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Emma Cher-ing the Spotlight
“It darted through her, with the speed of an arrow, that Mr. Knightley must marry no one but herself!” –Emma
“Then suddenly, Oh my God, I love Josh. I am majorly, totally, butt crazy in love with Josh!” –Clueless
If you take away the 1990’s Beverly Hills slang and change it to 19th century proper English, you pretty much have the same line. This among many other things gives you a “Modern” version of the Jane Austen classic.
Even though “Clueless” is only about an hour and a half, it still provides the same satirical view on the “Rich society” or more commonly known as a “Comedy of Manners”.
You say “Nothing can beat one of Jane Austen’s best.” You are 100% right. Nothing can beat it. All this movie is, is a transformation of a text into something a broader audience can understand today.
In almost all aspects Heckerling, the creator of “Clueless”, has included all the components of Emma into her film. A country village called Highbury has become an urban high school in Beverley Hills. Characters such as Mr. Martin becomes Travis and Harriet becomes Tai. Pieces, which can only belong to the 19th century England, have cleverly been transformed to suit modern day society, such as carriages becoming cars and portraits becoming photos.
The principle of each text has stayed the same: matchmaking as the central plotting devices and a means for the moral improvement of Emma and Cher. Both explores the danger of a girl ”having too much of her own way“ and thinking ‘too much of herself“. The source of each heroine’s smugness and self-absorption relates to the closeness of their society and the lack of either an authoritative figure to guide them or siblings in which to share with and criticise one another.
However, in Emma there are times in which the reader is left as clueless as the heroine is. For example, many readers are totally taken aback when the secret engagement between Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax is revealed.
Clueless, however, has no major surprises here. Christian’s homosexuality and the fact that Josh fancies Cher are presented openly for the audience. This expands on Heckerling’s understanding that modern audiences require such explicit explanations.
The US in the 1900s is not so different to Britain in the early 1880s, one being today’s superpower, and the other being yesterdays colonial power. In Austen’s world, the French Revolution was beginning to question social hierarchy and the privileges of the gentry. Thus, in Emma Austen attempts to show that the class system can work, but only if the upper classes are genuinely charitable to the lower class.
Austen’s model gentleman is found in Mr. Knightley. His sincere sense of charity, his flawless manners and perpetual graciousness resulted in a unanimous respect from the community.
Not only is he kindly to the less fortunate (e.g. Miss Bates) but he respects people on the basis of their character rather than their class (e.g. Robert Martin.) He is the model to which Emma must aspire, and by making her see past her isolated social sphere he shows her how she misjudged herself, and misjudged others.
The US too feels that their status entails an obligatory duty to help less fortunate nations. Technological advances has led to globalisation, and thus charity extends beyond the barriers, of not only ones social circle, but beyond national boundaries.
Therefore, Josh’s charitable and worldly nature is shown through his interest in international news and his commitment to charities (eg. Seen dressed in “Breast cancer foundation” and “Amnesty International” shirts).
Clueless’ introduction of homosexuality with the character Christian, along with the racial diversity of the characters, is an obvious reflection of the 90’s culture, where reactions of society to ethnic minorities and homosexuality have greatly changed, and these groups being embraced into mainstream society.
In 19th century England, marriage was as much a business decision as a romantic one. Movement between classes was extremely difficult, considering one”s position in the hierarchy was determined by birth. Marriage was used to form alliances,
guarantee financial security and climb the social ladder.
Emma, however, feels no compulsion to make a good match in order to secure her future; ‘a single woman, of good fortune, is always respectable, and may be as sensible and pleasant as anybody else.’
She need not fear becoming an impoverished old maid, a figure of pathos, like pathos, like Miss Bates or an accomplished young woman like Miss Fairfax who must marry to escape work as a governess. Emma, is a member of the gentry, who can afford to marry for love.
