10 Things I Hate About You
Andrea Roberts. WST 3020. Film Review
I am doing a movie review on the film 10 Things I Hate About You (Touchstone, 1999), directed by Gill Unger and written by Karen Mc Cullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, based loosely on William Shakespeare’s famous tale, The Taming of the Shrew. In this film, Julia Styles plays Katerina Stratford “Kat,” the protagonist, referred to in the movie as a “heinous bitch.” Here we can see Shakespeare’s shrew appropriated, and updated as a feisty young feminist who defies the stereotypes reinforced by her peers. We have two female voices (the writers of the film) complemented by the “male gaze” (Lipkin 2009) of the director. It makes for a charming story that is both funny and heart wrenching. The story follows Kat who eventually falls in love with tough guy, Patrick (played by Heath Ledger), her formidable, and unexpected love match—who initially pursues her with ulterior motives, but than realizes that she is not who, he, or everyone else, thinks she is. The story examines the pitfalls of teenage love and life in the nineties, for which I will expand on, and flesh out with my own feminist reading of the story and trace important “girlhood” developments throughout this review.
Early on in the film Kat can be seen curled up in her living room reading Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, and heard criticizing the school curriculum for it being sexist in its selected readings, as can be witnessed in her retort to a female classmate in her English class who found Hemingway romantic, “Romantic? Hemingway?! He was an abusive alcoholic misogynist who squandered half his life hanging around Picasso trying to nail his leftovers” (Kat, quoted from 10 Things I Hate About You, 1999). Kat frequently brings to the fore the power differentials between the sexes within a patriarchal society, especially within the dynamic of her English classroom, usually in response to Joey, the prime example of everything she can’t stand about the stereotypical teenaged male. He who refers to Kat as “a bitter self-righteous hag who has no friends” (Ibid), for which she replies, “I guess in this society being male and an asshole makes you worthy of our time. What about Sylvia Plath or Charlotte Bronte or Simone de Beauvoir?” (Ibid).
Her passion for second wave feminists is out of place, relative to her peers’ interests, and is thus a rejection of their values and social norms, what is interesting, though is that this film was made in 1999, coming off the heals of the Riot Grrls movement, in the midst of third wave feminism. Kat’s character allowed many girls a character for whom they could locate themselves in or identify with, and thought this was clearly not a visible aspect among the film’s characters, in reality, this “girl” was being realized on the ground during that time, furthermore, this film and Kat’s very character, could be viewed as evidence of this.
With a more critical lens, we can see Kat’s third wave perspective come into focus as she evolves, and vacillates between respective waves. Though she is well versed, and respectful of her first and second wave feminist fore mothers, she embraces the contradictions and personal empowerment fostered by the Riot Grrrl movement of the third wave (Lipkin, 2009). As the story unfolds, more context is revealed to shed light on precisely why Kat is so ill tempered, and the subsequent tension between, not only her and the arrogant Joey, but also with her sister, Bianca (who is two years her junior and the quintessence of femininity)—the type of girl that Kat openly rejects being anything like.
Quite clever to note, on behalf of the writers of the film, is the part of Kat’s English teacher, Mr. Morgan. He is a sharp tongued black man who’s role often serves to reinforce Kat as she puts Joey in his rightful place, and to some degree, legitimates her feminist point of view, but he is, at the same time, very quick to remind her of her own unrecognized privilege, he states: “I know how difficult it must be for you to overcome all those years of upper middle class suburban oppression, It must be tough”(10 Things I Hate About You,1999). After all, Kat is white, and the able-bodied, heterosexual daughter of a well to do obstetrician and lives in a gorgeous home overlooking Puget Sound, replete with pool and hot tub.
Walter Stratford, Kat and Bianca’s father, likes to keep his girls on short leash, and has gained notoriety for being a difficult pain in the ass who doesn’t allow his daughters to date. Kat doesn’t mind this much in regard to dating and boys, as she rejects many of the things that are cause for his worry, but they do lock horns in other ways—as her biting independence leaves him feeling like a “spectator” to her life. They fight over her going away to college at Sara Lawrence, a liberal arts college that is 3000 miles away on the East coast (where noted writer, Alice Walker attended). Clearly, though, he worries more about Bianca’s impressionability, in regard to peers and boys, than Kat’s, and according to him, he has good reason for this, he states, “Kissing isn't what keeps me up to my elbow in placenta all day long!” (Ibid). He does have a point. As a single father, I can see that he struggles at times, and seems overly protective, but at the end of the day, he adores his children and wants for their happiness.
Bianca resents her overbearing and controlling father, as her different subjective experience of what it means to be a girl, and what her goals are many times unrealized as she is subjected to double reinforcements—as Kat always “backs up” their dad, and thwarts her efforts to “enjoy her adolescence” (Ibid). Her traditional perception of boys, dating and social norms is largely presupposed by the surrounding characters in the film, and by us, subsequently as she can never fully develop this. Bianca’s character is never allowed to fully explore her own feelings through direct experiences of her own making. What’s more, she is continually made to feel like he stereotypical girl she looks like. In fact, the way her character is treated in the film, serves to show in quite an exemplary manner, exactly how we foster this stereotype and enable women—and it truly hampers development. And though it is not done purposely, it should remind us of why we should not judge a book by its cover.
