Movies - 10 Things I Hate About You

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	Movies - 10 Things I Hate About You

10 Things I Hate About You is an American romantic comedy film, released March 31, 1999. The story is an adaptation of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, set in an American high school. Exterior shots were filmed in Tacoma and Seattle, Washington; the high school's exterior belongs to Tacoma's Stadium High School. The film was directed by Gil Junger, and its screenplay was written by writing team Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith. The title is a twist on "The Taming of the Shrew" (see below) but is also a reference to a poem one of the main characters writes in the movie to describe her bittersweet romance with another character. The movie poster also has an arrow pointing at the character about whom the poem is written.

Shakespearean references

10 Things contains many relatively subtle references to Shakespeare's works. Careful comparison of The Taming of the Shrew and 10 Things I Hate About You reveals some similarities, mostly in character names and general plot ideas.

When Cameron sees Bianca, he says 'I burn, I pine'; this is a line from William Shakespeare's play 'The Taming of The Shrew' upon which this movie was based.

For instance, the two sisters in The Taming of the Shrew are named Katherina and Bianca, while the two sisters in 10 Things are named Katarina and Bianca. Katarina and Bianca's last name is Stratford, making reference to Stratford-upon-Avon, the English town known worldwide as the birthplace of Shakespeare. Katarina's suitor in Shakespeare's play is Petruchio of Verona—becoming Patrick Verona in 10 Things. In 10 Things, the high school is named Padua, the city in which Shakespeare's play is set.

Comparison of the two works will also reveal similar plot ideas. For instance, like the character Cameron in the film, Shakespeare's Lucentio wishes to wed Bianca but cannot until her older sister Katarina is married. Knowing that Bianca cannot enter into any relationships, he poses as a tutor in order to become closer to Bianca—just as Cameron acts as a French tutor to Bianca in 10 Things. While still posing as Bianca's tutor, Lucentio confers with a somewhat wild character, Petruchio. Like Patrick, he is an out-of-towner and little is known about him. Petruchio agrees to marry Katherina simply for the dowry that comes along with her, allowing Lucentio to pursue Bianca—just as Patrick agreed to date Kat for the money offered to him by Joey. Some say that another plot idea is also shared—that, despite the initial monetary reasons the couples formed, both partners fell in love with each other.

The plot

On his first day at Padua High, Cameron falls in love with Bianca Stratford who is a typical and beautiful sophomore student. However, Cameron is faced with the problem of Bianca being forbidden to date, due to a family rule set out by her father, who happens to be an obstetrician and a particularly protective father. Some form of hope exists when Cameron is told that Bianca can date when her sister Katarina does as well. The next problem however, is that no one is willing to date Katarina because she often comes into conflict with many people - even her school counselor calls her a "bitch". Not willing to give up, Cameron, along with his newfound best friend Michael Eckman, seek the whole Padua high school for a suitable date for Katarina, and when they face a scarcity of such people, they come across what seems to be the perfect date - a mysterious Patrick Verona with a reputation for having done hideous and criminal acts. Patrick has no interest in Katarina but Michael comes up with a plan to have Joey Donner pay Patrick to take Katarina out. Joey, a self-centered model with money, makes a bet with a friend that he could bed Bianca, and, in order to get closer to her, pays Patrick to go out with Katarina so he may date Bianca. Cameron gets closer to Bianca by becoming her French tutor, and with Patrick being paid to take her sister out, he asks Bianca out himself.

Along the process of the film, Verona, who was paid to simply "date" Katarina, eventually falls in love with her, as he begins to learn more about her and Katarina begins to open up entirely to him in as well. Bianca on the other hand also falls in love with Cameron. Eckman too gains the heart of Mandella (whom is Katarina's best friend) after when the two discover their infatuations with Shakespeare match each other's.

However, the plot is complicated when dark secret pasts of Katarina and Patrick are revealed, and Joey's plot to have sexual intercourse with Bianca are discovered.

Rumors about Patrick

Throughout the film, Patrick Verona is accused for doing hideous and crazy things, which include the following:

Eating a live duck whole (except the beak and feet)
Setting a state trooper on fire
Selling his liver for a pair of speakers (however, in reality the liver easily regrows as long as it's larger than a quarter of the original size)
Spending a year in San Quentin (a California Prison).

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Movies - 10 Things I Hate About You

Shakespearean references

The plot

Rumors about Patrick

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