Clueless Emma Heckerling Analysis

How has Heckerling’s transformation of Emma revealed the changes in context and values?
Heckerling’s transformation of Emma reveals the changes in context and values through sharing its ideas but altering some features. By keeping the ideas the same, Heckerling is able to display the contextual differences. Emma, a novel written by Jane Austen, follows the life of a wealthy woman living in Regency England, 1816. Clueless, a film created by Amy Heckerling, similarly follows the life of a wealthy woman, however unlike Emma, it is set in 1995. Both texts explore themes such as characterisation, personal growth and relationships, but the differences demonstrate the visible changes in context and values.
Heckerling’s transformation forces the main protagonist to be changed so as to
Being Emma’s parallel character, she shares her spoilt qualities, although she experiences it differently. In the opening of the film, Cher is picking out her clothes on a computer, demonstrating her wealth to the audience. She then claims to have a “way normal life for a teenage girl”. The irony of the situation not only shows that Cher is spoilt, but also that Cher lacks awareness of her situation. The title of the film – Clueless – is a reference to this as well, as well as her journey to realisation. When Tai, the Harriet equivalent, realises that Elton doesn’t want her, she asks “If I’m too good for him, then how come I’m not with him?” After hearing this, Cher realises her errors in trying to be a matchmaker. The use of rhetorical question further amplifies Tai’s misery and confusion after being manipulated. This symbolises the beginning of Cher’s personal growth, in the same moment as Emma’s. This shows that while the girls may have been negatively influencing Tai/Harriet, they had good intentions. And at the end of both texts, they’re journey to self-awareness is complete, proving that personal growth is a universally constant