie, but in the media in general.
