Introduction
Numerous films have been screened about adolescent love and sexuality, and perhaps among the most prominent ones is Ten Things I Hate About You. The movie was released in 1999 under the direction of Gil Junger, and its genre can be categorized as a teen romantic comedy. Throughout 97 minutes, the film follows several high school students forming amorous relationships (Junger, 1999).
The movie serves as a good basis for analyzing how adolescents experience love alongside their dating scripts and explorations of sexuality (Arnett, 2018). In addition to depicting how young people get involved in romantic affinities, the film represents an entertaining piece of cinematography with effective acting and beautiful music. The purpose of Ten Things I Hate About You is to demonstrate that adolescents encounter love in many ways, portrayed through the characters’ connections and personalities, sexuality, and such elements as camera work.
Explanation
Ten Things I Hate About You follows teenagers trying to form romantic relationships. The primary setting is Padua High School, an educational institution in a castle-like building with many pupils who belong to different social groups, from those obsessed with coffee to future Ivy League scholars (Junger, 1999). The plot unravels when Cameron, a new student, encounters Bianca Stratford and becomes instantly interested in her. Bianca has an older sister, Kat, and the two girls are vastly different, the former being joyful and popular and the latter being a rather hostile loner. Cameron wants to ask Bianca out, but her father sets a rule that she cannot date unless Kat does. As a result, Cameron initiates a plan to pay a bad boy, Patrick, to go out with Kat. Consequently, Patrick and Kat are the main characters, and the movie’s central conflict revolves around them forming a relationship and experiencing affection and betrayal (Junger, 1999). The plot of Ten Things I Hate About You concentrates on young people’s affinities during high school.
The film’s opening offers a clue about Kat’s love life before becoming a part of Cameron’s plan. Arnett (2018) suggests that adolescents develop amorous connections when shifting closer to their peers rather than families and that they typically know their potential partners as friends before becoming “involved romantically” (p. 261). Accordingly, the movie begins with a scene of two cars, one with Kat driving alone and the other full of girls of Kat’s age. While passing the group of her peers, who look cheerful, Kat rolls her eyes and seems irritated with their behavior (Junger, 1999). Consequently, the movie’s opening implies that Kat is not close to other teenagers, and her lack of friends may be one of the reasons behind her not having a romantic relationship.
The film’s plot demonstrates that young people experience love in various ways. Arnett (2018) states that adolescents form affectionate connections for six reasons: recreation, learning, status, intimacy, courtship, and companionship. The main characters’ couple is an example of the latter cause, based on “sharing pleasurable activities” (Arnett, 2018, p. 261). Kat becomes interested in Patrick when she thinks they like the same music and may have something in common (Arnett, 2018; Junger, 1999). In comparison, Bianca, who throughout the movie is involved with Cameron and Joey, a popular and wealthy student, wants to be in a relationship for two reasons most prevalent among teenagers.
First, Bianca enjoys attention and, thus, pursues Joey due to his status to impress others (Arnett, 2018; Junger, 1999). Second, Bianca eventually chooses Cameron when she realizes he can offer emotional intimacy, which is absent in her connection with Joey (Arnett, 2018; Junger, 1999). Therefore, the plot illustrates how young individuals develop loving affinities in pursuit of fellowship, social ranking, or closeness to someone else.
Furthermore, while not placing a particular emphasis on sexuality, the movie depicts one aspect that is moderately common among youth in terms of physical contact. Arnett (2018) declares that one sexual interaction “does not necessarily initiate a pattern of frequent intercourse,” even when adolescents are in a romantic relationship (p. 274). Similarly, by the film’s end, Kat shares that she had a sexual connection with her former boyfriend. Kat implies being peer pressured and says that she realized not being ready for physical interactions, which caused her partner to break up with her (Junger, 1999). Accordingly, the movie indicates that sexual activity is prevalent among adolescents, yet not everyone wishes to engage in such intercourse.
Although the characters do not directly state it, the camera work in the film portrays scenes that illustrate gender roles in a relationship. Arnett (2018) suggests that gender-specific dating scripts guide adolescents’ love connections. For example, male individuals are usually seen “controlling the public domain” by driving the car, while female persons are typically “spending considerable time on dress and grooming” (Arnett, 2018, p. 262). Accordingly, the camera shows Patrick and Cameron driving Kat and Bianca to their home, whereas the two girls are depicted in front of the mirror (Junger, 1999). The movie suggests certain gender differences experienced by young people.
Analysis and Evaluation
The film’s director achieved his purpose of demonstrating that adolescents encounter love in various ways by presenting the characters’ different emotions. For example, the audience can see Kat having many feelings toward Patrick:
- Kat is intrigued as she assumes that she and Patrick have some similarities.
- She appears shocked, disappointed, and embarrassed when Patrick refuses to kiss her, and she acts angry afterward.
- Kat is surprised by Patrick singing to her and happy when the two play paintball.
- She is suspicious when he insists on going to prom and furious upon learning about Cameron’s plan.
Throughout all the scenes, the viewers can notice that Kat’s attraction to Patrick causes such varying emotions, as his actions hurt her and make her happy. Kat’s understanding of her feelings comes when she reads her poem and lists all the reasons for despising Patrick, with the last being that despite everything, she does not hate him (Junger, 1999). Therefore, the director achieved his purpose by demonstrating the characters’ diverse emotions.
In addition to the plot, the film is a remarkable piece of cinematography due to the majority of its elements being skillfully executed. For instance, the acting is effective in representing the characters’ personalities. Moreover, the music is beautiful, for example, reflecting Kat’s attitude or Cameron’s feelings when seeing Bianca (Junger, 1999). Accordingly, the movie has many strengths, from its actors to its depiction of the experiences of adolescents.
However, the film has one weakness: Patrick’s personality has not been explored enough. While Patrick’s actions are understandable, the explanation of rumors about him felt quite rushed. Nonetheless, the overall response to the movie is that it was interesting due to being entertaining, moderately humorous, and lighthearted. Consequently, I recommend the film to others because it has an amusing plot and good actors.
Conclusion
To summarize, Ten Things I Hate About You aims to demonstrate that adolescents’ experiences of love vary. The movie does so by showing the characters’ connections and using elements such as camera work. The film leaves the impression that romantic relationships are complicated and that one may feel both affection and hatred toward one’s partner. The movie is entertaining and reflects adolescents’ reasons and behaviors concerning amorous affinities and sexuality.
References
Arnett, J. J. (2018). Adolescence and emerging adulthood: A cultural approach (6th ed.). Pearson.
Junger, G. (1999). Ten things I hate about you [Film]. Touchstone Pictures.