Emma and Clueless

I started reading Emma last week, but I'm only 18 pages in. There's nothing wrong with the book, but I think its the anticipation of having to read that makes it difficult. That said, I go into Emma with a specific lens. It's not intentional, but ever since I heard Alicia Silverstone's Clueless is loosely based on Emma, I can't help but think about Brittany Murphy as Harriet Smith, Paul Rudd as Mr. Knightly, and Silverstone as Emma.
Cher, who represents Emma, is very wealthy, very well-dressed and mannered, and the most popular girl in school. Like Emma, Cher believes in and follows religiously a rigid social order where the slightest misstep can cost a person his or her entire reputation. So far, it seems as if a person must be born into the upper class in order to be accepted, whereas in Cher's world, there's a little more wiggle room in that aspect, but the brutality of both worlds seem to be on an equal level. Particularly, it's important in both world who a person is seen with. Just as Emma can't be caught fraternizing with the lower class, Cher warns of the woes of being caught talking to the dirty skaters. In fact, later when Cher tutors her friend Ty on the correct ways of her society, Cher says that despite Ty's feelings for a particular boy, she can't be with him because he's a skater punk burn out. Both Cher and Emma don't seem to waver in their confidence in their social orders. Thus far, Emma is all but an avid spokesperson of the rigidity of her culture, showing that she may be naive.
Paul Rudd's character bears a strong resemblence to Mr. Knightly in that, not only is he loved and welcome member of Cher's extended family, but he's the only person who sees Cher for who she really is--that is, recognizes that she is an imperfect being. Because he is perhaps the only one to recognize this, he, like Mr. Knightly with Emma, has a unique connection with Cher. Emma mentions that her father would be unable to believe the faults Mr. Knightly could point out about her because her father is unable to believe that Emma has any faults to begin with. Because of this, Emma is likely able to "be herself" around Mr. Knightly, in that, since she knows she's not fooling anybody, she can let her guard down a tiny bit around him. Unlike her father and the many visitors that she entertains, Emma feels a lack of intellectual spark that Mr Knightly apparently fulfills. When Emma and he discuss Emma's involvement in Mss Taylor and Mr. Weston's union, we catch sight of Emma's wit and reason, suggesting that Mr Knightly overshadows the superficiality in Emma.