In modern society, social classes still exists, now represented in the microcosm of a high school society. (For example, Cher and Dionne reprimand Tai for showing an interest in Travis, a “loadie”. “No respectable girl actually dates them.”). However, the rankings are now based on wealth, appearance and social connections.
For example, the Woodhouses are placed highly in society from their ‘gentility’ and old family connections. While wealth was important, one was never considered a true member of the gentry unless they were borninto it.
Mel and Cher, however, enjoy their social superiority from the wealth derived not from inheritance, but Mel”s hard work as one of the top litigators in LA.
These elements are far easier to alter than birth and therefore, movement between classes is also easier (as proved by Tai, whose popularity rises higher than Cher’s.)
This makes marriage a far less important aspect of living, reflected in Clueless.
Marriage is no longer taken as seriously (as shown by the numerous marriages of
Mel) and is not a serious issue for the film’s characters.
Cher: ”Well, you can guess what happens next.’ A BRIDE SEEN FROM BEHIND, Cher: ”As if! I mean I’m only sixteen and this is California not Kentucky.’
Therefore, even though Cher shares the same comfort in life (daughter of a highly respected, successful and wealthy man) as Emma, her freedom to marry for love is far more common in her society.
Hence, to maintain the protagonist”s decision to defy social norm, Heckerling uses sex rather than marriage.
Despite the sex-obsessed society in which Cher lives, Cher is ‘saving herself for Luke Perry.’ Unlike a lot of teenagers, Cher is determined to wait until she finds the right person.
While sex or casual romances have replaced marriage, a reflection on changing values, the text can be seen as essentially conservative.
After all, love is still presented as the ultimate goal for most of the women.
Each character comes to realise whom they love and the unhappiness they experience without the return of this love.
In Emma, Austen uses irony to not only expose her characters” misguided assumptions, but to also condemn the social norms that help foster such beliefs.
Irony in Austen’s work appears in a number of ways. It can manifest itself during a verbal exchange (most commonly seen between Emma and Harriet) or visually.
In Clueless, Heckerling employs cinematic techniques, which capture the satiric elements of the novel. Like Austen, she presents the glaring gap between the heroine’s perceptions of events and the events themselves.
One of the most significant cinematic techniques employed by Heckerling is the use of a voice-over for Cher. A voice-over is always temporally distinct from the visually realized events, allowing the audience to gain an insight into Cher”s thinking.
It captures the contradiction between actual events and her perception and confidence in her own misguided views.
This is clearly evident in the opening of the film, where she asserts that she is a normal teenager who gets dressed in the morning like any other, accompanied by a vision of Cher choosing her outfit of the day through the aid of a computer “outfit coordinating program.”
Some consider Cher’s mistake with Lucy, their maid’s, ethnicity (mistakes Mexico for El Salvador) and her ensuing flippancy over her error Heckerling’s equivalent to Austen’s “Boxhill” incident.
However, in Clueless this event has such little impact on the protagonist and the story that it can hardly be held up next to that in Emma. In Emma, this incident becomes the turning point for changing values.
Although Miss Bates previously acted only as comic relief in Emma, in this occasion she serves a greater purpose. No matter how absurd, chattering or boorish she maybe, even Miss Bates deserved to be treated with some dignity. Her low situation makes her need kind treatment even more. This is what makes Emma’s sharp remark so cruel.
As Mr. Knightley, the voice of reason in the novel, upbraids Emma she immediately becomes ashamed of her behaviour and for the first time becomes aware of her ‘Insufferable vanity’ and “unpardonable arrogance.” Emma clearly wishes to repent and show genuine remorse of her behaviour.
Emma and Clueless are certainly different, the main differences being the techniques used in the creation e.g. novel vs. film.
One is set in nineteenth century England, the other in late twentieth century America. Studying clueless gives us insight into how the characters of Emma might behave in the modern day context, while reading Emma reminds us how the themes of Clueless were just as relevant in Jane Austen‘s time.
