The film has become such an important part of the American culture that there have been countless adaptations of the story. As mentioned before, this movie is important because we are able to identify with all characters and learn something about ourselves while doing so. The creation of additional films and Broadway musicals that tell this story through another character’s perspective and have also found enormous success in doing so. Not only is the movie of high quality with a strong plot line, but it is so universal that is has become woven into both the American culture due to it being a movie that appeals to…
In observing Jane Austen's Emma and Amy Heckerling's Clueless we are able to compare the symbolical manifestations and realistic products of both Emma and Cher’s social environment. “Clueless” is a coming-of-age romantic comedy that reflects upon the values explored throughout “Emma” such as social class. Each of their social contexts is portrayed by the composers' differences and parallels of values. These values assist in confirming the social contexts within both texts. Emma Woodhouse is part of the rich, upscale society in 19th century England where her family is highly looked upon, while Cher Horowitz lives in the upscale Beverly Hills of California where Cher and her father are also viewed as the cultural elite.…
Clueless, an adaptation of Jane Austen 's 1815 novel, Emma, is a 1995 American film by director, Amy Heckerling. The comedy serves as a 20th century update of the original text that shifts into creating a contemporary Emma, one for our own era. Though Clueless seems to set forth on building its reputation on a completely new, distinct ground, it is not an entirely different work of art. Considerable amounts of uniformities between the adaptation and Emma can be pinpointed throughout. As “Clueless is most faithful to Emma in its recreation of the plot involving Mr. Elton, Harriet Smith, and Emma” (Troost, Linda, and Greenfield 124), several parallels between the two distinctive texts, concerning this matter, can be recognized. One outstanding example is the correspondence and connection between the modern photography scene in Clueless and the sketching/painting of Harriet’s portrait in Emma. Hence, along with the novel’s highly persuasive guidance and the two’s so-called loose relation, various similarities as well as differences are inevitably present.…
Parallels are drawn between the values and attitudes of post-modern and regency society in Emma 's carriage incident and Clueless ' car scene. In Emma, Mr Elton displays complete disgust and outrage at the notion of marrying the socially inferior Harriet, exclaiming 'Good heaven! What can be the meaning of this? ' This segregation and incompatibility of differing social classes is also portrayed in Clueless through Elton 's outburst of 'Don 't you even know who my father is? ' revealing the transcending importance of family background and social connections, and the superficiality within both societies.…
The movie focused almost entirely on the love story between reformed playboy, Verigible Woods (aka, Tea Cake) and Janie. However there were so many more layers to the novel, including studies in developmental psychology and cultural anthropology.…
Cher and Emma come from wealthy families. Cher’s father is a lawyer and receives $500 and hour to “fight with people”. Also she lives in a family mansion with big columns that date “to 1972!” Emma’s father is wealthy and lives in a large house, setting her apart from others in Highbury. She inherits her father’s money because she is the landed gentry. Emma has a large dowry making Mr Elton interested in her. When Emma was written the industrial revolution was under way. Families started to earn their fortune through trade. Emma isn’t sure how to react to this. This is a case of inherited wealth versus ‘new’ wealth. In both Emma and Clueless, money and wealth are status deciders. In Emma, having a substantial wealth often meant the entry into good society. You were able to host dinner parties and balls with the wealth that you had. In Clueless, there are many cases of irony throughout the film. In the very first scene, Cher says that she has a “way normal life for a teenage girl” and then goes to her computer to choose her outfit from her revolving…
Heckerling uses voice overs to tell the audience Cher’s thoughts and the challenges that she faces in life. This is different to Emma, as Austin uses an omniscient narrator, which explains all of the different character’s thoughts. The voice over creates a bias as Cher is the only character who is allowed to speak directly to the audience. Heckerling uses this bias to allow viewers to have an insight into a stereo typical teenage girl’s life. “I feel like such a heifer. I had two bowls of Special K, 3 pieces of turkey bacon, a handful of popcorn, 5 peanut butter M&M's and like 3 pieces of licorice.” This differs from Emma as we do not see directly into Emma’s thoughts but they are instead relayed to us by the narrator. By using the voice overs Heckerling is able to show Cher’s motives. Some of the motives behind what Emma does are overlooked by Austin as Emma herself does not get to speak to the audience. “If a woman doubts as to whether she should accept a man or not, she certainly ought to…
The most amazing character in this movie is Louise. She shows the power of a woman who is fed up with life and controlled by both men and the government and wishes to make a move to have a new life. Louise is a simple woman, a waitress in a diner-style restaurant. She comes out as an independent…
Both the main characters, Emma, and Cher, have one major thing in common: money. Emma’s family lives in a huge estate, Hartfield…
In “Emma”, the use of the rhetorical question “Could it be?” suggests the character’s sudden realization and perception. Additionally, ot ex[resses “Emma’s” concern and anxiety towards Knightley when she feared that he might be interested in Harriet. This however, is equivalent in contrasting with “Clueless” as the epiphany is portrayed through the “Fountain” scene in relations with “bright lights” and “trumpet fanfare”. Utilizing this hyperbole technique symbolizes Cher’s moment of recognition when she realizes her feelings for Josh. She articulates this through the voiceover “I love Josh”, drawing the audience’s attention. This intrinsic viewpoint of film presentation enables viewers in modern society to grasp the theme transformed from Jane Austen’s novel…
PB: The values and attitudes that Austen has chosen to explore in Emma address the strict nature of social classes and the consequence of self-awareness.…
reader to reflect on Emma’s behaviour as a reflection of the context of her society and the value put on social hierarchy and status. The opening scene of Amy Heckerling's film, Clueless, made in the 1990’s, immediately adopts Austen's ironic tone. The energetic montage and quick succession of camera angles of Cher and her fellow teenagers indulging in luxurious activities in…
"The real evils indeed of Emma's situation were the power of rather having too much her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself; [ ]." This arrogance can be seen by her matchmaking attempts. It was Emma who set up the marriage between her governess Ms. Taylor and Mr. Weston. The corresponding characters in the movie Clueless are two teachers of Cher Mr. Hall and Ms. Geist. The sequence of events, however, does not correspond to the novel. Mr. Hall and Ms. Geist only marry at the end of the…
The main characters, Emma and Cher are representational products of their society and parallels can be drawn in the opening scenes, particularly in relation to self-knowledge. The Bildungsroman progression from delusion to social awareness is a universal value in both texts despite their differing contexts. Emma is introduced as “handsome, clever, and rich” who had “a disposition to think a little too well of herself.” Austen’s satirical tone as the omniscient narrator alerts the responder to Emma’s inability to understand her position in society. Furthermore, while Emma successfully matches Mr. Weston and Ms. Taylor, her motives are superficial as she sees it as “the greatest amusement in the world!” She also believes Harriet’s beauty “should not be wasted on the inferior society”, and it would be “interesting and highly becoming” to “improve her”. Austen employs verbal irony through Emma’s dialogue, which exposes her flaws of arrogance and shallowness. However, Emma eventually develops self awareness as shown when she realizes her mistake of matching Harriet with Mr. Elton and influencing her to refuse a suitable marriage with Mr. Martin.…
In the novel Emma, by Jane Austen, the town of Highbury may be associated with safety and security. However, events and emotions prove otherwise. Danger, pain and risk are more common in Highbury than safety and security.…