Bianca could easily be the subject of No Doubts, I’m Just A Girl, in many ways—crippled by an overzealous desire to protect. Unlike Kat, who is trusted for her ability and independence, Bianca, by proxy, stands in sharp relief—seemingly not able to think for herself. Upon realizing this, in seeing her sister’s despair—by way of observing her quiet resolve one day—and almost as if Kat feels guilty for her part in this, she makes an effort to approach Bianca. Kat lets down her guard—sharing that she had a “fling” with Joey, “after [their] mom left” for a month in the 9th grade, but that he dumped her and broke her heart. She goes on to explain that “not all experiences are worth having” and that to spare her sisters feelings, she remained in lockstep with her dad, in his keeping her sheltered from the guys at school. Bianca is very angry, and quick to point out that she isn’t Kat “and wouldn’t make the same stupid mistakes” (Ibid), but that she should be given the same opportunities—even if they result in hurtful experiences—further pointing to the contradiction inherent in Kat’s statement (she wouldn’t know if some experiences aren’t worth having, because she is never allowed to have the experience).
This tension between Kat and Bianca is good, as it also reminds us that feminism can come in many forms—and that Bianca’s form should not be excluded. It is here that we can see that Bianca is not a “vapid” empty-headed ditz without a brain who can’t be left to her own devices, in fact, it is Bianca who keeps her head screwed on—even at her first party—where, ironically, it is Kat (the gatekeeper) who gets completely wasted and winds up dancing on the table top to a crowd of cheering guys, while Bianca actually rejects advances from the usual suspect [Joey], and claims that she is tired and wants to go home, where, nice-guy, Cameron furnishes her ride. Interestingly here, too, we can see Cameron turn his respective stereotype inside out, as well.
When newcomer to Padua High, Cameron “Cam”—all around “good-guy”—always under the radar, falls deeply in love with Bianca, he employs the aid of Michael—his day one tour guide—and subsequent “b.f.f.” Michael helps him learn the ropes of Padua (note, the school’s name is the same name as the town in Taming of the Shrew), and to do whatever it takes to win Bianca’s heart. He learns through [disapproving] Michael that Bianca is not allowed to date because of her overly strict father, and tries to convince Cam that he is in pursuit of the impossible—as snotty, spoiled, shallow Bianca is way out of his league—but at the same time, offers him an in, as he shares with Cam that she does need a French tutor. The story becomes a farce when Cam can’t get a date with Bianca via his own efforts, realizing that her “shrew” sister Kat is the major impingement, since Bianca can’t do anything unless Kat is doing it. Michael and Cameron scheme together and come up with a plan to get Kat a date, so that Cam can land a date with Bianca. The ensuing sub-plot becomes a competition between Bianca’s respective suitors.
For Kat, Cam thinks that the equally petulant Patrick Verona would be a good pairing, so he sets out to convince Patrick of this. Patrick, not all too willing to give his assistance, scares Cam off so, Michael suggests they get Joey involved. Suggesting that he could be the “patsy to take the fall” as he is also attempting to date Bianca and makes a wager for fun that he will “nail her by prom” —reluctantly Cam agrees, because only Joey can afford to pay Patrick to take Kat out. Money does talk to Patrick, via Joey’s wallet, and he does finally agree to take her out. Kat, however, proves to be unimpressed by Patrick. She remains completely irascible with no interest in dating him, and repeatedly turns Patrick down. He does finally succeed, at taking her to “Bogie’s party,” but she could really care less, and even forgets that he is supposed to take her, but goes instead out of pity for her sister. So, when Patrick comes to pick her up, she is annoyed, and continually dismissive of him throughout the rest of the night, where she grows more, and more, reckless, while watching Joey close in on her sister.
Many feminists would take issue with the fact that Patrick (and the other characters, too) is acting like a typical masculine slime ball, motivated by money, and not having any concern for Kat, or Bianca and using them for their own ends. And though I can’t argue with this, to some degree, I will say that Patrick’s character (and Cameron’s too) proves to be a little more complicated than this. He, himself, proves to be somewhat of a rejection of the stereotypical male we initially have him pegged to be. He is not like Cameron in that he is not afraid of his own power, he is self assured, but not like Joey, in that he is not arrogant or self absorbed—in fact, the opposite can be evidenced when we see Patrick very tenderly caring for Kat when she gets drunk at “Bogie’s party” (their “first date”).
