28 Film Analysis

Capable of Love: 10 Things I Hate About You Analysis
By Maizey Howard

10 Things I Hate About You was a film directed in 1999. This movie is a modern version of Shakespeare’s play The Taming of The Shrew. It is about a young girl in high school named Kat who always stuck to her values even though others around her had differing opinions. She comes across as mean and “a heinous bitch” according to her guidance counselor. This is because unlike everyone else, she does not change for those around. She has a younger sister named Bianca, who is the complete opposite, she is an extreme people pleaser and has a strong desire to be liked. This would cause them to not get along at certain points. During the film, her older sister Kat tries to help her sister understand she is perfect the way she is, and she does not need to settle for mediocre boys. The emotions portrayed are strong and they vary from joy and sadness. The director uses a variety of color, sounds, and lighting throughout the film to highlight these points. The movie illustrates Kat’s character development by first contrasting her character against the upbeat themes and slowly changing her attitude to fit with her environment. However, this is not because she learns to fit in, but because she eventually comes to realize that some of the world is not as bad as she thought.

The film begins overlooking Seattle, Washington, and has upbeat music playing while showing the beginning credits. The names of the main actors/actresses are in bright bold colors. The colors are important because each color represents a different feeling being shown. The actress that plays Kats name is shown in a red font. That choice of color is important because it symbolizes a sense of anger which foreshadows who her character is. Then as the director zooms in from his bird’s eye view, he focuses on Kat pulling up next to a group of girls at a crosswalk outside of their school. She is listening to angry girl music while the girls next to her are listening to soft happy music. She then proceeds to roll her eyes at them because they were judging her. That scene perfectly describes how she does not care what others think. Also, the fact her music played over their music as she pulls up to the stop sign is important because it shows the difference between her and girls her age. Then we move into Kat’s English class where they are discussing their opinions about a book they read. One of her classmates tries to give her take on how the book was beautiful and how Hemmingway was extremely romantic. Before she finished her statement the direction of the camera moved over to Kat as she expressed extreme disagreement which then led to one of the characters, Joey being mean to her. Then Kat snaps at him and says, “I guess in this society being male and an asshole makes you worthy of our time.” You can see the teacher’s and her classmates’ reaction to this since the camera angle is zoomed out. The teacher, Mr. Morgan, then expresses how annoyed he is with her and sends her to the office. She does not care because she has already expressed how she feels about others’ opinions but that will soon change.

As we go further into the movie, Kat’s character starts developing because she is hanging around Patrick. Patrick is being paid by Joey to take her out on dates so Joey can go out with her sister Bianca. When Patrick first introduces himself to Kat, she is very standoffish and makes it clear she does not want to be around him. This is shown because as he is walking up to her the upbeat music stops and it goes silent until she storms off after their conversation. The scene then moves to the girls’ bathroom where Kat is washing her face as Bianca walks in. Kat then proceeds to ask, “Where did you get the pearls?” in a rude tone. Then Bianca begins to explain how they are their moms’, and Kat gets annoyed. You can tell she is annoyed because of her facial expressions and the contrast of the lighting on her face. The lighting brings out the emotions more because of the extreme contrast projected. Eventually, he goes to her favorite band’s concert and asks her out on a date to a party that weekend and she says maybe. The director creates suspense because the music increased when she said that. She ends up going to the party with him which shocks everyone around her. She eventually gets up onto a table and starts dancing and when this happens the music gets loud, and the camera angle is low to show her dancing and the crowd’s reaction. The way the director did this scene was impactful because it really shows how much her character has changed from the beginning to now.

As it gets closer to the end of the movie, she starts falling in love with Patrick and decides she wants to go to prom with him. Not only to find out he was getting paid the whole time to take her out, once she finds this out the music becomes intense. The camera also zooms in on her face, so the audience is able to capture every detail or emotion she is experiencing. The way the director used the sound and camera angle shows how big of an effect Patrick lying had on her. After the whole incident at prom, she goes back to her old moody ways from the beginning. She starts hanging out alone and has a softer and sadder tone whenever she talks. Then in English class she gets an assignment where she has to write a poem. She volunteers to go first and the lighting in the classroom during her presentation is dark and gloomy which gives a sad effect that will then rub off on her poem. Her poem expresses her feelings on how she could never hate him and how she never thought she was capable of love or loving someone else. She begins crying and the camera zooms in close, so you are able to see the sadness and emotions that are pouring out. After she expresses her feelings, he apologizes to her and when he is doing so the music becomes light and upbeat. They then kiss and the camera gets close, and the music starts increasing in intensity.

Overall, the director demonstrates how important color, music, and lighting are to a movie’s plot. The camera angles were pivotal in deciphering her emotions. We would have not known half of what she was feeling without the variety of angles being displayed. Even through the vast emotions she had gone through, she still learned that the world was not as bad as she thought it was. She also discovered she is capable of love unlike she thought.

Works Cited
10 Things I Hate About You. Directed by Gil Junger, Disney, 1999. Disney + www.disneyplus.com