Discuss the values suggested by the film, ‘Ten things I hate about you’ by considering the values of the different characters and of the film as a whole.

• Consider the values of three or four main characters, such as Kat, her sister Bianca, their father and Patrick.
Remember, for example, why the father is reluctant to let the girls out dating, his sensitivity about the absence of their mother, his feeling (at the end of the film) that fathers are on the sidelines just watching... What are his values? What does he think is important for his daughters and himself?

• Add to this an appreciation of the values of, say, two or three of the minor characters.
Think about Joey, for example. What does he think is important? How does he want to appear? What does he value about happiness?

• Finally, think about the film as a whole. Consider how the ending establishes the values of the film.
Remember what we said about how the ‘upbeat’ music and the thrilling camera shots confirm that this is a happy ending; that Kat achieves a happy ending by getting a boyfriend (as do Bianca and the others); that the film seems to ignore the fact that her father has just paid for her to go East!