Day 30 - 10 Things I Hate About You
First Impressions:
"10 Things I Hate About You", released in 1999, on the cusp of the new millennium, has a Hughs-ian feel. The plot is timeless, based on Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew". The writing is clever, possessing a self-awareness characteristic of millennial films.
The camera loves Heath Ledger. I don't know why but I noticed that a lot of the shots seem to linger on Heath. It could also be his charm and nothing to do with camera angles. The shots of Joseph Gordon Levitt and Joey Donner are ordinary mediums or close ups, but Heath Ledger seems to have the camera following his every move. Could it be the gaze of not one, but TWO female screenwriters?
Personal Reflections:
"Don’t let anyone ever make you feel like you don’t deserve what you want."
One thing I didn't notice in previous viewings was that in the first scene where she's in her English class, the teacher sends her to the office not because she was being outspoken but because he was annoyed by her white privilege whining. Kat asks why they aren't studying Sylvia Plath or Simone De Beauvoir to which the teacher responds that they also aren't reading any black authors pointing out her white upper-middle class perspective. The underpinnings of privilege-checking.
Kat and Patrick have prickly personalities yet get along really well, saving each other along the way, like teammates. Patrick saves Kat from a possible concussion. Kat saves Patrick from detention. Patrick sings "Too Good to be True" to her in the football field, a grand gesture that oozes vulnerability (and charm), effectively disarming Kat's defensive nature. When Patrick goes to the Skunk Club to see Letters to Cleo, he doesn't match Kat's hostility; she matches his vibe. I've heard people refer to 'eye for an eye', in which you treat others the way they treat you. Ghandi famously said, "An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind."
One of my favourite lines is when Kat find the Fender in her front seat and says that Patrick can't buy her a guitar every time he makes a mistake; Patrick responds that there's drums and maybe even a tambourine. They acknowledge that they will fight and forgive each other. I am surprised that Kat can overlook the fact that Patrick was paid to take her out. When she composed 10 Things I Hate About You, the titular poem, she started from that place of hurt and ended up realizing she didn't hate him. She hated how they met. This reminds me of something I've been told about attending yoga classes - that it doesn't matter how you get there as long as you get there - going because you get a free t-shirt or because you want to lose weight or because you're sad, the reason is inconsequential. The fact that you are there and practicing is the most important part.
Rom-Com Tropes:
1. Guy gets paid to win over girl, falls for girl and she falls for him even after discovering the truth.
2. Grand gesture
Soundtrack:
Following the formula of upbeat tracks, "10 Things I Hate About You" takes us back to ska and post-punk. Oh, and Hypnotize by Notorious BIG.
"10 Things I Hate About You", released in 1999, on the cusp of the new millennium, has a Hughs-ian feel. The plot is timeless, based on Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew". The writing is clever, possessing a self-awareness characteristic of millennial films.
The camera loves Heath Ledger. I don't know why but I noticed that a lot of the shots seem to linger on Heath. It could also be his charm and nothing to do with camera angles. The shots of Joseph Gordon Levitt and Joey Donner are ordinary mediums or close ups, but Heath Ledger seems to have the camera following his every move. Could it be the gaze of not one, but TWO female screenwriters?
Personal Reflections:
"Don’t let anyone ever make you feel like you don’t deserve what you want."
One thing I didn't notice in previous viewings was that in the first scene where she's in her English class, the teacher sends her to the office not because she was being outspoken but because he was annoyed by her white privilege whining. Kat asks why they aren't studying Sylvia Plath or Simone De Beauvoir to which the teacher responds that they also aren't reading any black authors pointing out her white upper-middle class perspective. The underpinnings of privilege-checking.
Kat and Patrick have prickly personalities yet get along really well, saving each other along the way, like teammates. Patrick saves Kat from a possible concussion. Kat saves Patrick from detention. Patrick sings "Too Good to be True" to her in the football field, a grand gesture that oozes vulnerability (and charm), effectively disarming Kat's defensive nature. When Patrick goes to the Skunk Club to see Letters to Cleo, he doesn't match Kat's hostility; she matches his vibe. I've heard people refer to 'eye for an eye', in which you treat others the way they treat you. Ghandi famously said, "An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind."
One of my favourite lines is when Kat find the Fender in her front seat and says that Patrick can't buy her a guitar every time he makes a mistake; Patrick responds that there's drums and maybe even a tambourine. They acknowledge that they will fight and forgive each other. I am surprised that Kat can overlook the fact that Patrick was paid to take her out. When she composed 10 Things I Hate About You, the titular poem, she started from that place of hurt and ended up realizing she didn't hate him. She hated how they met. This reminds me of something I've been told about attending yoga classes - that it doesn't matter how you get there as long as you get there - going because you get a free t-shirt or because you want to lose weight or because you're sad, the reason is inconsequential. The fact that you are there and practicing is the most important part.
Rom-Com Tropes:
1. Guy gets paid to win over girl, falls for girl and she falls for him even after discovering the truth.
2. Grand gesture
Soundtrack:
Following the formula of upbeat tracks, "10 Things I Hate About You" takes us back to ska and post-punk. Oh, and Hypnotize by Notorious BIG.
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