Clueless

American Youth in the 1990s

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by Lesley Speed

Type

Studies

Subject

One Film > Clueless

Keywords

Amy Heckerling, youth

Publishing date

2020

Publisher

Routledge

Collection

Routledge Focus on Film Studies

1st publishing

2018

Language

English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Paperback • 128 pages
6 ¼ x 9 ½ inches (16 x 24 cm)

ISBN

978-0-367-73613-2

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Book Presentation:
Clueless: American Youth in the 1990s is a timely contribution to the increasingly prominent academic field of youth film studies. The book draws on the social context to the film’s release, a range of film industry perspectives including marketing, audience reception and franchising, as well as postmodern theory and feminist film theory to assert the cultural and historical significance of Amy Heckerling’s film and reaffirm its reputation as one of the defining teen films of the 1990s.

Lesley Speed examines how the film channels aspects of Anita Loos’ 1925 novel Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, the 1960s television series Gidget and Jane Austen’s Emma, to present a heightened, optimistic view of contemporary American teenage life. Although seemingly apolitical, Speed makes the case for Clueless as a feminist exploration of relationships between gender, comedy and consumer culture, centring on a contemporary version of the ‘dumb blonde’ type. The film is also proved to embrace diversity in its depiction of African American characters and contributing to an increase in gay teenagers on screen. Lesley Speed concludes her analysis by tracking the rise of the Clueless franchise and cult following. Both helped to cement the film in popular consciousness, inviting fans to inhabit its fantasy world through spinoff narratives on television and in print, public viewing rituals, revivalism and vintage fashion.

About the Author:
Lesley Speed, Federation University, Australia.

See the publisher website: Routledge