Michael Desrosiers
Dilbeck
Comp 1
19 November 2013
The
high school lives in both of 10 Things I Hate About You and Sixteen Candles are
somewhat similar to each other and teenage life today. Although they take place at different times
multiple themes keep them connected, directors John Hughes and Gil Junger have
a very deep understanding of adolescent life and behaviors and incorporates
them into these two movies. They cover around 2 decades of teenage life and
attitudes. 10 Things I Hate About You is a modern day version of Shakespeare’s
play "Taming The Shrew" and Sixteen Candles is the classic “two
unexpected people fall in love” story. There are several themes in these movies
that are unique to themselves, unique to their respective decades and unique to
the ever evolving adolescent behaviors.
Some of the major themes in both movies that are constant
and are still popular today are that there is always that ONE guy or girl that
everyone is infatuated with. In Sixteen Candles the role could be seen by both
Sam, the main character who had the attention of both Jake and Geek
or Jake himself who was the hunk senior of the school. In 10 Things I Hate About You, the main role was
played by Bianca, the sweet and innocent girl that grabbed every guy's
attention. Both of these movies take the "chasers" (Cameron, Geek,
Sam, and Jake) which are simply trying gain the affection of the desired ones. This
principal is popular throughout high school life and is included in these
movies. Adolescent kids fall head over heels for one another and end up doing
ridiculous (and usually comical) things to win them over.
The major differences in teenage life
in these movies lies within the story itself. In Sixteen Candles, Geek (Farmer Tom)
was infatuated with Sam all up to the point where he had a chance for a drunk
girl that was vulnerable to anything that moved. This basically sums up the
entirety of most high school relationships. "Love at its finest"...
or until the next attractive person is available. Having this mentality, Geek
left Sam alone so she would be available for Jake's rebound. This "drop a
girl, and then another guy rebounds" is a pattern that has been going on
for years which has made its way into this movie. In 10 Things I Hate About You,
on the other hand, highlighted a different part of romantic relationships in
high school. Going behind another guy's back to get the one girl and this was shown by Cameron using people to get Bianca.
Although Verona and Kat end up happy, Cameron still won in the end which is all
that mattered. He really didn't care what happened to Verona, Kat, or Joey Donner,
the pawn he used to make Bianca available. He had a chance
for Bianca and he was happy, which is the whole idea of adolescence and both of
these movie scenarios paint an accurate picture of romantic relationships in
high school.
Another aspect of teenage life portrayed is speech
patterns. Teenagers speak to each other differently than
almost any other group of people who speak the same language. They use
exclusive phrases and fad trends that will be completely embarrassing when
looking back on them. The language of
Sixteen Candles sounds a lot more common to how teenagers talk today, but it
still has its own quirks and phrases here and there. The most different speech
is in 10 Things I Hate About You, where both Bianca and Kat talk like Valley
girls and have a very sassy and superficial sarcasm tone. The snide remarks are
very impersonal and cliché phrases directly set in the 90's. Although they don't
show speech teenagers use today, it still highlights the principle that teenagers
have their own language and way of talking.
Finally,
one of the major themes in both movies is sex. The way it is portrayed in Sixteen
Candles is extremely comical and passive. Geek had sex with Caroline, the drunk
and vulnerable party animal, in the back of Jake's father's car. This was
completely irrelevant to the movie (other than a reason for Jake to go to Sam)
and served no purpose other than to give Geek's romantic struggles resolve.
Geek also shows his perverted sex drive by showing guys Sam's panties in the
locker room for money. This completely comical yet ridiculous scene shows the
mood of sex in the movie as it's portrayed by most teenagers past and present.
10 Things showed a couple different attitudes towards
sex. One different view came from the father of Bianca and Kat. His view on sex
was stated almost from the start of the movie, as some variety of female
doctor, he is fully aware of teenage pregnancy and has taken his fears of
premarital sex to the extremes by banning dating in his household. This idea
was the main goal of the father and to give them both something to think about.
Kat, the social reject, also turns out to have had sex in the past with Joey Donner
and thus has a very negative opinion of most guys and turns them away for slimy
infested ghouls that don't deserve a second glance. Popular and unlike her
sister Kat’s ideas, Bianca innocently enough just wants to date. She even makes
a big deal about finding black panties in Kat's drawer making a big enough deal
about her "wanting to have sex someday."
As a whole, 10 Things I Hate About You and Sixteen
Candles takes many different aspects of teenage life and achieves at portraying
them. From sex, to relationships, to adolescent speech; these movies take in
large aspects of behaviors and attitudes. Although they don’t directly apply to
most high school experiences, they recreate high school attitudes and thoughts vividly.
These movies are great portrayals of adolescent life as it was when the movies
were made and how some things never change.
Works
Cited
Sixteen
Candles. Dir. John Hughes. Perf. Molly Ringwald, Anthony
Michael-Hall. Universal Pictures, 1984. DVD.
10
Things I Hate About You. Dir. Gil Junger. Perf. Heath
Ledger, Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Touchstone, 1999. DVD.
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