Ten observations on 10 things I hate about you

In 1999, the year 10 things I hate about you went out, I was in sixth grade. It was the first teen movie I've ever seen, and also the one I saw growing up, being the movie of choice for countless nightsuits and birthdays. At the beginning of the millennium, Gil Junger, Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith take over Shakespeare The Taming of the Shrew was our introduction to high school life, fashion and relationships. Julia Stiles was our cool big sister. Heath Ledger was our first crush on celebrities.

This year, the film celebrates its 20th anniversary, an ideal opportunity to dive back into the history of Kat and Bianca Stratford. 10 things I hate about you remains a very cold classic and a perfectly preserved artifact of the culture of the late '90s. In honor of its grand milestone, here are 10 things that have marked me after watching for the first time in almost as many years.

The music always reigns.

the 10 things I hate about you soundtrack is the Pretty in pink and Sixteen candles mold, using a balance of timely jams and legitimate classics. Letters to Cleo, Joan Armatrading, Semisonic and George Clinton all under the same roof. These lucky bastards at Padua High had even had Save Ferris as a prom group!

Some of the best jokes in the movie have been ruined by teenagers.

On the stage of big parties, David Krumholtz tries to impress a girl by saying that he plans to get a Tercel ("it's a Toyota") because of its spacious rear seat. Before Kat, from Julia Stiles, burst the football coach on the place of detention, he confiscates the grass of the child, then sneaks another bag of cheetahs. When I saw the film again, the two laughs provoked laughter and the jokes I remembered when I saw it grew did not make me laugh. At the time, they flew right over my head to stupid teenager.

Some other jokes do not age very well.

Most of this film is always fantastic, but some moments are less than brilliant. Krumholtz's comment that Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Cameron should "put (Bianca) in your spanking bank and move on" is not impressive. Bianca's sarcastic comment that a teenage mother is "a fucking crack that should have sent her boyfriend condoms to her skeezy boyfriend." Ouch. The rest of the movie more than compensates for those unpleasant blips.

Kat had a crush on Jordan Catalano.

There are specific references to the 90s throughout the film, and each is a delightful little time capsule. My personal favorite is the revelation that Bianca found a picture of Jared Leto in Kat's drawer, which she uses as proof that her big sister is really a guy.

I would like to go to Padua High School

It's a real place! The film was shot at Tacoma Stadium High School. It is beautiful and also has secret underground tunnels. Basically, it's a real life at Hogwarts, and it's incredibly unfair that I've never been to school there. Fortunately, they offer tours.

This film has given me excessive expectations for high school parties.

My high school experience has been disappointing for a lot of reasons, but maybe the biggest one has never known a rage like this one. I have never been to see keggers, there was no DJ and no one had danced on a table, in front of Notorious B.I.G. or someone else. Given what 10 things I hate about you I learned to wait, it was a deep disappointment.

I recognize Kat's wardrobe.

Many of my outfits for a certain part of my life were influenced by Kat and her best friend, Mandella. The bell sleeves. Maxi-skirts. This singular Melan Collie and Infinite Sadnessinspired aesthetics. I've had it all. This look worked very well for Julia Stiles. It did not work as well for me though.

I feel a deep relationship with the English teacher.
As a former high school English teacher, I have a lot of sympathy for Mr. Morgan, professor of moderate temperament literature at Padua High. I appreciated that he told Kat to check her privileges when she asked why Sylvia Plath was never read in class. Go ask the school board to add The bell to the approved playlist, Kat! While you're there, do the same with Mr. Morgan and ask James Baldwin as well.

Is Patrick paid enough?

When Patrick de Heath Ledger agrees for the first time to woo Kat, the agreed rate is $ 50 per date. Putting aside the fact that going out with a person for money is not a great practice, it's a bit low. I am a freelancer. Being paid fairly is important to me, so I did some calculations.

Let's take Patrick's hypothesis, a movie date. The average cost of a movie ticket in 1999 was $ 5.08. Two glasses and a popcorn cost between $ 9 and $ 10. The average mileage reimbursement was about 32 cents / mile. For example, if you go from Patrick's house to Kat, then to the theater, you travel six miles (4.8 km), the fuel refund costs $ 3.84. The minimum wage was $ 5.15 in 1999; a four-hour date is worth $ 21. Patrick earns $ 26 per date. Not bad! However, it is not enough to allow Stratocaster to buy Kat at the end of the movie.

It gives even more power.

Feminist elements of 10 things I hate about you stay impressive. Bianca recognizes her agency over the film and looks for what she wants by the end. Cameron can get into his orbit, but Bianca is the one who chooses to be with him. Kat never has to change herself or her goals to be happy. I do not doubt that she still plans to go to Sarah Lawrence after her senior year of high school, regardless of her relationship with Patrick. There are many reasons to love this movie even after twenty years, but it 's the best.