Weekly Journal #6 (October 6, 2016)

     In Emma, Austen paints a detailed picture of the sort of socioeconomic hierarchy that directed life in early 19th century English society. While Queen of Katwe (2016) is set in the slums of 21st century Uganda, worlds away from Austen's England, the film (based on a true story) shows that class distinctions and socioeconomic status are still concerns in the 21st century. The main character, Phiona, is in the end able to augment her status by becoming a national chess champion and receiving an education. While this is a particularly inspirational story, it is also a rare one, and a foreboding lack of social mobility similar to that of Austen's setting seems to permeate the film's setting.
     Towards the beginning of Emma, Mr. Knightley remarks that if Harriet continues to see Emma "She will grow just refined enough to be uncomfortable among whom birth and circumstances have placed her home" (page 29). Phiona faces exactly the same situation in the film, as her trips around the world to fancy hotels and chess championships give her fleeting tastes of a life which she can't have and which also makes her painfully uncomfortable with her own.