THEME OF THE DAY - DAILY CHALLENGE: DRAMA | @sanyazulfiqar

MOVIE BASED ON BOOK

(Own picture)

Where there is drama, there is William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, with his evergreen plays. Today, I would like to highlight one such comedy play (‘dramady’) that was beautifully adapted into a movie some years back. It is rare when you like the movie as much as the book. This is one such instance, in my case.

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10 things I hate about you, the 1999 film starring Heath Ledger (enough reason to watch it already) and Julia Stiles, is based on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew play. It revolves around the lives of two sisters, where the younger, Bianca, cannot get involved into a romantic relationship until her sister does. A condition set by their father because he was aware of Kat’s incapability of falling in love. Not only is she resistant to such affairs, the elder sibling, Kat, is a misandrist – opposite to the sweet child Bianca, which makes it extremely challenging to get her to like a guy!

The beauty of Shakespeare’s work is that the plot can be adapted and changed according to the time. While Biance & Kat (short for Katherina) are characters from the original play, marriage has been replaced with going out, and Verona’s greed for dowry was replaced with Bianca’s love interest paying him to woo Kat. However, the moral of the story remains to discipline or more appropriately in Shakespearean terms, tame the ruthless Kat.

If I were asked about my favorite character from 10 things I hate about you, I would say Patrick Verona, without thinking twice. Verona’s charm and aura are just irresistible and notwithstanding his intentions, he is a softie who would sing
‘I can’t take my eyes off you’ on school terrace to pacify his lover (who is cutting onions?)

Of course, there were instances when I would disagree with the lessons of this play and question its significance in today’s time. There is an abundance of high school movies and shows that talk about everything but education. Considering the impact that media has on this generation, is it appropriate to only talk about relationships? What about dreams and ambitions – are they insignificant?

Thank you @event-horizon for hosting this contest!