10 Things I Hate About You Is Not About An Angry Feminist; It’s About An Assault Survivor Being Slut-Shamed
Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
10 Things I Hate About You is a 1999 teen-flick, loosely based on Shakespeare’s Taming Of The Shrew. The original play is commonly taught as the story of a headstrong woman being “tamed” and it’s also rife with problematic themes of emotional abuse, sexism, and dangerous attitudes toward consent.
Similarly, the modern adaptation is complicated, and yet so easily remembered as the hilarious story of a feral young woman who finally gets “tamed” when she meets the right boy.
Only, that’s not true.
“Not even close. Not even a little bit. Not even at all.” -Kat Stratford
This film feels decidedly 90s; not just the dated hairstyles and lingo, but the vibe of complete and utter social unawareness.
High school sophomore, Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) wants to date; she has captured the interest of two boys, Joey (Andrew Keegan) and Cameron (Joseph Gordon Levitt).
Bianca’s father agrees to let her date, but only when her older sister Kat does. Kat (played by Julia Stiles) is a bookish loner, looked at as wild, although if you look at her dialogue, it indicates quite the opposite.
