Welcome to the Tytell Timeloop, a column where I (Tytell) look at old teen movies from different decades in chronological order (a Timeloop) to see what different times have to say about the teenage experience.

Clueless (1995)—Angstus teenagus variety: persuasion

Summary:
Born in sunny Beverly Hills, the fashionable and popular Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone) and her friends engage in all the drama that Los Angeles has to offer. Along the way, Cher deftly manipulates (sorry, “persuades”) her way out of problems, tries to set up perfect matches and struggles to find her own true love. But most importantly, she learns more about herself and the world around her along the way.

Social critique: What should you do when you have the resources to help people?
What makes Cher such an enjoyable character to watch is how she effortlessly straddles the line between genius and—you guessed it—clueless. She knows better than anyone how to surmount the petty challenges of high school, but when the “real world” starts closing in, she struggles to think outside the Tiffany-blue box she’s been living in.

Cher is a privileged white girl who has the smarts and the resources to help others, and she does legitimately help other people. But, as her step-brother Josh (Paul Rudd) points out, she pretty much solely helps people for her own benefit, such as when she sets up two of her teachers to improve her grades.

Upon this forced self-introspection, Cher begins to help others for the sake of helping others, but even with newfound motivation she still fails to put others’ needs above her own.

Modern perspective:
In retrospect, Cher has very little character development over the course of the movie. She is already kind to those she cares about from the beginning, and she never really reckons with how her lack of understanding can hurt those around her, which is her biggest character flaw.

I doubt the filmmakers were thinking all that hard about making Cher a good role model or an activist, but it is a little upsetting how much credit they give her for doing the bare minimum. She begins her powers of persuasion for good more often towards the end of the movie, like when she helps organize the school’s Pismo Beach relief efforts. But even then she only donates items she isn’t using and doesn’t quite understand what relief people actually need, and rejects the advice of others who tell her that maybe Pismo residents don’t really need a new set of skis.

Instead of taking the time to learn how to actually make a difference, Cher does what she thinks is right no matter how helpful it is in practice. Following the whimsy of her own heart, Cher feels like she’s making a difference without actually trying that hard. In that way, Cher doesn’t really get better at helping people, she just feels like she’s become a better person—and the plot rewards her generously for the little progress she makes.

Ok, I’m probably being “way” hard on Cher. She really is trying her best, and maybe that’s the point.

Teenage Take: What did the 1990s have to say about being a teen?
Being a teenager is about learning how to have a positive impact on the world and those around you despite the instinct to help yourself over others.

Expect lots of:
Technically-not-Valley-Girl speak, quick makeovers, excessive kissing, sanitized party culture, near-death experiences, used-to-be-hi-tech devices, good fashion, bad fashion, bad driving, bad gaydar, matching handbags and questionable relationship decisions.

Should you watch it?
For all that I’ve complained about it, “Clueless” is a joy to watch from start to finish. Cher and her friends are effortlessly hilarious to watch galavant around the Los Angeles area, and their exploits will forever be iconic pieces of general internet interest as one of the crown jewels of 1990s culture. Just make sure not to take too much of Cher’s philosophy to heart or you may end up “Clueless” yourself.