The love-hate relationship between the sexes is a theme that is used in many movies. Romance and war makes for an interesting theme because it shows how we are all different yet we are also, all the same. Of course, the application of the theme is adjusted depending on what is the target age group for the movie. Take for example the movies 10 Things I Hate About You and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Both movies revolve around the theme of relationships, how women and men deal with each other, especially when it comes to love.
10 Things I Hate about You is a modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew. This adaptation is set within a high school setting, and as such, appeals to a younger generation. The relationships between girls and boys in the movie revolves around the ideas of fleeting young romance, experimentation, and finding self. Because the movie is targeted for a younger crowd, it offers a moral at the end of the movie. The moral being don’t drink alcohol, listen to your parents, don’t trust that pretty boy, and give the quiet guy a chance. Perhaps, the biggest moral of all don’t give away your virginity just because everyone is doing it.
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, on the other hand, utilizes the same theme but places it within an adult situation. It shows how men and women struggle with each other, especially when it comes to love. The movie treats sex as a normal part of the relationship, while the previous movie considered it a taboo. In fact, most of the things that the previous movie says to avoid, this movie treats as a normal part of life. Here is where you see the great difference between the ages, and what teenagers are allowed to do versus what adults get away with. There is no moral offered at the end of the movie. If there was one, then it would be about trust.
When both movies are compared to each other, it is easy to see the different treatment of the same theme. Teenagers just don’t have the same freedom that adults have. Freedom is what age buys you.
I enjoy reading the ChixFlix blog. I don’t watch “chick flicks” normally, but when I read these posts I learn what the films are about and how they are involved in the pop culture universe. I don’t know why I stay away from chick-flicks. Maybe it is because I haven’t had much experience with romance in my life, so I get jealous when characters from these movies find love and become happy. But I dunno. It is hard to find the right person. Chick flicks may effect the way young women look at romantic love, perhaps even giving them hope.
Interesting point about how one movie targets teens, the other a more adult audience. But of course stories about “adults” often serve as vehicles of fantasy for younger audiences, just as, say, the teenage (?) Barbie is usually a toy for young girls (preteens), who perhaps see in Barbie a kind of promise or ideal image of what is to come.
10 THINGS I HATE, I take it, is a more overtly moralistic story than HOW TO LOSE A GUY?
Both seem very obviously girl-centered, based on their titles and marketing.