A Transformation from Jane Austens "Emma" to Amy Heckerling's "Clueless"

The 1993 film hit Clueless, written and directed by Amy Heckerling, exemplifies how popular culture reappropriates Austens novel Emma into our own era by exploiting the contemporary medium of film. It is by looking at the modern day equivalents or changes in each text we see the contrasting values of these starkly different worlds Emma is set in the village of Highbury, a rural representation of early nineteenth century Engish life. In this society England marriage …

…Harriet Smith becomes a Hispanic transfer student, Frank Churchill is revealed to be gay, and Emma's best friend becomes a moneyed African American. However some updating is only minor: photography substitutes for portraiture, convertibles for carriages and parties in the Valley for fancy dress balls. The process of transformation cannot help but reveal social commentary on both the contexts, and it is the two, the differences and the similarities that makes a truly great transformation.