Comparative Analysis Between Emma and Clueless
Texts can be re-contextualised and manipulated in order to be relevant to a modern day society. However, the transformation is usually apparent and thus a link can be established between the original and the new. The transformation can give the audience a better understanding of societal values and attitudes present in the texts. Jane Austen's book Emma(1816), relevant to society in Regency England, is relived in a modern day context relevant to the 20th century American society in Amy Heckerling's “teen flick” Clueless(1995). Social status plays a crucial part in both texts.
“Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and a happy disposition...”(pg.1,chap.1) lived in nineteenth century Regency England, where social status was dictated by wealth and breeding, which as a rule could only be inherited. This insured that wealth stayed within family circles and that the poor could not rise up the social ladder and make a better life for themselves. If one was of good breeding and wealth, such as Emma, one would be high ranking in society almost regardless of what one would do, as long as one did not violate the rigid rules of upper class life. Because women did not travel much in those days, especially not for entertainment, Emma was largely confined to her father's large estate with nothing much to do. Her family's status made it socially unacceptable for her to do much else apart from sitting around, pursuing the fine arts, in order to show how wealthy they were. The limited availability of entertainment and places to go gives the audience a strong sense of the confined nature of an upper class woman's existence at that time.
The song “Kids in America” juxtaposed to the moving clips of Cher's extravagant lifestyle in the opening scene implies that all kids in America live like this. The image is further satirised by Heckerling when Cher states that she leads a “... way normal life for a teenage girl.” The irony in this statement is
“Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and a happy disposition...”(pg.1,chap.1) lived in nineteenth century Regency England, where social status was dictated by wealth and breeding, which as a rule could only be inherited. This insured that wealth stayed within family circles and that the poor could not rise up the social ladder and make a better life for themselves. If one was of good breeding and wealth, such as Emma, one would be high ranking in society almost regardless of what one would do, as long as one did not violate the rigid rules of upper class life. Because women did not travel much in those days, especially not for entertainment, Emma was largely confined to her father's large estate with nothing much to do. Her family's status made it socially unacceptable for her to do much else apart from sitting around, pursuing the fine arts, in order to show how wealthy they were. The limited availability of entertainment and places to go gives the audience a strong sense of the confined nature of an upper class woman's existence at that time.
The song “Kids in America” juxtaposed to the moving clips of Cher's extravagant lifestyle in the opening scene implies that all kids in America live like this. The image is further satirised by Heckerling when Cher states that she leads a “... way normal life for a teenage girl.” The irony in this statement is
Bibliography: Austen, Jane. Emma. London: Oxford University Press, 1960. Clueless, written and directed by Amy Heckerling, produced by Paramount Pictures. U.S.A., 1995.