Every Transformed Text Is Responding To The Older Known Text In What It Uses And In What It Modifies. What Has Been Achieved In 10 Things I Hate About You By Such A Response?
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Gil Junger has achieved humour, a modernised version of a Shakespearean script, and a way to relay a commentary on society to a mass audience in an entertaining and engaging manner. He achieved these things by appropriating the basic plotline, characters and themes of Shakespeares Taming of the Shrew and using these elements in 10 Things I Hate About You. Humour is achieved by using Shakespeares original approach in Taming of the Shrew – slapstick humour and crude sexual jokes. The modernisation of Taming of the Shrew is achieved in 10 Things I Hate About You by modifying the context of the play, moving it from seventeenth century Italy to late twentieth century American high school. The social commentary is achieved by taking the main themes of Taming of the Shrew and altering them slightly in 10 Things I Hate About You, such as paternal control over dating instead of the original concept of paternal control over marriage.
Humour is achieved in 10 Things I Hate About You by alluding to Shakespeare or directly quoting Taming of the Shrew, as well as slapstick and crude jokes. An example of an allusion to Shakespeare would be the names of the setting (Padua High School) and the characters (Kat and Bianca Stratford; Patrick Verona). This reference to Shakespeare serves as an inside joke shared Gil Junger and the audience, and allows the director to show the audience that 10 Things I Hate About You was not intended to be a serious adaptation of Taming of the Shrew. The slapstick comedy and sexual jokes still appear frequently throughout 10 Things I Hate About You, but comedy does not appear in the same form as Taming of the Shrew. Taming of the Shrew relies on punning, such as the knocking at the gate scene between Petruchio and Grumio, where Grumio misinterprets his masters command to knock at the gate and thinks that Petruchio is asking to be hit. However, in 10 Things I Hate About You, slapstick comedy comes in the form of gym teachers being shot with badly aimed arrows, or Michael being trampled by training athletes on the track and field oval on his way to talk to Patrick and Cameron. Slapstick comedy, sexual jokes and allusions to Shakespeare appeal to the audience and assist Gil Junger in achieving a humorous film.
The modernisation of Taming of the Shrew was achieved in 10 Things I Hate About You by changing the medium, the language, and by slightly modifying the context and themes of the play. Taming of the Shrew was originally a stage play, but to appeal to a wider audience, Gil Junger changed the medium from stage to film. He also changed the language of the play, ignoring Shakespeares lines – unless to quote them as an inside joke to create humour – and uses modern day colloquial dialogue. Gil Junger recognises that Shakespeares language can be an obstacle when communicating to a contemporary audience, which is demonstrated through the scene in the cafeteria when Michael tells Patrick to humble himself to win Kats love. Michael tells Patrick, “Sweet love, renew thy force!” Patrick gives Michael a dubious look and replies, “Dont say shit like that to me. People can hear you.” 10 Things I Hate About You does encourage audiences to explore Shakespeare on their own. For example, the poem Kat reads in class at the end of the film is her own rendition of Shakespeares sonnet CXLI and subtly points the audience in Shakespeares direction. Context is also changed to give the play modern social relevance. Taming of the Shrew is set in seventeenth century Italy, while 10 Things I Hate About You is set in a typical American high school. This alteration was made so that the film would appeal to a modern day mass audience. Themes such as marriage for material wealth that were prominent in Taming of the Shrew – shown through Petruchios pursuit of Kate – were changed slightly in 10 Things I Hate About You. Patrick did not marry Kat, but dated her and took her to the high school prom. In line with the plot of Taming of the Shrew, Patrick was only willing to ask Kat out on a date if Joey paid him enough money. However, Patrick openly fell in love with Kat and admitted it, even giving back the money he asked for. In Taming of the Shrew, Petruchios respect grows for Kate in the last scene but his