The study of changing worlds and society’s but keeping themes also makes us consider whether this will continue in future societies and makes us more aware of these themes in our own lives.
“It darted through her, with the speed of an arrow, that Mr. Knightley must marry no one but herself!” –Emma
“Then suddenly, Oh my God, I love Josh. I am majorly, totally, butt crazy in love with Josh!” –Clueless
If you take away the 1990’s Beverly Hills slang and change it to 19th century proper English, you pretty much have the same line. This among many other things gives you a “Modern” version of the Jane Austen classic.
Even though “Clueless” is only about an hour and a half, it still provides the same satirical view on the “Rich society” or more commonly known as a “Comedy of Manners”.
You say “Nothing can beat one of Jane Austen’s best.” You are 100% right. Nothing can beat it. All this movie is, is a transformation of a text into something a broader audience can understand today.
In almost all aspects Heckerling, the creator of “Clueless”, has included all the components of Emma into her film. A country village called Highbury has become an urban high school in Beverley Hills. Characters such as Mr. Martin becomes Travis and Harriet becomes Tai. Pieces, which can only belong to the 19th century England, have cleverly been transformed to suit modern day society, such as carriages becoming cars and portraits becoming photos.
The principle of each text has stayed the same: matchmaking as the central plotting devices and a means for the moral improvement of Emma and Cher. Both explores the danger of a girl ”having too much of her own way“ and thinking ‘too much of herself“. The source of each heroine’s smugness and self-absorption relates to the closeness of their society and the lack of either an authoritative figure to guide them or siblings in which to share with and criticise one another.
However, in Emma there are times in which the reader is left as clueless as the heroine is. For example, many readers are totally taken aback when the secret engagement between Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax is revealed.
Clueless, however, has no major surprises here. Christian’s homosexuality and the fact that Josh fancies Cher are presented openly for the audience. This expands on Heckerling’s understanding that modern audiences require such explicit explanations.
The US in the 1900s is not so different to Britain in the early 1880s, one being today’s superpower, and the other being yesterdays colonial power. In Austen’s world, the French Revolution was beginning to question social hierarchy and the privileges of the gentry. Thus, in Emma Austen attempts to show that the class system can work, but only if the upper classes are genuinely charitable to the lower class.
Austen’s model gentleman is found in Mr. Knightley. His sincere sense of charity, his flawless manners and perpetual graciousness resulted in a unanimous respect from the community.
Not only is he kindly to the less fortunate (e.g. Miss Bates) but he respects people on the basis of their character rather than their class (e.g. Robert Martin.) He is the model to which Emma must aspire, and by making her see past her isolated social sphere he shows her how she misjudged herself, and misjudged others.
The US too feels that their status entails an obligatory duty to help less fortunate nations. Technological advances has led to globalisation, and thus charity extends beyond the barriers, of not only ones social circle, but beyond national boundaries.
Therefore, Josh’s charitable and worldly nature is shown through his interest in international news and his commitment to charities (eg. Seen dressed in “Breast cancer foundation” and “Amnesty International” shirts).
Clueless’ introduction of homosexuality with the character Christian, along with the racial diversity of the characters, is an obvious reflection of the 90’s culture, where reactions of society to ethnic minorities and homosexuality have greatly changed, and these groups being embraced into mainstream society.
guarantee financial security and climb the social ladder.
Emma, however, feels no compulsion to make a good match in order to secure her future; ‘a single woman, of good fortune, is always respectable, and may be as sensible and pleasant as anybody else.’
She need not fear becoming an impoverished old maid, a figure of pathos, like pathos, like Miss Bates or an accomplished young woman like Miss Fairfax who must marry to escape work as a governess. Emma, is a member of the gentry, who can afford to marry for love.
In modern society, social classes still exists, now represented in the microcosm of a high school society. (For example, Cher and Dionne reprimand Tai for showing an interest in Travis, a “loadie”. “No respectable girl actually dates them.”). However, the rankings are now based on wealth, appearance and social connections.
