Jane Austen's Emma attempts to satirise the aristocratic hierarchy of the early 1800s and its clash with the `progressive ideology' that was emerging from growing notions of individualism and capitalism. Amy Heckerling's teenpic, Clueless, exemplifies how such a novel can be appropriated into a form relevant to its post-modern audience by streamlining elements of popular culture. Both texts deal with a female protagonist who gradually transcends the antagonisms inherent in the microcosmic lives of their contemporaries; however the contextual transformation in Clueless consequents shifts in emphasis and subtlety.

Wealth, appearance, and sex are implicit in the transformation of values from Emma in an age which placed its emphasis on birth, marriage, and manners. Clueless depicts a time where displays of affection and sexual innuendo are more overt than the 19th century world of Emma. Sex is no longer a taboo subject; such is Cher's concern with losing her...