10 Things I Hate About You (Movie)

* Bibliographic information
Junger, G. (Director). (1999). 10 Things I Hate About You [Motion Picture]. Touchstone Home Video. Starring: Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, and Joseph Gordon Levitt.

- 2000, Won a MTV Award for Best Breakthrough Female Performance: Julia Stiles
- 1999, Nominated for Teen Choice Awards for; Breakout Performance: Julia Stiles and Choice Comedy of the Year.


* Plot Summary
This movie is a modern take on Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew. The three main actors in this movie have all gone on to do well in other movies; this one launched their careers. Bianca is a pretty boy-crazy teen and she wants to date boys but her strict father will not let her until her bitter boy-hating sister starts dating. Cameron has a huge crush on Bianca and wants to go out with her so he pays the new guy in school, Patrick to melt Kat’s heart so she will go out with him. The plan backfires when Joey, the school jock and “pretty boy” asks Bianca to the school dance when he hears she is able to date. Everything falls apart when all of them go to the school dance and the secret comes out. Kat is crushed and Patrick must pull out all the stops to make her realize he stopped doing it for the money when he fell for her.


* Critical Evaluation
A great teen movie with great acting. Stiles and Ledger give amazingly deep performances not seen in most teen movies. The dialogue is clever and the supporting cast is fun and relatable for teen viewers. This movie came out ten years ago but still has today’s teens captivated but its brilliant tale. There is a good balance of humor and heart-felt moments in this teen flick; no teen will be bored while watching Kat give tongue lashings and Patrick try to win her heart. The movie also gives credit to Shakespeare using bits of his work in the dialogue to move the story along.


* Reader’s Annotation
Bianca and Kat are sisters but they are completely different from each other. Kat must be tamed in this modern day retelling of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, if Bianca ever wants to go on a date with a boy.


* Information about the director
Junger was born in New York and graduated from the University of Texas in Austin's Radio, TV, and Film School. According to IMDb.com, “he was nominated for an Emmy and a Director's Guild Award for directing the episode of "Ellen" in which the lead character reveals that she is a lesbian”. In addition to directing and producing television and movies, he is a golfer, photographer and musician. 10 Things I Hate About You was his first job as a feature film director.


* Genre
Teen Comedy; High School, Romantic Comedy


* Curriculum Ties, if any
English:
This movie can be used as a resource for teaching teens about Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew.


* Movie Discussion Ideas
1) Bianca ignores Kat’s warnings about Joey. If you had a sibling who tried to save you from making the same mistakes they did, would you listen?
2) Why do you think so many girls go for the bad boy like Joey, when they have a great guy like Cameron who loves them?
3) Talk about the relationship between Kat and Patrick, how does it change throughout the movie? How does the relationship between Kat and Bianca change?


* Interest Age
13 and Up / PG -13


* Challenge Issues and Defense
Challenge Issues: Underage Drinking, Sex, and Fighting.

Defense Ideas:
1) Ask the patron about the movie and issue in question and find out how much they know about the movie.
2) Help the patron become more familiar with the film and its content.
3) Show the patron positive reviews for this movie, such as ones found on Yahoo!Movies, http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1800018548/critic.
4) If available, introduce the patron to people who have seen it in the library or tell the patron what you thought of the movie if you have seen it.
5) Show the patron the collection development policy for that particular library. For example, the one for the San Diego County library, http://dbpcosdcsgt.co.san-diego.ca.us/screens/Intranet/policy/sdcl-policy_O.41_material-selection.pdf
6) If they still want to file a grievance about the movie begin the necessary paperwork by giving them the forms they need to fill out. In the San Diego County system, the grievance will then go to The Challenged Materials Team. If the committee cannot resolve the issue, it then goes to the County Library Director for a final decision. http://dbpcosdcsgt.co.san-diego.ca.us/screens/Intranet/policy/sdcl-policy_O.34_intellectual_freedom.pdf


* Why did you include this movie in your titles you selected?
I included this movie in my selections because it is one of my all time favorite teen movies and when I saw it at the top of the YALSA 2009 Fabulous Films for Young Adults list I knew it has to be included. This movie made everyone fall in love with Heath Ledger and boosted him into movie stardom. Every teen girl who sees this movie will want a guy to do what Heath Ledger’s character did for Kat, Julia Stiles’ character, in the football stadium on the bleachers to show he loved her. I think this is a great movie for teens because it shows the older sister, Kat who has already made mistakes trying to help her younger sister, Bianca avoid the same fate. Many teens have to learn from their own mistakes but some are able to watch others do it, then avoid it themselves.