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Comparing Emma and Clueless


The necessity to marry within the same social class reinforces Regency's conservative social decorum.
             'Clueless' reveals the changing attitudes towards women's pursuance, expectations and reason for marriage. Heckerling provokes the similarities between Regency England and the egalitarian American society despite the 19th amendment stating "The right of citizens shall not be denied on account of sex." The restaurant scene introduces reversed gender roles where women have preferences for men, shown through Tai's objectification of a male waiter "break me off a piece of that." This is reinforced by Cher's seductive invitation "you want to go swimming?" as she is pursuing a man of her choice. The school promenade features a close-up montage of teenage boy fashion and Cher's rhetorical question "and we're expected to swoon?" further develops the expectations women have placed upon men. The crosscut into a wide shot of the wedding scene accompanied by Cher's voiceover, "As if! I'm only 16!" reflects the change in women's marital involvement from an expectation to an option. Despite having an increased empowerment, similarities between both societies is portrayed through women's role as domestic goddesses and their continual dependence on a protective male figure. Cher's voiceover in "whenever a boy comes, you should always have something baking" and "don't sell yourself short now", ironically describes the domestic and objectified figure ascribed to women in the 18th Century. The high angle long shots in the robbery scene and the clown imposed on the foreground, symbolising humiliation of Cher's vulnerable situation without a male Josh. Diegetic sounds created by the horns in the freeway scene and Dionne's panicked tone in "What do I do Murray?" shows the nature of women reverting to men during emergencies.


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