Shakespeare and The Genesis of The Rom-com

By Willow Bullington

It is a universally acknowledged truth that a woman of a certain age must make herself acquainted with the movie genre referred to as a Rom-Com. Stemming from the root words romantic and comedy the genre is defined as “a story told with the romance at the center, the plot is derived from the two leads and their budding relationship”.However, every story must overcome some sort of interpersonal conflict. Whether it be their hatred for one another, ulterior motives and bribery, or repression of their true feelings, the leads almost always create these barricades themselves. The most distinct characteristic of the genre is that, once the pair solves the problem the love struck leads them to live a long happy life together. ( and when I say always, I mean always). 

    Rising to popularity in the early 2000’s the romantic comedy adopted the name “rom-com” and or “chick flick” becoming unanimous with hopeless women consumed by their journey to find their prince charming, because everyone knows women are only capable of comprehending media where the dreamy eyed boy sweeps us off our feet and bestows us with a kiss. (I hope you pick up on my obvious sarcasm). How could men be expected to dumb themselves down and divulge in this childish plot? Their time would be better spent enriching their minds by breaking down the complexity of old English phrasing , the depths of characters like King Lear, Otherello, Julius Caesar, and Odysseus, contrasting the attributes of a tragedy and the attributes of comedies and histories, right? 

    We can lend these polarizing stereotypes to the public's perception of femininity and masculinity. But, regardless the tendency to write off romcoms as a simpletons movie is to put it simply; stupid.  

The skeleton of the most iconic rom-coms is Shakespearian literature, adapting character arcs, plot direction, and themes and motifs to the wisdom laid out by William Shakespeare. And while, that does alone does make a media work worthy of praise, often times these movies highlight the innate human longing for relationship despite our own shortcomings, whether we can identify our own fatal flaws, seeing generally unlikable,, arguably unloveable characters overcome themselves and find true love provides hope to a generally apathetic generation. 

    First things first let us establish something, this is extremely biased because I love a good rom-com. However, despite my obvious favor, that does not make the validity of my argument any less truthful. Thus-forth, let us begin. Many of you, myself included, have likely been blessed with the opportunity of partaking in required reading, Which coincidentally usually includes some sort of Shakespearian literature. And, in my senior year of high school one of the main focuses of my literature course was being able to examine and contrast the different types of Shakespearian works, the comedy, the tragedy, and the history. However for the context of the argument we will be focusing on the tragedy.

    Tragedies are marked by their tragic hero, usually the main protagonist in which their downfall is brought upon by their own hamartia, their own fatal flaw. Typically when studying literature, especially Shakespearian the nature in which one reads can be adapted when the style is first broken down. For example when reading a book like Julius Caesar with the understanding of the “tragic hero” trope aids the reader in identifying the complex nuances in which Shakespeare codes his literature. Looking for the subtle shifts in stage direction, the change in dialogue, identifying the fatal flaw. 

    Understanding Shakespeare's literary genius cannot be understood through just simply reading Romeo and Juliet, one must be able to understand why the Tragic Hero is such a vital role in Shakespeare's work, why this seemingly once lovable, charismatic, and overall content joyous character would bring their own downfall upon themself. This “tragic hero” acts as a mirror challenging our own view of our actions. Wealth, power, knowledge, and love does not mend the desires of the human heart. Our human heart struggled to be satiated in our circumstance, therefore we create this dystopia where there is a cure Shakespeare's ability to reveal wisdom within human experience has stood the test of time. And, when you view his work with the knowledge of his audience, his stylistic choices, the tropes he uses, Shakespeare's work becomes deeply more meaningful. And as we adapt many media forums from Shakespeare's success this pattern has not diminished. 

With that being said One of the main criticisms of Romantic comedies is the  detachment from reality and its subsequent predictability. The knowledge that no matter what the main characters will get together makes the movie, as described by reviewers on rotten tomatoes as "Something my wife has made me watch about 100 variations of this story. This one is just another. Not particularly bad, nor particularly good”, and while the reviewer is not completely wrong in his observation, they equate the anticipation of the ending to being surface level. However some of the most iconic movie directors use the same elements, Quentin Tarintinos movies often end in the death of many if not all of the protagonists however, it does make the movies less complex and works of genius. And, I would argue that format, and character tropes, aid in revealing a deeper, more complex story. While Quentin Tarantino has raised controversy regarding his artistic choices, the man can make a good movie. The over saturation of wartime violence, and intense gore, create this darkly comedic lore, in which the characters operate almost like puppets forced to move as they are directed, no matter the cost. Upper-class nazi generals living luxuriously gluttons lives while Jewish families live in desolation and fear, elicits this stomach turning epiphany of our apathetic disposition.  There is a reason character tropes, and archetypes are such a large part of understanding a story, they work and convey the message.     This award  we have bestowed upon “feminine” centered plot lines as being nothing more than a cheesy romance story ignorantly assumes that complex stories cannot be punctuated with a happy ending. 

    Centuries old Shakespearian sonnets begin shifting from written literature, to plays, to screen adaptations, and ultimately loosely inspired culturally relevant pieces. These plot lines have been watered by change, and fertilized by our cultural awareness, we often ignore the roots of these stories that words originally written for a select group of people have begun to encompass the entirety of human experience. In my opinion,  “love-centered” media has often been perceived in terms of the audience's perception instead of the author's intent. Ignoring the roots of stories like Othello, a Shakespearian tragedy that’s plot is spearheaded by a black man in power, exploring the innate jealousy of the human spirit, the cultural snowball of this desire for power and its ultimate self destruction. While many of our stories do not end in the strangulation of our wives, oftentimes we deprive reality of oxygen and fan the flames of deceitful desires.

