Whats all the buzz about romance?

Whats all the buzz about romance?

Comparing The Bee Movie to Taming of the Shrew

In William Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew”, a clear theme is the men taking the leading role of romantic relationships. They act as protectors and ones who take care of the women, as well as initiators of the relationship, which is shown through Petruchio to Katherine, and various suitors to Bianca. In the film “The Bee Movie”, this idea managed to sneak its way in as well, with Ken acting as a protector of Vanessa from various things he deems as threats. However, unlike in “Shrew”, Ken is not the full leader of the relationship, as their relationship was eventually broken off by Vanessa, something that would have been nearly impossible in the 1400s. These texts reflect that although the role of men being the leaders of a romantic relationship has shifted more towards equality for both parties, role of men as a protector has remained present through time

"Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper...one that cares for thee, and for thy maintenance commits his body to painful labor...whilst thou liest warm at home, secure and safe "

(Act 5, Scene 2, 155-160)

No characters show this relationship of men being the protectors as clearly as Petruchio and Katherine, who says the above to her sister, Bianca, and to a widow married to Hortensio during a long speech on why women ought to be obedient to their husbands. With this, she is making a point using this as evidence. It is a given at this time that the husbands are the protectors of their wives, who stay at home safely. There is no protest of this by any of the other men or women at this point in hearing her speech, showing that this was in fact the expectation of the men in relationships at the time.

In this scene, Barry is violently confronted by Ken in an attempt to protect Vanessa, his girlfriend, from a bee, who he notices as a threat. However, there was no real threat, nor was there any indication from Vanessa that the bee was any threat--in fact, Vanessa immediately attempted to stop Ken from attacking Barry as soon as she could. However, he immediately attacked it off of an instinct that his girlfriend was in danger and she needed to be protected.

"And, for that dowry, I’ll assure her of her widowhood, be it that she survive me, in all my lands and leases whatsoever. Let specialties be therefore drawn between us, that covenants may be kept on either hand."

(Act 2, Scene 1, 116-120)

This quote, spoken by Petruchio to Baptista, is in regards to negotiations being done between them so that Petruchio has Baptista’s blessing in him marrying Katherine. In order for that to be the case, Petruchio has to offer something to Baptista, and he offers that if he were to die before Katherine, all of his possessions would go to her.

The success of this offer shows that when negotiating a marriage, what the father is looking for is for there to be a promise of safety for his daughter. What Petruchio is basically saying is that Baptista has nothing to worry about, for Katherine will be “assured of her widowhood.” Baptista then agrees to the marriage because the expectation of Katherine being protected has been met.

In this scene, Ken again confronts Barry in the bathroom, but under different circumstances. Ken now understands that Barry is not a physical threat to Vanessa, as this is later in the movie and they have become acquainted, but he instead perceives him as an emotional threat, trying to manipulate Vanessa. This is clearly shown through the line he uses to instigate this fight, “I’ve just about had it with your little mind games.”

It’s clear that the relationship between Vanessa and Ken is not as male-dominated as the one between Katherine and Petruchio. Vanessa had the jurisdiction to terminate the relationship later in the story, something that would have been difficult for Katherine to do. However, that doesn’t mean that the expected role of each person in a romance has changed completely, which is clear from the protective role that Ken feels he has to play, even when there is no imminent danger.



Works Cited

Shakespeare, William, G. R. Hibbard, and Margaret Jane Kidnie. The Taming of the Shrew. UK: Penguin, 2015. Print.

DreamWorks Animation ; Columbus 81 Productions ; Pacific Data Images ; produced by Jerry Seinfeld, Christina Steinberg ; written by Jerry Seinfeld and Spike Feresten & Barry Marder & Andy Robin ; directed by Steve Hickner, Simon J. Smith ; head of character animation, Fabio Lignini. Bee Movie. Hollywood, Calif. :Paramount Home Entertainment, 2008. Print.