I Was a Teenage Classic: Literary Adaptation in Turn-of-the-Millennium Teen Films

In Amy Heckerling's Clueless (1995), the film's young protagonist and narrator Cher (Alicia Silverstone) gets into an argument with rival Heather (Susan Mohun), and the nerdy Heather attempts to quote Shakespeare: (Harvard-bound) Heather: It's just like Hamlet said: "To thine ownself be true." Cher (correcting her): Uh, Hamlet didn't say that. Heather: I think I remember Hamlet accurately. Cher: Well, I remember MeI Gibson accurately, and he didn't say that. That Polonius guy did. Within the film, this exchange signifies Cher's superior knowledge of Shakespeare through pop cultural manifestations, thus allowing her to trump her rival.1 This debate is also a reminder of students' tendencies to rely upon film adaptations of literary classics for their cultural knowledge, as high school students plea-"Couldn't we just watch the movie?" -and who often are first introduced to literary texts through film and television adaptations. Such a reminder is appropriately found in Heckerling's film, itself an adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma (1816), albeit for the mall set. However, even more interestingly, this reminder reveals a recent trend in literary adaptation, as several late 1990s films have offered teen-based versions of classic literary texts, thus offering students several chances to "just watch the movie," and academics should consider these adaptations' possibilities, particularly given that these films have shaped turn-of-the-millennium teen culture. Literary works are often conservatively made as "straight" adaptations to the screen, part of a grand tradition of period films and art-house pictures. However, there are also sub-genres that reset their adapted texts. Works might be recast as westerns (as with The Christmas Carol-variation Ebenezer [1997], or Yellow Sky [1948], a sagebrush version of The Tempest, or The Claim [2000], which westernizes The Mayor of Casterbridge), modernized (e.g., A Simple Twist of Fate [1994], which retells Silas Marner, or My Own Private Idaho [1991], which updates Henry IV, Parts I&II),2 or futurized in science-fiction retellings (such as the Tempest-rewrite Forbidden Planet [1956], the postapocalyptic version of Beowulf [1999], or the Twain-inspired A Spaceman in King Arthur's Court [1979]). This fairly recent cinematic trend has offered a sub-genre based in a "youth movement," with nlmmakers following the Clueless example, updating selections from the canon for adaptation and transformation into high school-based productions. This "youth movement" is not surprising, as "the world is getting younger," with over half the earth's population under 20 years of age starting in the mid-1990s (Lewis 1), and with Hollywood recognizing the potential audience and cultivating an interest in youth films in an effort to lure youth to theaters (and away from cable and the Internet) (Shary 10). With demographic research from groups such as "Teen Research Unlimited" showing that "going to the movies" ranked as the number one social activity among teens, moviemakers increased the output of teen roles (10). The Austen variation Clueless was a hit in the summer of 1995. The film, which had its release coincide with a renaissance of popularity for Jane Austen with filmmakers (although Clueless stands out as the most radical transformation of the text and the most commercially successful), grossed $77.3 million worldwide and has earned a further $26 million in video/DVD rentals.3 The film also proved so popular that it was followed by a spinoff television sitcom, which lasted for three seasons and 61 episodes spanning two networks (ABC and UPN).4 Several filmmakers seemed to take note of the commercial success of Clueless, as multiple films were released following its pattern. Within roughly 20 months at the turn of the millenium, filmgoers were treated, knowingly or not, to two versions of Pygmalion (1913), with She's All That (1999) and the gender-reversed Drive Me Crazy (1999), as well as an adaptation of Dangerous Liaisons/Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1782),5 called Cruel Intentions (1999), a recast Cyrano de Bergerac (1897), titled Whatever It Takes (2000), a gender reverse of As You Like It (1599), named Never Been Kissed (1999), a revisited Taming of the Shrew (1593), called 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), and a basketball-based Othello (1604), entitled simply O (2001). …