The Shrew: 16th Century Independence to 21st Century “Feminist Grunge”

Danielle CorcioneRamapo College of New Jersey Class of 2015

@decorcione

Overview

• Literature and Communications double major enrolled in Shakespeare On Film course

• Conducted Shakespearian analysis, using feminist criticism, of 10 Things I Hate About You, a 1998 film adapted from The Taming of the Shrew

• Benefits those interested in the intersection of feminist theory, Shakespeare, and film

Literature Review

• “Taming 10 Things I Hate About You: Shakespeare and Teenage Film Audience” by Monique Pittman

• “Ultimately Ripped” by Brian Reynolds

• As She Likes It: Shakespeare’s Unruly Women by Penny Gay

Theoretical Framework• American third wave

feminist theory• Conscious of body,

gender, sexuality and heteronormativity

• Its emergence in the mid-1990s, after “riot grrrl” movement

• Historical significance

Methodology

• Read the original text of The Taming of the Shrew

• Watched 1967 adaptation of the play• Watched 10 Things I Hate About You

multiple times for analysis (and leisure)

• Compared original text to 10 Things I Hate About You after reading several pieces of literature on both forms of media

Research Questions

• What are the differences and similarities between the original text of The Taming of the Shrew and the romantic comedy, 10 Things I Hate About You?–What causes Kat/Kate to behave the way

she does? Why does she have a negative attitude?

–What causes others to believe Kat/Kate has a bad reputation?

Observations

• Kat’s emotional pain and sexual history

• Feeling of guilt and peer pressure

• Gender in the play and the film

• Kat’s grunge style and feminist lines

Discussion• Would Kat act

differently if she didn’t identify with feminism?

• Would feminism be compared to a counterculture today?

• What if Kat didn’t have the reputation of a modernized shrew? Would it change the way we see gender inequality in the story?

Conclusions• Gender inequality and female

representation• Feminism as a countercultural

metaphor• Comparing and contrasting 16th

century shrew to 21st century Kat Stratford

• Kat’s personality, asseen as a grungefeminist

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decorcione@gmail.com

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