Elses Ideas Values In Relation To Culture example essay topic

'Transformation is just an excuse for using someone elses ideas. In the case of Emma by Jane Austen having been transformed by Amy Heckerling into the film Clueless, the adaptation to a new setting, changed values and culture, and a modification of techniques to suit a new medium and social context is required. In the process of transformation a new setting must be created so that the responders can relate more to the work. This is shown by Heckerling Clueless, an adaption of Emma, which Austen set in Highbury, a small village in England in 1815. The social structure of Emma consisted of a hierarchy, with the most gentile and rich at the top ' the Wood houses and Mr Knightly ' and those of a lesser education, with less land or money at the lower end of the hierarchy such as Miss Bates and Mrs Cole. It is embarrassing for those at the higher end of the hierarchy to socialise with those at the lower end, ...

Emma did not want to be classed with the Mrs. Elton, the Mrs. Perrys, and Mrs. Co less (Ch 45; Pg. 382). The social structures shown by Austen are reflected by Heckerling in her film, where the lead character, Cher, goes to a high school which has its own social hierarchy. While introducing the new girl, Tai Frasier, to the school Cher explains, 'That is A lanas group over there. They do the T. V station. They think thats the most important thing on Earth. And thats the Persian mafia.

You cant hang with them unless you own a BMW. And theres Elton in the white vest, and all the most popular boys in the school". Those with the richest parents, the most fashionable clothes and cars are at the top of the hierarchy, whereas drug-users are at the bottom, 'Ladies generally hang on the grassy knoll over there sometimes they come to class and say bonehead things, and we all laugh, of course. But no respectable girl actually dates them". Cher tells Tai.

The setting for this school is Beverly Hills, LA, generally seen to be the pop culture capital of the world. This is a place that a twentieth century audience can recognise or relate to. It is these changes that show the creativity needed by the artist during transformation, and prove that 'transformation is not 'just an excuse for using someone elses ideas Values, in relation to culture, are the thoughts within a certain society of what is regarded as acceptable and what is not. These values change over time and are reflected in the pop culture of that time.

Values reflected in Emma are marriage, manners, education, refinement and wealth. Heckerling had to adjust the values of Emma to suit the twentieth century, where values are more open to drugs, homosexuality, different races, and sex before marriage. For example, in Clueless Cher, at 16 is a virgin. Tai is surprised by this, and thinks less of her because of it. She explains to Tai, 'I am just not interested in doing it until I find the right person. See how picky I am about my shoes and they only go on my feet".

Later in the film, Tai insults Cher, 'Its like, why am I even listening to you anyway; youre a virgin who cant drive Speaking of such issues so frankly would have shocked audiences of Austens time. Austen also deals with racism by having the character of Chers best friend, Dionne, played by an African-American actress. Dione is intelligent, popular and gorgeous ' making her equal to Cher who is played by a white actress. There is no mention of back races in Emma and at the time of the novel society was so racist that black people would not be thought of as equals, but as savages or slaves.

Heckerling also incorporates drug use into her film, the lead character Cher advocating drugs to the audience, 'to light up a doobie and get laced at parties " We see the lead characters getting high on drugs, and drinking alcohol. In Austens Emma pipes are smoked, and alcohol such as Brandy is drank, but in a social setting, generally only by men, and in moderation. Being drunk is frowned upon. Here we can see the changing values over the 180 years between texts.

Values must correspond with the values of the time and place that the text is created. New ideas must be created and developed to suit and compliment the ideas of the original work. Values are the main influence over culture, and therefore changing values change aspects of culture, for example if a society values drug use, then drug use will become part of the culture. Heckerling transformed the carriages of Emma, which were only for the wealthy, into the fast, expensive cars driven by Elton, Murray, Cher and... The Persian Mafia; the painted portrait of Harriet Smith becomes a photograph of Tai, and Fancy Balls become frat parties.

In Austens Emma we see that in the Eighteen Hundreds: letters were a main source of communication, 'I had a letter this morning (page 200); men bowed, 'with a cordial nod from one and a grateful bow from the other, the two gentlemen took leave". (pg 207); ... malt liquor is drank, musical ability is important, 'Jane Fairfax, who plays so delightfully (pg 255) is admired for her Piano ability; and pastimes revealed to the reader include walks, visiting friends, backgammon and needlework. Vast changes are seen in its transformation to Clueless where hobbies of the characters include shopping, skateboarding and watching TV such as... Ren and Stimpy, Beavis and Butthead and the news, and we find that 'Chers main thrill in life is a makeover. It gives her a sense of control in a world full of chaos Each hobby is a reflection upon the characters identity and their individual personality, whereas in the days of Emma there were expected pastimes for the gentile to enjoy and these were pressed upon them.

Each culture reflects the time and place within which each text was created. Jane Austen in her novel Emma employs satiric elements to add humour. Most of this humour is derived from the selfish and ignorant thoughts of Emma, and she is mercilessly attacked by the third person narrator; exposing her delusions and satirizing the social conventions that nurture them. 'The real evils indeed of Emma situation were the power of having rather too much her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself (pg 37). Austen also uses exaggeration, absurdity, caricature, wit and irony. These narrative techniques were altered by Heckerling to suit the medium of film.

The cinematic techniques used by Heckerling capture the satiric elements of Emma. She clearly presents the glaring gap between the heroines perceptions of events and the events themselves through the incorporation of a voice-over. An example of this element is in the opening montage where Cher exclaims, 'I actually have a way normal life!" while onscreen this is contradicted by images of her computerised wardrobe that selects an outfit for her from millions of designer clothes. This voice over allows the audience to gain an insight into Chers thinking.

It also illustrates the detachment between Chers perceptions and reality, similarly to Austens technique. Cinema, through its process of production represents exterior states, and it is only through techniques such as lighting, camera shots, framing design, costuming and music that interior states can be revealed. For example, to show how nervous and anxious Cher is about waiting for Christians phone call, Heckerling presents the audience with a frame taken up completely by the phone as it rings, with music in the background to create depth and to increase anticipation. Heckerling is faithful to Austen in incorporating her ideas of satire, character development and mood to a new medium through various cinematic techniques. Transformation, as... the adaptation of a text to a new medium, audience or time", can be seen by some as 'just an excuse to use someone elses ideas". In the transformation by Amy Heckerling from Jane Austens Emma to her 1990's film Clueless it is clear that transformation has involved adapting setting, values, culture and techniques to a new time, place and medium.

Both are a reflection of the context in which they were created. It is through this adaptation that we see that the transformation as an individual product is being presented, not merely the storyline of the original text. The film Clueless is valued as an individual artwork, not as 'just an excuse to use Austens 'ideas.