1. A 20th Century Parody of Jane Austen’s Emma
Clueless:
A 20th Century Parody of Jane Austen’s Emma

2. Introduction
As I read Jane Austen’s Emma for the first time, I began to notice striking similarities between Austen’s novel and the 90’s teen movie movie Clueless. Realizing the parody, I began to look into it for this project, and narrowed in the focus to outline the similarities and explain why the themes in Austen’s novel – civil discourse, relationships and class separation within society - still hold so much relevance today, over 200 years later.

3. Quick Facts
Clueless, released on July 19, 1995, was written and directed by Amy Heckerling who had previously directed Fast Times and Ridgemont High (1982).
Heckerling read Emma and developed a script based on her love of the characters and “how positive they could be.” (Chaney, Jen)
A box office success, Clueless grossed $56 million USD, and subsequently developed a cult following that remains to this day.
Despite being loosely based on Emma, Clueless has too many distinct parallels that are impossible to ignore for those who have both read the original novel and viewed the iconic film.
The movie Clueless was an especially successful adaptation of Emma; its commercial success was subsequently parlayed into a television and book series.

4. Synopsis of Film
“Jane Austen might never have imagined that her 1816 novel Emma could be turned into a fresh and satirical look at ultra-rich teenagers in a Beverly Hills high school. Cher (Alicia Silverstone) and Dionne (Stacey Dash), both named after "great singers of the past that now do infomercials," are pampered upper-class girls who care less about getting good grades than wearing the right clothes and being as popular as possible. But Cher, who lives with her tough yet warm-hearted lawyer dad (Dan Hedaya) and hunky, sensitive stepbrother (Paul Rudd), also has an innate urge to help those less fortunate -- like the two introverted teachers she brings together ("negotiating" herself improved grades in the process) and new friend Tai (Brittany Murphy), who starts out a geek and ends up a Cher prodigy. Cher also possesses her own sensitive side, and she is looking for the perfect boyfriend, whom she ends up finding where she least expected. ” (Rotten Tomatoes)

5. Original Trailer
Click here.

6. Characters

7. Cher Horowitz (Emma Woodhouse)
Cher, the main character, is a popular high-school teenager living a luxurious life in Beverly Hills. This models the aristocratic life and small social circle of Emma, which is the cause of her naiveté.
Cher plays matchmaker throughout the film, and like Emma, befriends a girl who she deems below her social class who she charitably takes under her wing to help her navigate high school’s social ladder and the potential for love that exists within its ranks.
Cher is very family oriented, and her relationship with her father is very similar to the relationship between Emma and Mr. Woodhouse.
Cher and Emma are both endearing in their naive pursuits to uplift everyone around them. They both show a character arc of having good intentions and being able to learn from their respective mistakes.
Both Cher and Emma view themselves to be the pinnacle of their social worlds.

8. Mel Horowitz (Mr. Woodhouse)
Mel Horowitz is a powerful litigator. His love for his daughter is one of the few things that surpasses his quirky temper.
Mel is always shown inside his house, and seems to be like Mr. Woodhouse, who only begrudgingly leaves the comforts of his own home.
Like Mr. Woodhouse, Mel is eccentric and lucky to have a daughter to take care of him. Both Emma and Cher maternally dote on their fathers.
Mel’s wife died in childbirth, which parallels Mr. Woodhouses’s wife’s death in Emma.

9. Josh Lucas (George Knightley)
Josh parallels the character Mr. Knightley, except in Heckerling’s adaptation his character is re- imagined from a brother-in-law to an ex- stepbrother, which is almost incestuous if it weren’t for no blood relation.
Josh is always showing up at the Horowitz home, and as in the novel, seems to always be around. At the outset of the movie he admits that it’s primarily to be around Cher.
Josh, a university student, is Cher’s older and more experienced voice of reason throughout the movie, which is the dynamic between Emma and Mr. Knightley.
There is romantic tension between Josh and Cher throughout the movie until they ultimately develop a relationship at the end of the film, just as Emma and Mr. Knightley do.

10. Tai Davenport (Harriet Smith)
Tai is the new girl in Cher’s high school who unwittingly falls prey to Cher’s hospitality. This only serves to conflate Cher’s ego and sense of goodwill until things begin to go wrong with her matchmaking plans.
Similar to the relationship between Emma and Harriet, Cher cultivates a friendship with Tai to mold her into person above her natural place within the social ranks of high school, jeopardizing a potential romantic match along the way.
After Cher’s first match for Tai (Elton) fails, Tai burns a box of love tokens that remind her of him, which also happens in the book.
For a brief period Tai develops an ill-fated crush on Josh that leads Cher to begin to realize her own feelings for him, which is what happens between Harriet, Mr. Knightly and Emma.

