How and why binary oppositions are set up in the opening scene of '10 things I hate about you'

                               10 Things I hate About You

My film introduction is from '10 things I hate about you.'
In the opening scene of '10 things I hate about you' we are introduced to a group of glam girls and a loner individual girl who. We are also introduced to a new student in a guidance counsellors office, who is then taken around school to get familiar with all the different groups.

In the opening scene there are binary oppositions set up which are, the cliques vs. the cliques and the clique vs. loner individual girl.

Through the use of camera work and sound we see the binary opposition between the clique of girls and the loner individual girl. There is a pan used from the clique of girls to the loner individual girl which show the binary oppositions between the girls.

We are first introduced to the clique of girls which includes four 'barbie girls' which are seen in a sports car with the roof down, which could show that they are very open. They are dressed in blue tops and one of them is wearing a blue flowery top, this shows us that they all dress the same and like the brighter colours which adds more to the idea that they like to be very glam. Their hair and makeup is nicely done which shows that they look after themselves and take time to make themselves look the best they can. Overall this suggest that they are a group of typical glam girls that are seen in teen films and the popular girls in the school.  They also attract more attention to themselves as they are very bubbly and the music is loud and they are dancing along to it, this also suggests that they don't care about what other people think about them and are very open.

We are then introduced to the loner individual girl who is more of a 'tomboy' and she's seen in an old orange rusty car. The roof of the car is closed which could reflect on her personality meaning that she is closed in compared to the clique of girls. She is wearing dark colours and no makeup this shows that she is laid back and doesn't take as much pride in her appearance. This also shows that she is not one of the popular girls through the overall use of mise-en-scene. The music that is heard from her radio reflects on her personality and the type of person she might be. The lyrics of the song which mention not caring about her bad reputation tells us more about the type of person she is. 

Through the use of miss-en-scene, sound and editing we can see the binary oppositions between the different cliques within the school.

 One of the groups in the school consists of 2 'cowboys' as seen above. Through their costume and props we are able to tell that they are 'cowboys' as they are wearing cowboy shoes, hats etc. They are also seen using a lasso which extends what they are interested in. In this shot that can be seen above, it shows us that they are not the main centre of attention as there are more to the corner and at the back of the shot, meaning that they are less important.

Another person that is significant in the film is a girl that is seen as a 'glam popular girl.' When we as the audience get introduced to this character, the sound gets louder which blocks out all the other sounds around her and makes her the main focus of the shot. Through the use of editing the shot of her walking is also slowed down, nearly in slow motion which gives the effect of her being more glam. Compared to the 'cowboys' she is the centre of attention in the shot, as she is in the centre and at the front, which makes her look more important than the rest. 

Overall, there are clear binary oppositions between the groups in the school through the use of camera, sound and editing. The girl in this comparison is seen more important compared to the cowboys. This also suggests that there is going to be more attention on her.