Visual Essay

The movie “Ride Along 2” is about a man named Ben, and his friend James. He is trying to marry James’ sister, Angela, but James won't let him marry until he proves himself as a cop. He agrees to do it, mainly to impress Angela so she would be more willing to marry him.  James is a very experienced cop and Ben is a new recruit. It's not realistic, because in real life, couples would never be expected to prove themselves in the way that Ben had to for marriage. However, it does highlight some male and female expectations in a relationship. TIn the movie shows how different the expectations can be for males and females in a relationship. Ben and James fly to Miami on a mission to stop a dangerous drug lord.“The Taming of The Shrew” also shows a lot of the male and female expectations in a relationship in  Shakespearian Europe. It is interesting to see how they have evolved since 17th century texts. From the book to the movie, men and women in relationships expect the same things, but in different ways.

"Say as he says, or we shall never go"

(Act 4, Scene 5)

At this moment in the play, Petruchio is testing Katherine by saying false things and seeing if she agrees. She pushes back until Hortensio says the quote above. Katherine finally agrees with Petruchio. This shows that what Petruchio wants in a relationship is compliance and submission. On the flip side, In Ride along 2, we can see that there are very different expectations at play.

In this scene, Ben is talking to Angela about how him and James are going away for a little to do some police business.  However, Angela actually wants him to go, so she can plan their wedding, but she doesn't tell Ben this and acts surprised when he brings it up. He makes it sound very important, but what he is really trying to do is win James’ approval for their marriage. He also wants Angela to see him as a better man after this. This shows that Ben thinks his girlfriend expects him to be an amazing man, when in reality, she just expects him to be himself.

"First, kiss me Kate, and we will"

(Act 5, Scene 1)

At this time in the play, Kate and Petruchio do not have any problems with each other. They also have lost all of their attention. Kate wants to go to the wedding banquet, and Petruchio says the quote so that he could draw attention to himself and Kate again. This shows that Petruchio expects attention when in a relationship. This theme also exists in Ride along 2, but it's a little different.

At this point in the movie, Ben is talking to Tasha, as she is dating the drug lord that they are trying to catch. When she refuses, Ben shows her his phone, which reveals that not only is he cheating on her, but he gave all of the other girls cool ringtones, but he gave her a stock apple ringtone. This is enough to make her talk. It shows that women expect to be the only girl that their man talks to and that they must be a priority in his life.

“The Taming of The Shrew” shows that men expect control over their spouse and attention from the outside world. “Ride Along 2” shows us that women expect their spouse to make them their one and only, and they want attention from their spouse. However, one unifying theme that exists for both men and women in both the book and the movie is that everyone expects trust in a relationship, and trust is priceless.