Heath Ledger? Who wouldn't love that heartthrob? Romantic comedy classic, 10 Things I Hate About You, has had hearts bursting for years. The famous story line spinoff of Shakespeare's play, The Taming of The Shrew, revolves around a pretty, popular teenager can't go experience dating until her snarky older sister does. The personality clash between the two sisters and helicopter father causes some hiccups for the Stratford sisters. Their worlds are rocked when bad-boy Patrick enters the story, and he chases after Kat, the rebellious feminist of the family.
"It's not everyday you find a girl who'll flash someone to get you out of detention..."
The approach on gender roles throughout this film is quite the treat. Between the decline of Kat's sass to form her relationship with Patrick, Bianca's need for a significant other, and their father's vision of the female body, the strong willed female is put in a very narrow box. Kat's actions show the reinforced idea that a headstrong woman should shift their personality traits to something more mellow to obtain a relationship. In the beginning, Kat is standoffish and so intimidating that not many men will date her. Once Patrick makes an appearance and she realizes she does have feelings for him, her soft side is developed and from there on they are able to form a relationship. The idea that women need to be softer and fall behind to a man is prevalent in this love story.
Bianca follows suit for the idea that every girl needs a man to feel complete. All she wants is the permission to date boys, be the fun popular girl, and have a good time. She is looking for approvals from all of those around her. However, her father's approval is the most important, and he has different plans for his sweet little girl. It isn't a coincidence that their father happens to be a OB/GYN doctor, and his strict dating rules fall over his daughters. His number one concern is always what they are wearing, who they are seeing, and not getting pregnant. He is worried about how his little girls present themselves to others. As he says himself, even group studying can be a code name for a group orgy!
"She's meeting bikers. Big ones. Full of sperm."
One last jab at the female figure this movie presents is the idea that forgiveness from a woman can be bought. First, Patrick is cashing out to even begin his relationship with Kat. While he does end up developing true feelings for her, the reasons from the jump were because of a pretty paycheck from a friend. When Kat figures this out, she is indeed pissed off at him. The one item that leads to forgiveness for her is the new guitar that Patrick buys her. The gift is a great idea on his end, and that may not be the only thing that made her forgive him. However, when she confronts him for buying gifts to get her to forgive him, he responds with how many more instruments there are in a band that he can cycle through. Before she has the time to tell him how he can't just do that, he is already using the silent kiss. While Heath Ledger is a dreamboat, and many of us wouldn't mind any instrument or silent kiss from him, this scene identifies the issues of silencing the woman with what she wants to hear or see for a moment.
While this movie is one of my all time favorites, the treatment of gender is quite impossible to ignore. I will continue to swoon over the one and only Heath Ledger, but for now, enjoy this video of him returning the cash to show Kat how far he is willing to go for her.
Always remember: No drinking, no drugs, no kissing, no tattoos, no piercings, no ritual animal slaughters of any kind. OH GOD, now I'm giving you ideas!
Oh my gosh! This actually sounds like such a good movie! "Kat's actions show the reinforced idea that a headstrong woman should shift their personality traits to something more mellow to obtain a relationship" - It's funny you mention this because this is the same way the female lead in the movie I watch, Hitch, was made to be. I would argue this is pretty typical of rom-coms Overall, I think you did a great job on your post!
ReplyDeleteI think your examination of gender in this film is really interesting. It's certainly a romantic comedy trope for headstrong women to mellow out to be with a partner, but I have to ask. Is the one in this film a positive or negative representation? I've never seen this movie before so I can't tell if this is taming strong women so they can fit into the relationship mold or if this is a "love tames the beast" trope which is seen in both males and females in romance. I think by the end of your blog post, I inferred that it may be a positive representation, but I'll have to watch the film for myself to find out. Great blog post!
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