My Emma/Clueless offering

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A nice sheet I got...

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part 2

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part 3

[gordo]

http://www.jasa.net.au/study/transformations.htm

[sarahxx]

that avatar is crazy

[paris 183]

Originally Posted by Komaticom

If anyone (esp from Sefton High) wants numerous essays on Emma/Clueless (which were co-written by my tutor and I), feel free to give me a shout and I'll post them up here.

can u please post the emma/clueless essays im in desperate need

[blo0m_gurl14]

Originally Posted by Komaticom

If anyone (esp from Sefton High) wants numerous essays on Emma/Clueless (which were co-written by my tutor and I), feel free to give me a shout and I'll post them up here.

Hi! Can u pls. post those Emma/Clueless essays that u mentioned? Thanx!

[Monstar]

Thanks ALOT man. I need all the help i can get.

[-=cas=-]

Hey thanks guys for all ur help. love wat ur doing

[charcharxx]

Thankyou so much for those sheets!

i have my first set of HSC exams tomorrow (some bright spark suggested that we have half yearlys as well as trials) and i have done nothing

so scared.

xxxx

[lgaica]

my hsc essay: do what you will

In her 1995 postmodern “teen pic” film Clueless (1995) Amy Heckerling recontextualizes Jane Austen’s prose novel Emma (1816). This is achieved through transforming the C19th values of Austen’s time as relevant C20th values that reflect a late 1990s context. The similarities comment on the unchanging nature and universality of certain values, whilst contrasting values highlight societal changes. Austen’s strict parochial world of Highbury is transformed into the “hip” permissive world of Beverly Hills.
The first apparent contrast between Clueless and Emma is the worlds in which the characters live. Heckerling ironically reflects the insularity of Highbury through Beverly Hills, a world of celebrity culture that is like an “island” of ignorant tranquility in the heart of a city plagued by conflicts between cultures, races and economic classes. These microcosmic worlds allow both composers to focus on specific characters, their interactions and follies. Heckerling presents viewers with a set that often looks contrived as if it was the background of a commercial. During the introduction of Clueless the moving camera shots and blurred backgrounds make Cher’s life look like a commercial or MTV music video, reflecting the commercial and consumer values of C20th American youth.
A key part of Emma and Clueless are the class distinctions and social hierarchies that define their worlds. In Emma, social status affected one’s lifestyle and opinion of others. Austen uses omniscient narration to show Emma’s social standing “Highbury … afforded her no equals”. This is an allusion to the C19th value of strict social hierarchy and the boundaries of perceived classes. Austen satirizes Emma’s snobbery when she dissuades Harriet from a match with Robert Martin, announcing “The yeomanry are precisely the order of people with which I can have nothing to do”. And despite the Coles being “friendly, liberal and unpretending”, these characteristics of genuine worth aren’t valued by Emma against the deficiencies of being “of low origin, in trade and only moderately genteel.” Austen criticizes the values in Emma’s society which approves status based on birth, nobility and positioning within strict social decorum. In Clueless, one is judged based on image, popularity and wealth. Heckerling subverts the rigid class distinctions of Emma into the modern day school “cliques” in which everyone has their respective place. Heckerling uses mise-en-scene, panning shots and slang as Cher guides Tai around the school grounds, saying things like “They’re the Persian Mafia; you can’t hang with them unless you own BMWs” and “the loadies, who no respectable girl would date”. By juxtaposing shots of the various cliques combined with Cher’s commentary, Heckerling demonstrates that society has moved to a more materialistic and image-driven nature to define status, rather than by birthright and inheritance apparent in Emma.
Other characters in Emma are also concerned with social status. When Mr Elton has just proposed to Emma in the carriage scene and Emma has refused, saying that he must be drunk, mistaking her for Harriet, Mr Elton replies, outraged: “Miss Smith! I need not totally despair of an equal alliance as to be addressing myself to Ms Smith.” Austen uses this dialogue to present the importance of social hierarchy in the C19th gentry. Heckerling recontextualizes this incident to reflect late C20th values and setting when, in the car, Mr Elton’s respective character Elton says to Cher “Don’t you know who my father is?” after Cher tries to set him up with Tai. Heckerling’s viewers are able to interpret this snobbery and where Elton sees his place in their society from this rhetorical question.

Another value presented in both texts is the issue of how society judges people in their respective contexts. In Emma it is clear that the C19th British gentry judge people on their birthplace in society, their manners and etiquette. As Emma endeavors to teach Harriet about how to be respected in Highbury she focuses solely on manners, flimsy cultural knowledge and knowing ones place in society in relation to one’s peers. Using narration through Emma’s consciousness, Austen says “she would improve her, she would detach her from all bad acquaintance and introduce her into good society” showing how one is seen to be socially superior through interactions with the upper class. Emma is impressed with Harriet’s progress and Mr Elton goes as far as to say “You have given Miss Smith all that she requires”. Here Austen is sharing the absurdity of placing such importance on manners and status, which were key values of the C19th upper-class context.
In Clueless Heckerling presents how in a C20th context, society is also superficial in its judgment of people. Importance is placed on appearance and popularity, and Cher presents this when she says “I’m going to take that lost soul (Tai) and make her well-dressed and popular”, showing the superficiality of C20th society that argues one is said to have an unhealthy soul if one is not “well-dressed” by Cher’s standards and popular amongst her circle of friends. The superficiality of the make-over is combined with the playing of “Supermodel” by Jewel Sobule and a panning shot of Tai, highlighting the unnecessary placing of values of popularity and image in the C20th. While the original intention of Emma and Cher is to “improve” their friends, the end result is an improvement in themselves. Through their experiences they realize the faults and weaknesses in themselves, learning to value others for their personal qualities, not just appearances.
A significant value presented in Austen’s novel is marriage, which had great importance in her day, when everyone was expected to marry at some point in their life. Marriage gave women a social rank above those who were not married. Love was usually secondary in marriage, as it served more as a means of gaining financial security. Emma, who is already wealthy and of high rank says, “I have none of the usual inducements of young women to marry”. Heckerling appropriates Austen’s theme of marriage into casual relationships and sexuality, which can be seen in the relationship between Dion and Murray. Heckerling uses crude jokes and overt sexual references such as “jeepin” and “hymenally challenged” to show how society has become more diverse in its acceptance of casual sexual relationships. As well as this, the permanence of marriage is no longer an issue, as shown by Mel who is currently on “wife number 4” and says “you divorce wives not children!” showing that divorce is now common in C20th society.

[Lexii-]

I have to write an essay for Advanced English.
My essay question is: "How does a study of 'Emma' bring to the fore ideas about the quality of relationships in society?". I don't even get what that means haha, or maybe I'm just not reading it properly.

[lgaica]

Originally Posted by Lexii-

I have to write an essay for Advanced English.
My essay question is: "How does a study of 'Emma' bring to the fore ideas about the quality of relationships in society?". I don't even get what that means haha, or maybe I'm just not reading it properly.

talk about how studying this text, you learn about societies interactions, and how the relationships between various characters show us the different values of the times such as social class etc

[Seza16]

what is the social, historical, cultural context of clueless?

[-coffee-addict-]

im so confused with emma/clueless...