For example, the Woodhouses are placed highly in society from their ‘gentility’ and old family connections. While wealth was important, one was never considered a true member of the gentry unless they were borninto it.
Mel and Cher, however, enjoy their social superiority from the wealth derived not from inheritance, but Mel”s hard work as one of the top litigators in LA.
These elements are far easier to alter than birth and therefore, movement between classes is also easier (as proved by Tai, whose popularity rises higher than Cher’s.)
This makes marriage a far less important aspect of living, reflected in Clueless.
Marriage is no longer taken as seriously (as shown by the numerous marriages of
Mel) and is not a serious issue for the film’s characters.
Cher: ”Well, you can guess what happens next.’ A BRIDE SEEN FROM BEHIND, Cher: ”As if! I mean I’m only sixteen and this is California not Kentucky.’
Therefore, even though Cher shares the same comfort in life (daughter of a highly respected, successful and wealthy man) as Emma, her freedom to marry for love is far more common in her society.
Hence, to maintain the protagonist”s decision to defy social norm, Heckerling uses sex rather than marriage.
Despite the sex-obsessed society in which Cher lives, Cher is ‘saving herself for Luke Perry.’ Unlike a lot of teenagers, Cher is determined to wait until she finds the right person.
While sex or casual romances have replaced marriage, a reflection on changing values, the text can be seen as essentially conservative.
After all, love is still presented as the ultimate goal for most of the women.
Each character comes to realise whom they love and the unhappiness they experience without the return of this love.
In Emma, Austen uses irony to not only expose her characters” misguided assumptions, but to also condemn the social norms that help foster such beliefs.
Irony in Austen’s work appears in a number of ways. It can manifest itself during a verbal exchange (most commonly seen between Emma and Harriet) or visually.
In Clueless, Heckerling employs cinematic techniques, which capture the satiric elements of the novel. Like Austen, she presents the glaring gap between the heroine’s perceptions of events and the events themselves.
One of the most significant cinematic techniques employed by Heckerling is the use of a voice-over for Cher. A voice-over is always temporally distinct from the visually realized events, allowing the audience to gain an insight into Cher”s thinking.
It captures the contradiction between actual events and her perception and confidence in her own misguided views.
This is clearly evident in the opening of the film, where she asserts that she is a normal teenager who gets dressed in the morning like any other, accompanied by a vision of Cher choosing her outfit of the day through the aid of a computer “outfit coordinating program.”
Some consider Cher’s mistake with Lucy, their maid’s, ethnicity (mistakes Mexico for El Salvador) and her ensuing flippancy over her error Heckerling’s equivalent to Austen’s “Boxhill” incident.
However, in Clueless this event has such little impact on the protagonist and the story that it can hardly be held up next to that in Emma. In Emma, this incident becomes the turning point for changing values.
Although Miss Bates previously acted only as comic relief in Emma, in this occasion she serves a greater purpose. No matter how absurd, chattering or boorish she maybe, even Miss Bates deserved to be treated with some dignity. Her low situation makes her need kind treatment even more. This is what makes Emma’s sharp remark so cruel.
As Mr. Knightley, the voice of reason in the novel, upbraids Emma she immediately becomes ashamed of her behaviour and for the first time becomes aware of her ‘Insufferable vanity’ and “unpardonable arrogance.” Emma clearly wishes to repent and show genuine remorse of her behaviour.
Emma and Clueless are certainly different, the main differences being the techniques used in the creation e.g. novel vs. film.
One is set in nineteenth century England, the other in late twentieth century America. Studying clueless gives us insight into how the characters of Emma might behave in the modern day context, while reading Emma reminds us how the themes of Clueless were just as relevant in Jane Austen‘s time.
The study of changing worlds and society’s but keeping themes also makes us consider whether this will continue in future societies and makes us more aware of these themes in our own lives.