Kat's insistence on her own individuality becomes obvious to the viewer from her first appearance in the film. The diagetic music generating from Katerina's car radio is very different to that favoured by the teenage girls occupying the car to her left. Panning across the width of the road, the camera juxtaposes several frames showing first a group of bubbly teenage girls bouncing to "Barenaked Ladies'" One Week, and then Kat, alone in her car, with a look of utter disdain towards them, "angry chick music of the indie-rock persuasion" blaring unashamedly from the speakers of her car. This use of the juxtaposition of camera shots is effective, making a clear presentation of Kat's fierce personality and individuality to the viewer. As the camera moves back to show the group hastily avert their eyes from Kat's fiery gaze, her negative effect on those around her is also effectively shown by the director in this first scene of the film.
The lyrics of the music playing in Katerina's car, "Don't give a damn about my reputation," also aid in the reinforcement to the viewer of Kat's attitude towards her own individuality. Junger's use of these lyrics as reinforcement continues into the next scene, as the music becomes non-diagetic, heard only by the viewer, as the camera shows Kat's arrival at Padua High School, and the blatant show of her disgust towards her fellow students as she tears a prom poster down from the wall.
Music and it's lyrics are also used extensively throughout the rest of the film, especially to highlight the development of the relationship between Patrick and Katerina. The lyrics of Semisonic's FNT, .
"I'm surprised that you've never been told before, .
That you're lovely.
And you're special.
And that somebody wants you,".
are heard by the viewer as the two frolic in the paintball park, symbolising the development of their feelings for one another.
Bianca appears in the film sporting an image which could not be further from that of her sister, as she floats across the screen, through the clever use of slow-motion camera techniques, to the soft, non-diagetic strains of a romantic melody.
