CLUELESS. Consecration of the alliance of the Paramount International Viacom Inc.  

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« Clueless », an adjectival in English for the title of a film to world distribution. An American film of course.

How to summarize a history as that of « Clueless » ? An adolescent youth of 16 years, Cher, girl of a rich widower attorney of business of Beverly Hills, lives in the luxury. Her specialty.

the « look ». Contrary her friends, she is virgin. She will cross a homosexual, then will find in the person of the son of the second wife of her father (that is also his ex wife) her real love. Obviously, others adventures arrive to Cher and its band.

Comedy to take to the second degree, this is not certainly a cinematographic success.

On the one hand, principal « author » of this film haven't been chosen per chance.

Amy Heckerling, the director, with her «Fast Times at Ridgemont High » on 1982, unknown in good number of country, had already processed the subject of pupils whose favourite discussion focused on the sex.

The French advertising campaign of «Clueless » was of scale and targeted to its potential public, that is to say the youth. Of name of well apparent actor on the notice, but simply the slogan «Sex, mood, snobs, that constricts you? ». But the sex makes largely leave of the lie in this film. The advertisement to the level world is without doubt very avant-gardism, but very debatable. At least six month before the release of the film, a message more than cryptic was broadcasted on MTV Networks. Two girls, a white, Cher, and a black to, blue eyes, her best friend, Donna, appeared during thirty second by the badge of the film, without more explanation. The one problem, the fact that the two, scenes used to this opportunity have not anything to see with the film and do not figure in this last. We can suspect that they have, been cut to the setting, or more certainly been realized specially for the advertisement that, to this title, is entirely fallacious.

« Clueless » is before all a commercial operation because Amy Heckerling has obtained its letters from nobility with «Look who's talking » on 1989 and «Look who's talking too » on 1990 (French Version. «Allo Maman, ici Bébé » and « Allo Maman, c'est encore moi ») were been commercial success, but according to the critic, a distressing mediocrity.

As for Alicia Silverstone, main actress in the role of Cher, its choice is also deliberated. She begins to the cinema in 1993 with «The Crush » which deals with a teenage girl (that she does not play) is obsessed by a journalist who, rents a house owned by her parents. In 1994, she participates in the French film of Alain Corneau «Le Nouveau Monde » (« The New World ») which was a failure. Change in 1995 when she appears in the very passable fantasy thriller « Remembrance from the Next World » (French Version. « Souvenir de l'Au delà »). Moreover Alicia Silverstone will be heroine of three videos of the American band Aerosmith to the opportunity of the release of the album «Get a Grip » with, especially, the evocation of the «virtual sex » in « Amazing » that is not foreign to the choice of one of advertising messages whose we have spoken previously.

That is foreign not more, in the fact, that the film is presented by the Paramount company bought on September 1993 by Viacom, become thereby the sixth multimediatic worldwide.

Indeed, on the other hand, Viacom is the owner of MTV US and MTV EUROPE, without counting its participation to MTV ASIA and the good number of franchise that the network possesses everywhere in the world except for Africa and a part of Russia. Alicia Silverstone, is a henceforth known figure of the world of the music, more than of the world of the cinema. The success met by videos of the music band Aerosmith, with multiples Awards «Video Music Awards » on 1994, testifies. Now, whole in this film make thought of MTV. Would be just the badge of the film realized to the manner of MTV, the generic that as the notice does m present actresses that furthermore are relatively little known. To this title, we know the system of this network that knows too well to make forget its hosts. Only product it final counts, not ingredients. « The master work » is completed by well-known music hits, as that made the glory of the singer Kim Wilde, «Kids in America » which is the music dressing of the generic, but that one has carefully made resume by an unknown band. Broadcasts that looks Cher are the famous “Beavies and Butt Head » (of MTV) and the less famous celebrities broadcasted on the network for children of Viacom, Nickelodeon. The short look of Cher at CNN, would make it to understand the hostility of Summer R. Redstone, former director of drive in who controls Viacom with 69% of stocks, against Ted Turner, who controls CNN, and who wished to acquire Viacom to the moment of its Public Offer of friendly Purchase against the Paramount?

Eventually, the whole look like an adaptation of the famous series «The Real World » which is always exploited by MTV with so much success. A series that presents the carefree adolescence, rich and beautiful, brief, false.

« Clueless », technically interesting film, is dedicated to the due commercial success solely to its advertising campaign of scale devoted to the alliance of two groups which, more than seriously, produce hundred of hours of programs per day waiting the very imminent arrival of the numerical compression that, after Internet, will dive us all the more in a world of data processing and virtual images, where America, as always, will play an essential role.

HAUT.TOP.