How Humans Relate to Each Other and Their Larger Society Can Vary Across Different Times and Cultures

With changes in time and culture comes changes in the way humans relate to each other and their larger society. Clueless, by Amy Heckerling, appropriates Emma, by Jane Austen, and contains similar values, however, it is set over two hundred years later and therefore the cultural differences are quite prominent. This means the way the characters relate to each other is different because of the varied contexts. Heckerling has kept some values and changed others because of the new genre it is aimed at, the teenpic genre. The social interaction between the characters is very different and the places where the interactions take place differ also. In Emma, the characters meet at dinner parties, picnics, afternoon teas or sometimes dances or balls. In the early 19th Century it was particularly important for people of upper middle class to interact often with the people around them, and to interact with people of lower classes. This is no different in Emma. A lot of the interaction happens when Emma goes on walks(particularly with Harriet). Often these end up leading to having tea, especially with Miss Bates. The way the characters of Emma related was due to the way society was, there was no TV, computers, mobile phones etc. therefore a lot more time was spent in company with others. Many of the pivotal moments in Emma occurred in ‘gatherings’ of one kind or another, for example the picnic at Box Hill where Emma was rude to Miss Bates. The social interaction between characters is expressed through Austen’s descriptive language and use of omniscient point of view. The descriptive language gives the reader a clearer view of the scene and emphasises the importance of the situation, this was more important because it showed wealth and position in society. The omniscient point of view gives the reader a chance to make up their own mind about the surroundings. In Clueless the social interactions are less formal because they occur more often, at the mall, school,