Instead of taking advantage of her while in her drunken state, Patrick actually rejects her advances, showing respect for her, by not wanting her to do anything she might later regret. This is definitely not typical, and though he was paid to take her out, he was not paid for anything beyond that—(babysitting her, keeping her safe, sound and cared for—in fact, she drove), these acts of integrity were his own doing—even though she was not vey nice to him, mind you. Unfortunately, she does react in angry way—as she feels dejected by him, and so pushes him away again. Of course the tries to get back into her good graces, but has to go the “outer limits” to get their—and he does. He serenades her in the school stadium while she is at soccer practice (such cute scene), but it is ironic that she took that stance, and that he had to suck up to her, for being a gentleman (reinforces that Kat has some un-dealt with issues).
Kat, unaware of the money Patrick receives to date her, transitions. Her caustic nature quiets down, but this is not a conformist resolve—as she maintains her sense of self, and her independent identity remains in tact, even as she gets closer to Patrick. But what we do see is her heart [even feminists are allowed one of those] and her ability to trust again and to respond to someone else caring for her, something that her experience with Joey [and probably to another degree her mother leaving] had robbed her of for a long time. Until Patrick came along, Kat was very much the embodiment of the negative stereotype of the feminist [feminazi], perma-angry, man-hater—we can love her strong sense of self and her independence and unwillingness to conform to the sheep like mentality of other girls, that is great, but don’t necessarily have to love her bitterness.
Anger is good, healthy even, but remaining acrid for life and putting up a wall is counter-productive. It seemed as though Kat hadn’t dealt with her anger over Joey, and over her mother leaving—perhaps Bianca was an easy target—as Kat used be popular and feminine like Bianca, and look where that got her—broken hearted. As we have learned, “girls anger is disallowed and […] often [results in] excruciating pressures girls experience as these feelings are suppressed with few acceptable outlets…” (Elline Lipkin 2009, 92). In my opinion, Kat’s trust issues and rejection of everything she felt was responsible for her broken heart was likened to this. Her character’s displaced anger manifested into her taking “control” over her sister’s life, something easier done than dealing with her own feelings. This is my armchair psychology, anyway. For some feminists they may see this as “a taming of the shrew” and Kats willingness to let Patrick in, a resignation, but in my opinion this was not the case.
Meanwhile, Bianca tries to convince her father to let her go to the prom, but he refuses because Kat isn’t going. When Kat finally reveals that she previously dated Joey and that he had used her for sex, she also conveys how her feelings of isolation from her peers ultimately stemmed from the incident. This is important because this is something that does happen in real life of girls, more often than not, but instead of girls reclaiming themselves, as she did—they let this happen over and over again—this works directly back to the recapitulated notion that girls are needy, and only here for boys to use. Ultimately, Patrick and Joey wind up taking Bianca and Kat to the prom, respectively.
Joey, furious that Bianca has gone to the prom with Cameron, confronts Patrick about their financial "arrangements" in front of Kat at the prom. Completely humiliated, Kat blows up and leaves the scene. Joey subsequently confronts Cameron about manipulating the 'deal' for himself, with Bianca, but when he punches Cameron, he gets a surprise triple blow from Bianca in return, who isn’t such a feminine princess after all. She runs over and punches Joey twice, and then knees him in the nuts… one punch for Cameron, one punch for Kat, and the kneeing, well she does that for her self!
At school, a few days later, Kat reads a poem which she wrote for English class, titled "10 Things I Hate About You" and while reading the poem, she exposes her true feelings (in front of the entire class) for Patrick. In tears, she shows her vulnerability, yet her strength, neither is indicative of her tough character. She seems to finally be coping with her anger directly, and not letting it fester inside of her. Patrick, obviously moved by Kat’s heart-felt disclosure, secretly plants a guitar he bought for her in her car, so that she can be empowered to start her own band—recognizing her strong will and desire to be a “chick that [CAN] play her instrument” (Ibid). He did this with the money Joey paid him, and in his own vulnerable moment, he reveals to Kat that he actually messed up the entire deal with Joey because he actually fell in love with her.
Kat forgives Patrick and they do make up, so the story has a somewhat formulaic ‘happy ending’ but again, this isn’t a reflection of her acquiescence, so much as it is a rising up to meet someone half way—Kat become her fuller self, not in the way of being “completed” by a man, but being more complete in allowing herself to love, forgive, and be a strong, intelligent and sexy, girl. This is really a story about relationships and how we, as people, are truly more flexible than we give ourselves credit for—especially girls. And as for the "taming" of the shrew in 10 Things I Hate about You, I would say that involves, not an enforced submission to male authority, but a rounding off of the sharp edges that makes the stereotyped version of the second-wave unappealing to many girls. This story shows many examples of what it means to be ‘girl’ and how adaptable she is.
References:
http://www.awesomefilm.com/script/tenthings_transcript.html
Lipkin, Elline. Girls studies. Berkeley, Ca: Seal Pr, 2009. Print
10 things I hate about you. Dir. Gil Junger. By Karen Mc Cullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith. Perf. Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles. Touchstone, 1999. DVD
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