I think this adaptation of Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew written by Sally Wainwright is very funny and I really enjoyed watching it. Although there have been so many adaptations of it I can still see references to the Elizabethan era. Rather than there being one character that is similar to Queen Elizabeth herself, they each have their own comparable traits.
Image from: http://1.fwcdn.pl/po/55/03/275503/7240013.3.jpg
Katherine Minola is a successful politician with an outrageous temper! It horrifies everyone around her including her secretary Tim Agnew and its kept her a single virgin for 38 years. The electorate like their politicians married so Kate is forced to find a husband. This is just like Elizabeth when she was told to marry. To me, this symbolises that Kate is like "The Virgin Queen". She is always seen with her hair in a bun, but her parting is not straight in the middle which indicates that something is not quite right about her. She wears blazers and skirts and always looks formal with open collars and has her waist nipped in which is very Elizabethan.
Her sister, Bianca, a beautiful top celebrity model couldn't be more different! Just one of the reasons why their glamorous mother gets on so much better with Bianca than Kate. Her agent, Harry Kavanagh has had a thing for Bianca for years, so when she leaves him for young Italian Lucentio, he's heartbroken. Bianca is always dressed in beautiful expensive-looking clothes which indicates wealth and a high status. At one point in the film, you can see Bianca and Lucentio both wearing matching fur coats! Bianca's house is full of pictures and portraits of herself which makes me think of how vein Queen Elizabeth used to be and how she was able to control the way she looked by choosing what pictures were shown of her.
Image from: http://mmimageslarge.moviemail-online.co.uk/SHREW-08.jpg
Mrs Minola is always seen dressed in fabrics that look luxurious on screen which shows a status of wealth and class. She is seen wearing a lot of purples which was considered a wealthy colour and her makeup matches the colours of the outfits that she wears.
The other characters have small characteristics of Elizabeth. On Kate and Petruchio's wedding day, he is dressed in blue velvet and ruffles which is similar to the clothes worn in the 16th century. Harry wears specific colours like brown suits and is always looking smart which is a status of class.
As we know, Bianca's house is filled with self portraits but it looks so glamorous inside! You can tell that a wealthy person lives here because of how it is decorated and set up. When Kate and Petruchio go on their honeymoon, the house is big and beautiful with grand staircases and decorated with chandeliers and candles. Again this shows that only the wealthy and people of a high class could afford to stay here.
Some information from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/shakespeare/tamingoftheshrew/
And from the film in class
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