This prevalent theme we see translated as this format of media is adapted is miscommunication. Stories often turn, climax, and fall in conjunction to a character's miscommunication. 

One of the most striking examples, in my opinion, is in a movie like 10 things I hate about you, a cult classic that follows Seattle born sisters polarized by their disposition to romantic pursuits. Drawing inspiration from shakesperes taming  of the shrew, the film draws parallels in terms of all aspects, truly modernizing the Shakespearean comedy. 

Kat, utterly opposed to any male within walking distance, juxtaposed by her rosy eyed sister, Bianca the apple of any boy's eye, a sweetheart in every regard. However the ultimate conflict is presents itself upon Bianca's infatuation with a particular bachelor, Joey Donner the self proclaimed center of the earth, while Bianca perceives his intentions as pure, in an “aside” inspired exchanged we see that Joey sees Bianca as nothing more than a trophy to add to his chest. As Padua's new coming Cam grows more infatuated with Bianca he grows determined to manipulate Joey's misguided malicious  intentions to sweep Bianca off her feet. Consequently,  the sisters' father decides that the previous stipulations regarding dating were no longer relevant (no dating till you graduate), and now Bianca’s love life is permitted if and only if Kat also opens her cold heart to the love that is blooming at Padua high. Orchestrated by none other than Cam, Joey bribes resident bad boy Patrick to take Kat out in order to “bag Bianca”. As true love often does, revealing itself in the most unexpected places, Kat and Patrick's grow smitten, and similarly Cam and Bianca grow close despite the malice of Joey Donner. 

Earlier in the film Kat is described as a shrew and while a clear reference to its Shakespearean predecessor, the label is quite deserving. Kats hard exterior is not reflective of her kind heart, and the hurt and betrayal Kat endured built walls, and buried her ability to be vulnerable deep below the surface. While it clear to the audience that the duo are a perfect match, Kat’s schrewish dispositino has yet to be tamed. And after spending a day with Patrick Kat has visibly grown more relaxed, trusting Patrick with her fragile heart. However Kat’s skidisnish has not left her quite yet, when Ptrick proposes the two go to prom her demeanor immediately shifts,, and demands to know “what is in it for him [patrick]”, creating a rift between the two. Subsequently, Kats absence from prom means Bianca will not be allowed to attend, and in a conversation with Bianca Kat reveals she and Joey had a brief fling, and during its duration he took advantage of her trust leaving her utterly alone. These scenes stitch together to give us a clear picture of Kats character, that her hard exterior is not true to her soft, kind heart. 

Kat and Bianca both end up attending the prom and all seems to be well. However, all good things come with a cost, Joey, in Joey like fashion, reveals his role in the Kat and Patrick Love Saga, divulging that he agreed to pay Patrick to take Kat out. Insinuating patricks love was disingenuous and rooted in greed. Bianca on the other hand takes the chance to defend her prom date and punch Joey Donner’s “perfect face” leaving her and cam victorious in their battle to defeat Mr.Donner. 

    Following the fatal fiasco the next scene takes place in Kat’s English class, which included Patrick and Joey, was instructed to write their own Shakespearean sonnet to be read to the class. This moment is pivotal, we as the audience can acknowledge Cat's behavior however her love for Patrick and willingness to invite him into her life is best described through kats use of iambic pentameter. The iconic sonnet 10 things I hate about you. 

I hate the way you talk to me,

And the way you cut your hair.

I hate the way you drive my car.

I hate it when you stare.

I hate your big dumb combat boots,

And the way you read my mind.

I hate you so much it makes me sick.

(It even makes me rhyme.)

I hate the way you’re always right.

I hate it when you lie.

I hate it when you make me laugh—

Even worse when you make me cry.

I hate it when you’re not around, and the fact that you didn’t call.

But mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you—not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.

Kat’s glassy eyes make their way to Patrick, and they appear to be the only people in the room. This moment is the silver lining, Patrick and Kat realize that despite one anothers flaws, they are incapable of being apart from one another. I would argue that in life that is the kind of love we seek, a love that wants to know, a love that chooses you one your worst day.  In this moment 10 things I hate about you becomes more than just a teen movie, it becomes intimately entwined into the human experience. 

The human experience is defined by our actions and reactions, how our behavior changes as things happen, and that in the end our tendency for self preservation is what is often our downfall. Patricks’ attempt to guard himself hurts Kat , and vice-versa. I think in order to consume media as a culture we cannot view it as a stand alone work, media is built upon human experience, other media, ideas, upbringings, childhoods, that media is meant to be viewed in regards to when it was written, I believe the repetition of human behavior can be viewed so clearly through media. Themes, Motifs and messages do not starkly change with the times, they adapt and change but never completely change. These stories of love overcoming, and defeating the shortcomings of our innate behavior provide hope for relational promise despite our disposition. While many do not regard these movies as accurate to “real world dating”, I would agree. But, I would argue that the media is not meant to copy reality, it is meant to be a hand in relating to others. I personally believe as humans we all seek relationships, romantically or platonically we crave that comfort, and seeing two characters overcome their own hamartia and find loving comfort built upon with sturdy wood and genuine love, can remind humanity that we do not have to lay prisoner to the walls we built, 

The movie speaks to the idea that living a life that avoids the potential for hurt, also avoids the potential for love. Reflecting the many ways in which we must deny our natural tendency toward self reliance and lean into the care of others. In the end Patrick gift a guitar to Kat, a guitar he saw her playing at the bookstore she frequented, this simple exchange reminds Kat that despite the seemingly disingenuous roots of their love, his feelings were no less than honorable, that patrick does hate her, not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.