Clueless Movie Analysis

Amy Heckerling, director of Clueless, makes a decent attempt of displaying cleverness and individuality in her adaptation of Emma by Jane Austen. Although the film is not an identical replica of Austen’s novel, especially because there is a lot of ground to cover in Emma, it does closely follow the novel in terms of characters, plot, and themes. Parallels between the characters in Clueless and the characters in Emma are very straightforward. It is evident that Emma is portrayed by Cher; Frank by Christian; Mr. Elton by Elton; Harriet by Tai; Mr. Knightley by Josh; Mr. Martin by Travis; and Mr. Woodhouse by Mel. The characters in the movie carry the same general air the characters in the novel have. For example, Cher, like Emma, comes from a wealthy background, and she feels that it is her duty to help the new girl, Tai, by setting her up with the socially acceptable Elton. Just like the novel, Cher’s plan falls through when she is trapped in Elton’s car while he tries to push himself onto her. Also, Cher deems the skateboarding pothead,

For instance, many of the characters’ problems in the novel revolve around marriage, which is very important topic to the people who lived during the Regency Period. Unlike the aristocrats, marriage is not really racking the mind of a typical high school student in the twentieth century, but who dates who is— especially in terms of social position. Like Mr. Elton, Elton would never date a girl like Tai because she does not come from a wealthy background, and thus, is not on his level. Also, as Emma vows to preserve her independence by staying single, Cher declares to maintain her independence by staying a virgin. People who watch this movie now, especially teenagers, can find these dilemmas more relatable than reading about teenagers who struggle to find an idyllic