10 Things I Hate About You: A Romantic Coming-of-Age

              The American romantic-comedy film 10 Things I Hate About You is centered around the romance of two young students, Kat and Patrick, who fit the stereotypical “female outcast” and “teenage bad boy” characters. Kat’s father makes a rule that unless Kat begins dating, her younger sister, Bianca, is not allowed to. A boy desperate to date Bianca pays Patrick to seduce Kat who is seen as scary, unapproachable, and antisocial by her peers. However, Kat simply feels frustrated by societal expectations and rules that seem to determine the way she has to live her life. Thus, she feels that everything from dating to acting nicely in the halls are actions meant to please society instead of living how one really wants to. Unexpectedly, the two students begin to fall for each other and trouble brews when Patrick’s original agenda is revealed. In the film 10 Things I Hate About You, Kat demonstrates a coming-of-age narrative through her view of love transitioning from a manipulative method of conformation to society, into someone embracing her for who she truly is.

                Kat’s view of love stems from an experience with her ex-boyfriend, Joey. While the boy and Kat had dated, he had pressured her to have sex and at first, she obliged because “everyone was doing it” (1:16:00).  However, after the first experience, she told Joey she was no longer ready to have sex anymore, and he angrily broke up with her. Here, we see her rebellious mentality begin to form. In the same scene, she says, “I’m a firm believer in doing something for your own reasons and not someone else’s” (1:15). While having sex was the “norm” for people her age at the time and was expected of her by her boyfriend, Kat felt frustrated by the limitations of these social norms and expectations to do it even though she was uncomfortable. This is also the origin of her twisted view of love. From this experience, Kat sees relationships as a form of manipulation to please your significant other and as a way of trying to fit into societal norms, even if it violates her personal belief of staying true to oneself. This is further proved to her when she finds out that Patrick, who had actually fallen for her, originally pursued her because he was paid. Instead of asking her out because he genuinely liked her, he had followed another person’s desires in exchange for cash.

    However, while Patrick’s betrayal represents a conformation to societal expectations, by spending time with Kat, Patrick begins to actually fall in love with her. He even tries to return the money after discovering a newfound determination to pursue Kat out of his genuine interest. It isn’t until the end of the movie when Kat finds a white guitar, a gift from Patrick, in her car. The white guitar is significant because of a conversation the two had about Kat’s unconventional dream of starting a band that even her father and society refuses to support. Gifting her with such a present not only shows that Patrick no longer cared about the money but also accepts Kat for who she is--even if it means supporting a dream that society often deems ridiculous or impossible. Unlike her old boyfriend, Patrick does not force her to follow his expectations or what he thinks is best but instead, embraces her own unique ideas and personality. As Kat begins to understand Patrick’s true feelings and intentions, she opens herself up to a new idea of love, where it is not about conforming to what the other wants but rather supporting each other as they are. 

Although Kat's previous experience with her ex-boyfriend resulted in a twisted view of love focused on manipulation and conforming to societal expectations, Patrick’s support of her interests and dreams lead her to open herself up and grow to see love as a form of acceptance and embrace.