I love watching the movie Clueless. I watch it every time it is on. I thought it was funny (yet sad for me) that when we talked about the movie in class, most people saw it when they were 12 or 13 when the movie first came out. Hm mm. I believe I was 26, Wow! I'm old, yet I still really enjoy it and I admit it, I own it.Cher is just an adorable and lovable character. You gotta love her. She tries so hard and yet is so clueless about so many things. She tries hard to be "smart" and she thinks she knows everything, but like it was discussed in class, I think most teenagers in high school think they know everything.
We really see her evolve into a different person throughout the movie. She starts out as a pretty selfish, shallow girl that will not have anything to do with people in a lower class than her. Then when Josh calls her out on it and basically points out that she really is a selfish person she begins to re-think herself and her actions. She even asks her best friend Dionne, "Would you call me selfish?" Dionne responds, "No, not to your face." Which I think right there goes to prove even her best friend is pretty shallow.
I kind of felt sorry for her. She feels the need to impress her mother even though she has passed away. Cher says, "She died when I was young. A freak accident during a routine liposuction." She talks to her picture as though she is still there. I believe she feels the need to be the mother figure and take care of her dad.That is why she is always making sure he is eating the right food. She is always watching out for her dad and trying to help him, he may get annoyed with it but he knows her heart is in the right place. Just little things like that I believe are the parts that give her that lovable, caring side.
Cher is not so "clueless" when it comes to the male gaze. The portion of the movie when Christian's character is introduced. Cher wants to make sure Christian notices her. She knocks the pen off the desk so he will notice her legs, the chocolate she brings in and eats in front of him and says, "Anything you can do to draw attention to your mouth is good." She says, "Sometimes you have to show a little skin. This reminds boys of being naked, and then they think of sex." The funny thing about this line is she is still a virgin. I also find it ironic that Christian ends up being the gay character. Or as Murray said, (makes me laugh every time)"Your man Christian is a cake boy! He's a disco-dancing, Oscar Wilde reading, Streisand ticket holding friend of Dorothy, know what I'm saying?" But the male gaze is still very much there.
I kind of felt sorry for her. She feels the need to impress her mother even though she has passed away. Cher says, "She died when I was young. A freak accident during a routine liposuction." She talks to her picture as though she is still there. I believe she feels the need to be the mother figure and take care of her dad.That is why she is always making sure he is eating the right food. She is always watching out for her dad and trying to help him, he may get annoyed with it but he knows her heart is in the right place. Just little things like that I believe are the parts that give her that lovable, caring side.
Cher is not so "clueless" when it comes to the male gaze. The portion of the movie when Christian's character is introduced. Cher wants to make sure Christian notices her. She knocks the pen off the desk so he will notice her legs, the chocolate she brings in and eats in front of him and says, "Anything you can do to draw attention to your mouth is good." She says, "Sometimes you have to show a little skin. This reminds boys of being naked, and then they think of sex." The funny thing about this line is she is still a virgin. I also find it ironic that Christian ends up being the gay character. Or as Murray said, (makes me laugh every time)"Your man Christian is a cake boy! He's a disco-dancing, Oscar Wilde reading, Streisand ticket holding friend of Dorothy, know what I'm saying?" But the male gaze is still very much there.
I think Amy Heckerling did a great job making the characters very true to real life high school students. She did the same in one of my other all-time favorite movies, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. At that time, the 80's, I could completely relate to the movie and its characters. She just has a way of understanding her characters. I feel the same about John Hughes films. For my generation I have the great teen movies of the 80's: Sixteen Candles, Pretty In Pink, Breakfast Club, St. Elmo's Fire, etc... Boy do those bring back the memories.
Here are a couple of links to remind you of the great teen movies of the 80's and the 90's. There are some you may have forgotten about. I did. Enjoy!
2 comments:
What a great post! I thought that it was comical that Cher tried to catch the gaze of Christian, and then he turned out to be gay. That's great writing. Also, Fast Times at Ridgemont High is one of my favorite films too!
Great post! Don't feel old, I'm right there with you.
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