The Taming of the Shrew

The Taming of the Shrew is focused on the life of Katherine Minola who has a very submissive personality towards her work and personal life. She has a sister named Bianca who is up the completely different end of the spectrum. She is a model in which everyone loves and adores. Bianca has a manager who has fallen in love with her and wants to marry her. Her excuse not to marry him is that her older sister Katherine is not yet married. Katherine tells her manager that she will not marry him until Katherine marries someone. She feels as though this will keep her away from marrying her manager as Katherine is such a stubborn woman. Much to Katherine's unbeknown knowledge, her manager arranges for a friend to meet and marry Katherine as soon as possible.

The first very scene of this film is Katherine walking through a building. The music in the background sounds very Elizabethan, just as the architecture looks like it is from that particular era too.

http://www.shakespearefilms.com/images/taming-of-the-shrew.jpg

The clothing Katherine is wearing in the first scene reminds me of the Elizabethan era also, due to the neckline on her clothing. She is wearing black which was also a symbol of authority back in that era.

She then progresses to her office area which is very bland and boring. This indicates the type of class she is in, which is not very upper class from the impression I am getting of her office. There is also a miniscule detail that Katherine has a wonky hairline which could indicate something isn't 'quite right' for her. Throughout the film, you begin to realise Katherine has not been married or dated a man before therefore represents virginity just like the Elizabethan era.

There is Bianca on the other hand; Katherine's sister. She is a beautiful model. She represents the Renaissance era with her beauty of an aquiline nose, even features and her beautiful coloured clothing. She wears very much upper class clothing and her beauty is noticed by all of those around her.

I personal feel Bianca could represent the 'New Elizabethan' in this film with her control and beauty over people. Everyone wants to marry Bianca and people look up to her. She is a woman of beauty and wealth, just as Queen Elizabeth I was. In Bianca's flat, it is noticed that she has many images of herself around which is also a similarity to Queen Elizabeth I, who always had her portraits under control and they would only be seen by others once she was happy with the outcome.

There is Bianca's managers friend who is persuaded into trying to marry Katherine. He is very upper class and well spoken. You can tell he is upper class before he even talks due to his expensive looking clothing and his posture.

Bianca's manager on the other hand, is very lower class which is obvious through his clothing especially. He never wears clothing that fits hand in hand. He is usually wearing a youthful looking tshirt throughout the film which represents he cannot possibly afford to wear anything a bit more sophisticated.