Emma And Cher

Superiority and Power as Tools in Social Acceptance

"She is literally the Polaroid of perfection/she has everythingÐ'..." begins the theme song to the popular television show, later made into a movie, Clueless. The main character of this movie, Cher, is an extremely privileged teenage girl who abuses the power of wealth, becoming blemished, socially dominating and overly certain with herself. However, this stereotype is not one that has merely developed in recent generations, as is shown by Jane Austen's Emma. The title character is presented in the first paragraph as a 19th century Cher; "Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her" (Austen 5). Both Emma and Cher have been raised with an overwhelming sense of wealth and status, which gives them the power to judge and change individuals, perceived as being beneath them.

Emma and Cher are the displaying the same character. A better understanding can be gained of each's character by comparing the different cultural perspectives they inhibit. Emma Woodhouse is part of a rich, upscale society of a well-to-do village in nineteenth century England, while Cher lives in California's upscale Beverly Hills. The Woodhouse family, much like Cher and her father are highly regarded as members of an affluent elite. "The real evils indeed of Emma's situation were the power of having rather too much her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself" (Austen 5). The abuse of power and wealth, arrogance, and a lack of acceptance all prove that the class status of these families plays a significant role in the shaping of both Emma and Cher. The girls view their wealth and status as vital to being considered socially acceptable. The students at Cher's school all had the wealth, but not everyone had the status. Those who had both elements were capable of achieving respectability and, in turn, being deemed as worthwhile members of society. Status was everything in her pre-responsible mind.

Cher's conceit is evident in such places as in the scene where she and Dionne are explaining to Tai how to view the high school social structure. While showing Tai around on her first day, Cher remarks, "We decided to show Tai the ropes of Ronson Alcott High School" (Clueless). The "ropes" that are shown to Tai are biased toward her own opinion. Not only does Tai start out with Cher's point of view on life in California, she does not get to experience life the way she would want to be. Tai starts off in Cher's terrain, and she lives the way that Cher wants her to. Cher explains how she feels about all of the cliques on campus, and all of those people below her on the social ladder. She describes the Persian mafia, A/V geeks, and the popular boys. In mentioning the popular boys she professes, "They are the only acceptable ones"(Clueless). Immediately matchmaking comes into play when describing the boys that are reasonable enough to speak to. She looks down upon all of the cliques except her own. This is because others are not as socially acknowledged as she thinks herself to be.

Cher may be sympathetic to Tai, but she is doing this because she knows she is from a higher social class and that she can make someone follow her and have more people under her world of control. As Dionne says, "Cher's main thrill in life is a makeover, it gives her a sense of control in a world full of chaos" (Clueless). In spite of this thrill, Cher decides to give Tai a complete make-over, consisting new clothes, a different hairstyle, and a new personality. Cher believes that she is helping Tai find her identity. Obviously Cher, like Emma, is not exaclty helping out of the goodness of her heart; but instead, she is feeding her own self-esteem, pride and sense of identity.

Emma and Cher's largess leads them to believe that their lives are the ideal, and this belief results in them directing their friends to make decisions against their own interests in favor of social gain.. Unfortunately, this affluence becomes somewhat of an obstruction as they let it go to their egos. They acquire the idea that they are the perfect model for everyone in society and that they can make followers out of others. This misunderstanding causes Harriet, Tai's counterpart in Austen's Novel, and Tai to end their relationships with the men in which they have a true liking for, such as Mr. Martin and Travis, respectively. Unfortunately, Emma and Cher feel that their friends have made the best decision by ending their relationships. Now that Harriet and Tai are single, they are on their way to advancing their class status, which seems to be more important than being happy with themselves. Tai and Harriet are not allowed to see certain males and are only told to date the men Cher and Emma find suitable. Harriet is in love with Robert Martin, but she allows Emma to talk her out of her feelings for him. Emma feels that