„Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existance; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.“ (Austen, p.5)
„Cher: 'Okay, so you're probably going, "Is this like a Noxema-commercial or what?" But seriously, I actually have a way normal life for a teenage girl.'“ (Clueless)
Some things don't ever seem to change: whether it is England in 1816 or Holly¬wood in 1995, the stories of Emma Woodhouse and Cher Horowitz have a lot in common. Of course, the first one was written as a novel by Jane Austen and the other one is a movie directed by Amy Heckerling, one takes place in Highbury around the landed gentry of 19th century England and the other one is set in 1990's Beverly Hills, but when you take a closer look, the similarities are stunning. Even though it never was officially credited, it is clear that „Clueless“ is a contemporary adaption, or as Lesley Stern chose to call it, an update, of Austen's „Emma“. In the same time, it is the first one released during the 1990's, being followed by no less than ten different adaptations of Austen's work, amongst them Ang Lee's „Sense and Sensibility“ (1995 as well), the BBC-miniseries of „Pride and Prejudice“ (1995), two other versions of „Emma“ (both 1996) and the latest Hollywoos-success with Keira Knightly, „Pride and Prejudice“ (2005). This „Austen-movie-trend“ does not seem to stop – the Internet Movie Database names two tv-productions already completed for 2007 and another three (one Bollywood- and two tvproductions) being in production. But what is it that makes Austen's six novels, and especially three of them, so popular as draft for screenplays, for visual adaptations? On the following pages, I will take a closer look at the the update of „Emma“, Amy Heckerling's „Clueless“.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Updating Highbury.
- What's happening here? - A Twin Peaks-experience
- 3. Playing hide and seek, or: who is who?
- 4. In power? - Cher's loss of control
- 5. As if!!! Issues of class and social status
- Dressed for success on Alaias and backwards-caps
- Well, so, whatever – talking like grown-ups
- 6. What's so funny? - Narrating a comedy
- 7. Don't you know who my parents are? – Parentage in Clueless
- 8. And in conclusion....
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper examines the contemporary adaptation of Jane Austen's "Emma" in the film "Clueless". The paper aims to analyze the film's updating of Austen's novel, exploring how elements of the original are translated into a modern context. The focus is not on simply listing differences and similarities between the book and film, but rather on understanding how "Clueless" re-engages the viewer in a dialogue with Austen's work.
- The adaptation of Austen's "Emma" into a teen-comedy film
- The relationship between story and plot in the adaptation
- The translation of characters and values from the novel to the screen
- The influence of other media and genre conventions on "Clueless"
- The use of the "alphabet puzzle approach" in the adaptation
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The first chapter introduces the paper's focus on analyzing the adaptation of "Emma" in "Clueless". It highlights the similarities between the two narratives and the ongoing trend of adapting Austen's works for the screen. The second chapter discusses how "Clueless" utilizes the teen-comedy genre and the influence of contemporary films and television shows like "Beverly Hills 90210". It examines the role of setting, specifically the shift from 19th century Highbury to 1990s Beverly Hills, and the parallels between the two locations.
The third chapter delves into the "alphabet puzzle approach" used in the adaptation. It explores how familiar scenes and events are re-arranged and presented in a way that requires viewers to look deeper beneath the surface of the story and plot.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The keywords and focus topics of this paper include Jane Austen, "Emma," "Clueless," teen-comedy, film adaptation, genre conventions, contemporary updating, "alphabet puzzle approach", character translation, setting, and narrative structure.
- Quote paper
- Lena Ostermann (Author), 2007, Updating Emma: Clueless, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/87530
