Gil Junger’s 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) is a coming-of-age teen rom-com film based on William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. The movie is brimming with so much 90s film nostalgia, and it also delivers an entertaining performance for every movie buff.
The film stars Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger as the main cast. Their characters, Kat Stratford and Patrick Verona, have different personalities that will get entwined as they get to know each other. One main aspect that the movie focuses on is intelligence as portrayed in the scenes tackling literature, feminism, and all of the philosophy surrounding it. Below is the ranked list of intelligent characters from 10 Things I Hate About You:
Walter Stratford
Walter is Kat and Bianca’s father. He is portrayed as a concerned and caring dad who makes sure his daughters are safe and always within his sight. As a father, he has an instinct that can tell Bianca’s excuse for a study group actually means a party.
He also created house rules for his daughters, which is basically no dating for Bianca unless Kat gets a boyfriend. Since he knows that Kat isn’t into such stuff, Walter is assured that Bianca won’t date anytime soon.
Michael Eckman
Michael is one of the characters involved in the “set-up dating” storyline. His friend Cameron likes Bianca, and no matter how many times he warned him to stay away from her, it seems like the feeling is too strong.
So Michael and Cameron devised the dating plan. Together, they plotted every move they had to do in order to make Kat date someone. They used Patrick as cohort, and even tricked the rich yet gullible Joey Donner into funding their plan. Michael is basically the mind of this whole dating scheme.
Bianca Stratford
She seems like the sweet and innocent type of girl at first look, but Bianca is more than a pretty face. Between her and Kat, she is more self-aware and emotionally intelligent. She thinks about the people around her (unlike Kat, who only pleases herself).
Bianca also figured out that Cameron likes her, and she showed interest in dating him. She also made the right decision to attend prom despite her dad’s disapproval.
Patrick Verona
Patrick has practical intelligence, and he knows how to make things work to his advantage. His smartness is almost, if not totally, equal to Kat. When he was bribed with money, he knew that the effort is worth double the offer, so he negotiated.
The way he also understands Kat shows his empathy skills. Indeed, despite the toughness he shows to everyone, Patrick has got both emotional and mental intelligence.
Kat Stratford
There is no doubt that Kat is the smartest of the bunch. She reads a lot of books, especially feminist literature. Aside from the fact that she knows so much about social issues, she is also not afraid to speak her mind.
Her eloquence and conviction might always get her off on the wrong foot with others, but Kat does not really care what others think about her. She only believes what she knows is right, and she will stand by it no matter what.
