DISTINCT Film Opening Analysis - Clueless

Clueless – Film Opening DISTINCT Analysis

Describe: The opening scenes show snippets of the main character Cher’s everyday life, which involves shopping with friends, hanging out at a pool party, choosing a fashionable outfit for school and a minor (but comedic) argument with her father. The last scene of the opening shows Cher picking up her friend Dionne in her Jeep on their way to school.

In detail: From the opening, we can straight away tell that Cher is rich and popular, from the expensive looking outfits she wears and buys in the first thirty seconds and all the friends she is surrounded by. She also appears to be the ringleader judging by how all the people are mainly gravitating towards her. She is also the driver of the group.

The next scene shows Cher choosing an outfit, which would be a simple task if not for the futuristic (at the time) computer which is dedicated to choosing matching clothes for her. The slight ridiculousness of having a computer choose outfits for you contributes to the comedic genre of the film. Other comedic elements are provided by the next scene, which shows their maid running in the opposite direction from Cher’s father because she is so scared of him and then Cher bickering with her father over a glass of orange juice.

Setting (locations):

Street of shops

Pool party

A bar

Driving down a motorway in Cher’s Jeep

Cher’s bedroom

Cher’s staircase and kitchen

Dionne’s house

Themes: Themes of this opening clip include teen life, shopping, family life and friendship.

Icons: Icons include Cher’s Jeep, her iconic yellow check outfit, and Dionne’s hats.

Narrative: At first, there are simple snippets of Cher’s life, including pool parties and shopping trips with her friends. They are also seen at a bar flirting with the bartender.

The chronological scenes start with Cher waking up and choosing her outfit for the day on her computer, which matches her yellow check outfit. She then goes downstairs to her father, who is described as so powerful and possibly scary that their maid, Lucy, is terrified of him. However, he is shown to be a normal father to Cher, bickering with her slightly before going to work after refusing the glass of orange juice she pesters him with, saying he needs his vitamin C.

Next, Cher is shown driving to school in her Jeep, swerving in the road and knocking plant pots over, as she does not yet have her licence. She then picks up her best friend Dionne and the two drive to school.

Character: Cher is a straight, Caucasian, blonde, teenage girl who seems to be around 16 years old and is very upper class (her father earns $500 an hour) and popular. She is confident and happy, if a little dim at times (her driving skills are abysmal).

Textual analysis: The camera uses lots of fast, swerving scenes while Cher is partying with her friends to indicate how hectic Cher’s life is socially, and stable takes for when she is home. The colouring for all scenes is bright and accentuates the gaudy costumes. Some parts, for example when she is shopping, have been slowed down and pause slightly, almost like snapshots of her life.

CLAMPS: The costumes in this clip are shown to be exaggerated and gaudy, but still closely based on the typical ‘valley-girl’ fashion of the nineties – everything is upmarket, clean cut and brightly coloured. The lighting for all scenes is bright, indicating that the film itself is a light-hearted one. The makeup on everyone is light and particularly on Cher, with just some lip gloss and mascara, provides a youthful and glowing effect.

Props include shopping bags, the glass of orange juice, nail polish and beach balls (the pool scene).

Sound: The song used in this clip is ‘Kids in America’ by Kim Wilde. It provides an upbeat soundtrack to the playful and cheery scenes shown of Cher’s life, and insinuates that Cher and her friends are stereotypical all-American young adults, clean cut and energetic.

The dialogue is mostly a voiceover from Cher, telling the audience how her life is really quite normal, about her father, and later on her Jeep and friend Dionne. She also has a short conversation with her father regarding orange juice, her grandparents and her step-brother, Josh.