Every Austen Movie is a High School Movie: Investigating Clueless (1995) and EMMA. (2020)'s Appeal to Teenage Audiences
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2023-06-15
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en
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Since the onset of Austenmania in the 1990s various adaptations have revisited and reinterpreted Jane Austen’s classic texts. This thesis examines how two adaptations of Austen’s Emma (1815), Clueless (1995) and EMMA. (2020), interpreted the novel’s social world to appeal to modern audiences, specifically concerning teenagers. By focussing on the characters of Emma Woodhouse, Mr Knightley, Harriet Smith and Mr Martin, this thesis aims to answer the following research question: in what ways do Clueless and EMMA. appeal to modern teenage audiences regarding themes of social hierarchy and friendship from Austen’s Emma? After discussing the novel’s exploration of Georgian rank and female friendship, the adaptations’ representation of these themes will be examined in a close analysis. Film criticism by Timothy Shary and Frances Smith will provide the basis for this examination. While Clueless’ teenage appeal is found to reside in its use of teen narratives and aesthetics, EMMA. is revealed to employ a variety of filmic elements to create an intertextual visual style that opens up the novel to various modern audiences, including teenagers.
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Faculteit der Letteren