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| http://rtpot.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/shakespeare-retoldthe-taming-of-shrew.html |
The Taming of the Shrew Shakespeare Retold is a film production with many Elizabethan references. Kate is a crazy, overdramatic character who is working towards running the country in Parliament. Neither her mum or sister think she will ever get married and so Kate's beautiful and much loved older sister uses this excuse to get rid of her manager, who desperately wants to marry her, by telling him that she won't be getting married until her sister Kate does. Harry, her manager, takes this quite literally and sets himself a challenge to get Kate married as soon as possible. He finds Lucentio and bribes him with her money to marry Kate and that same day, Lucentio asks Kate to marry him. The film then mainly follows how their relationship develops, through its ups and downs. I am going to choose two characters that I think resemble an Elizabethan and explain why.
Kate Minola
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| Casual/work styling. http://www.bbc.co.uk/staticarchive/2c8983e1772301f6c217a09272c1b1db33a7c2a1.jpg |
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| Wedding day styling. http://mmimageslarge.moviemail-online.co.uk/SHREW-08.jpg |
There are many things about how Kate is styled in this film that are reflective of the Elizabethan era such as:
-Kate was dressed in all black for most of the film. In the Elizabethan era the colour of a person's clothing dictated what class you belonged to and the colours worn by each class were enforced by English law; the law was called the Sumptuary Law. The colour black represented nobility, so the people that wore black were of the highest nobility in the country.
-Her waisted is always nipped in and accentuated in her clothing, which was a very popular style with the Elizabethan women.
-Kate wore white on her wedding day. The colour white, in the Elizabethan era, represented wealth and nobility.
-Her wedding dress was made of silk which, in the Elizabethan era, would have showed you were upper class and of nobility.
-Both her outfits had an open collar which was very popular amongst the upper class women.
-Kate's wonky parting is a sign that there is something not quite right about her character.
-She has very pale skin and this was a sign of beauty in the Elizabethan times because Elizabeth I had a very pale complexion and it showed that you were too wealthy to go and work in the fields.
-Her makeup was kept very natural and minimalist throughout the film, with just a hint of pink blush and a natural pink pink, this makeup look was very similar to the makeup Elizabeth I wore and was seen a beautiful.
-Kate wore her hair up for most of the film, which in the Elizabethan times would have been a sign you were married and the women would keep there hair long and flowing to show youth and their virginity. This Elizabethan 'rule' was not followed in this film.
-On her wedding day, her hair was decorated with pearls. Pearls were a very popular hair accessory amongst the upper class women and they showed their wealth and high class status.
-Kate's teeth weren't very white and in some scenes looked quite yellow and off colour. As Queen Elizabeth I grew older, her teeth began to rot and so the Elizabethan women started to make their teeth look dirtier as they thought it was a sign of wealth and nobility. Therefore I think this discolouration of her teeth maybe have referenced this trend.
-Kate had a big skirt on her wedding dress which was almost always worn by the upper class Elizabethan women.
-She wears rich green shoes with one of her outfits and that green colour would have represented wealth, nobility and high status as this bright colour was very costly to make.
-At first, Kate says she doesn't want to get married, which was exactly how Queen Elizabeth felt.
Bianca
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| Biancahttp://mmimageslarge.moviemail-online.co.uk/TAMING-SHREW-UNIT-10.jpg |
-Bianca's skin is very smooth and perfect looking which it what the Elizabethan women strived for as it is what Elizabeth I portrayed her skin to look.
-Her makeup was very minimalist, with a rosy cheek and rosy lips, which is how Queen Elizabeth used to wear her makeup, representing beauty.
-Bianca has a very straight, aquiline nose which was what all the women wanted and Elizabeth I would sometimes alter her nose in portraits to make it look more straight.
-When she is lying in the bath, the very warm, risk blue of the background screamed wealth and nobility as this was such an expensive colour to produce in the Elizabethan times.
-When Bianca is in the airport she and her boyfriend wear white fur which was a definite sign on wealth and high status in the Elizabethan era, as both the colour and material were very expensive to produce.
-Bianca wears her hair down a lot which, in the Elizabethan times, representing youth and virginity.
-Bianca ofter wore gold jewellery which was very expensive and only worn by the upper class and people of nobility.
-She wears a rich green top in the party scene which was a very expensive colour to produce in the Elizabethan era, so only the very wealthy could afford it, showing great wealth.
-Bianca wears white flowing trousers with one outfit which, in the Elizabethan times, would have represented wealth and nobility.
-Bianca had many pictures of herself hung round her apartment, which links straight back to Queen Elizabeth I when she had many portraits painted of her and hung all round her home.
Sources:
http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/meaning-colors.htm
this sucked
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