11. Travis Birkenstock (Robert Martin)
Travis is an amiable character that everyone likes despite the fact that he belongs to a lower rung in the stratification of high school popularity due to his penchant for smoking marijuana.
Tai meets Travis on her first day of school, and there is an instant and palpable attraction between them. Despite the difference in the history behind Harriet and Mr. Martin, the storyline of their attraction is the same, as is the meddling of Emma and Cher.
The romance between Travis and Tai is postponed throughout the movie while Cher manipulates Tai into pursuing other love interests that she deems more worthy of her (Elton).
At the end of the film, like in the novel, Travis and Tai end up together.

12. Elton Tiscia (Mr. Elton)
Elton portrays his namesake, Mr. Elton, in the film.
As in Emma, Cher views Elton as a perfect match for Tai and persists in pushing their relationship forward throughout the movie.
There is a scene when Cher confronts Elton about having a picture of Tai in his locker – she believes it’s proof of his affection for Tai. He states that his affection for the photo is due to the person who captured the moment – Cher. This represents the painting that Mr. Elton goes through great lengths to have framed in Emma.
Additionally, there is a scene where Elton aggressively declares his love for Cher. This scene is similar to the inappropriate display of affection that Mr. Elton shows Emma in the carriage when he does the same.

13. Christian Stovitz (Frank Churchill)
Like Mr. Churchill, Christian arrives after the outset of the story’s beginning, and to equal amounts of social draw, except as a new student in school.
Cher is fascinated by Christian throughout most of the movie, and spends her time trying to seduce him despite her adversity to most boys her own age. Emma similarly pursues Frank Churchill despite her disinclination to be courted by anyone in her social circle.
It is heavily alluded to that Christian is same-sex oriented, which is the reason given as to why he never takes a romantic interest in Cher.

14. What made Clueless such a successful adaptation?

15. Clueless caught the commercial wave of movies that were geared towards teenagers in the 90’s.
Parody is an effective way to attune a younger audience to older works. “Parody is a perfect postmodern form, in some senses, for it paradoxically both incorporates and challenges that which it parodies. It also forces a reconsideration of the idea of origin or originality that is compatible with other postmodern interrogations of liberal humanist assumptions. ” (Azeredo 256)
Heckerling stayed true to the themes in Austen’s novel by retaining the essence of the main characters. Social adherence is just as much a facet of life today as it was in the 1800’s, and by injecting pop culture and enhancing the conflict within the storyline, Heckerling was able to liven up the story to turn a whole new generation on to Jane Austen and classic literature.
A period adaptation entitled Emma that starred Gwyneth Paltrow was released in 1996 to less box office success and less favorable ratings, despite winning an Academy Award for best score. This could have been largely due to the theme being lost on younger audiences, as they didn’t see themselves reflected in the period.
Essentially, the humour within the pop culture references is what made it effective.

16. Environment and Humour
“…But while Clueless follows Emma on a point-for-point basis, its biggest similarities are still environmental, in the way the insular aristocrats of a small, wealthy village mirror the spoiled, perky kids of a Beverly Hills high school. Both groups are so locked into their socially hermetic whirl that the arrival of a new face is cause for huge excitement and endless entertainment. Both groups are obsessed with gossip, hungry for novelty, and deeply focused on the rare formal dance that makes the same old faces and relationships feel fresh again. And both groups take their hookups and split-ups extremely seriously, never realizing that their authors are openly making fun of them” (Robinson, Tasha).

18. Works Cited
Azaredo, Genilda, “From Emma to Clueless: Ironic Representations of Jane Austen.” Ilha Do Desterro, 2006, Accessed 01 April 2017.
Chaney, Jen. “The Definitive Oral History of How Clueless Became an Iconic 90s Classic.” Vanity Fair, Accessed 13 April 2017.
Don Kaye, Rovi. “Clueless.” Rotten Tomatoes, Accessed 10 April 2017.
Robinson, Tasha. “Clueless Understands Jane Austen Better than 1996’s More Literal Emma.” The Dissolve, Accessed 01 April 2017,
Images Used
Accessed 01 April 2017.
Accessed 13 April 2017.
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Accessed 20 March 2017.