10 Things I Hate About You Analysis.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc_UUofTKag

10 Things I Hate About You (1999) is your average romantic comedy targeted at teen aged girls. Directed by Gil Junger. I will analyse the title sequence to see how to portrays the film.

Firstly we are presented with a pop/hip-hop song while the first credits appear on the screen. I think they chose this song as it reflects the type of music teenagers listen too, so it will therefore relate to the audience the film is targeting and also the characters where the film is set. The music then quickly changes to a rough edgy rock song as we are presented with the rebellious unpopular female character. The lyrics in the song reflect her attitude as a character, “I don't give a damn about my bad reputation” which is also shown in the way she looks at the girls in the other car.

Mise en scene is introduced when we see the characters cars act like a costume. We have typical cheer leader girls in a sports car playing pop music contrasting against the anti stereotypical high school girl in a plain car playing rock music which shows her to be rebellious. This tells us as the audience a lot about these characters in a very subtle way and allows us to already set up scenarios for the film in our minds. This is also when we are first introduced to the setting of the film, a normal American school of course full of props to make it seem like the average school, for example the characters outside playing hockey.

At the start of the title sequence a aerial shot and pan are used as the camera comes back down to normal level to reveal the characters. I think this is a very clever camera angle to use and is really pleasing to the eye as you feel like you are really being introduced into the world of the film. A clever transition is used at the start by making the clip animated before it appears normally, this is the first sign of the film showing any child like qualities. Low camera angles are also used in the clip where we see the hockey players, this angle allows us to really feel like we're involved in the actions. A lot of establishing shots are used at this point so we are properly introduced to the setting of the film.

This child like approach also appears in the way the credits are presented to the audience. They are written in pastel chalk colours in a type face which looks like scratched hand writing, relating back to the fact the film is set at a school and aimed at teenagers. These credits are positioned on the screen in the centre drawing your eye to them as you watch the film, this in some ways is distracting from what else is going on but the credits are never there when a character is talking or anything major is happening. While action is taking place they begin to be places at the corners of the screen so we can begin to concentrate on the film.