Lingerie or Granny Panties

As children, young girls tend to go in one of two directions, either they become tree climbing, fearless tomboys or dress up loving girly girls. In the movie, The Devil Wears Prada, the protagonist Andy is presented as a tomboy, which distinguishes her from the sea of women she works with. As the movie begins the audience sees the pattern of women in their normal routine of getting dressed. They begin by putting on their "sexier" lingerie, then their designer high heels, next their stylish business suits and finally applying make- up. This juxtaposes Andy who instead begins begins her process by putting on her "granny panties", clogs, less attractive suit and no make up. As the movie progresses the audience learns that Andy's style is unacceptable for a woman in the world of fashion.

Andy beings her journey as Miranda Priestly's assistant, very comfortable in her own skin and rather homely attire. She claims that she will not end up like the "clackers", or the ladies who walk around the office in their high heels making a clacking noise. Andy's colleague Emily suggests that Andy has no style and that she is heavier than all the others, through her smart remarks and laughs. In the beginning Andy did not let this break her, she still wore what she want, yet had trouble fitting in at her job. So at the start of the movie, girls who may be tomboys and not so much fixated with appearance would see that it is okay to be that way. Andy, at first, showed that as a woman you don't have to fit the gender role as a girly girl, that is slender, fashionable, with big boobs and long hair.

Although as the movie  goes on Andy begins to change. Because she does not fit and gets laughed at by the other workers, Andy morphs into the girly girl she so desperately wanted to stray away from. She began to wear designer shoes, clothes and make up. A friend of hers who also worked at Runway, Nigel informed Andy that by wearing her normal tom boy clothes she was not "trying" to do well at her job. And when she did change, she transformed into a non- outcast and became successful; even Emily began to notice.Andy had been promoted to Miranda's top assistant due to her new transformation and Miranda said that she could "go far" in the industry, all because she changed who she was. With the progression of the movie, the audience learns that being a tomboy and not fitting into a traditional female role is not acceptable and will not get you very far in life.

As the movie comes to a close Andy realizes how much she did actually change. She was able to reflect back on how her life became such a mess because of her transformation.

Throughout the movie, the audience sees the idea of sexuality as it "should" be according to gender roles. Andy could not be successful unless she removed her tom boyish ways and transformed into a girlier girl. Although, the movie does portray sexuality in a different way. Andy's relationship with her fiancee was not the typical patriarchal romance, and neither was Miranda's. In fact, both women were more successful than their significant others, which caused their relationships to deteriorate and end. In this way the movie showed that relationships will also be unsuccessful if they do not follow the norm of patriarchal relationships.

All in all, I see this movie as pushing the audience to succumb to society's rule; to fit in the roles it has set for us. If Andy had not become the girly girl she did she would  have still been a broke journalist looking for work.

She Works Hard For The Money

The Devil Wears Prada as a movie allowed for its viewers to take a look not only into the fashion industry, but also into their own lives. As a viewer we are able to relate to a character based on our lives; whether they are a serial killer or an elementary school teacher and because of this we discover great truths about ourselves and the public. In this blog post I chose to examine the character Miranda Priestly, played by famed actress Meryl Streep.

 

In this movie in particular, Miranda is the picture of hard work causing arrogance in success. Her character, in my opinion, reveals that there is in fact a distinct hierarchy in the work field, specifically the fashion industry. Miranda is introduced in the movie as a cold hearted bitch. In her presence, everyone must basically bow and kiss her feet and everything she asks for must be done when and how she likes it. Incompetence and inability to complete tasks given by Miranda result in  replacement or put downs. An example of this in the movie is a scene where Miranda expresses her disgust in the girls putting on a "run- through" due to them being unprepared, she then turns her attention to, assistant Andy who chuckles because she doesn't realize there are different types of blues and Miranda embarrasses her in front of her colleagues. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LVptO7o4L8) All in all, we as viewers are exposed to Miranda's arrogant powerful nature.

Furthermore, in the work field hierarchy Miranda is top dog; because she is the editor of Runway, what she says goes and all those who work for her must worship her and succumb to her every wish. This reveals to the viewers that those in the highest power at their jobs have the ability to do whatever they wish. On a broader spectrum, it pushes those apart of the public sphere to want to be successful and be top dog in their line of work so they have the ability to do as they wish. Although some, may not abuse their power, as I would say Miranda did, many will find comfort in knowing that they have the greatest deal of power.

In sum, the movie The Devil Wears Prada, specifically through character Miranda Priestly suggests that audience members are shown that they must participate in the public by becoming successful in their line of work in order to maintain power.

For the Money & the Fame Or For the Love & the Pain

The protagonist of The Devil Wears Prada, Andy begins her journey as famed Runway editor Miranda Pristley's assistant as the underdog. She has no interest in fashion and no knowledge of the magazine, yet she tries her best to fit in. She finds herself having to complete these rigorous, almost impossible tasks to please her boss. Soon enough she learns she must take  her job more seriously; for example, dressing how her colleagues dress, slimming down, basically altering her appearance. In an effort to take her job more seriously, Andy loses everything that has any importance to her. She puts aside her dreams of becoming a journalist, she loses her closest friends and her fiancee.She notices her life is in shambles and seeks guidance from colleague/ friend Nigel who explains to her that her social life falling apart is only due to success in her job or as he says it "it's time for a promotion."

Taking a deeper look in to this situation we see that ultimately Andy's success in her job at Runway was due solely to the fact that she changed her appearance and her social life began to deteriorate. What does this say about the viewers who try to achieve the dream of becoming successful in the fashion industry or any of their jobs for that matter? It shows that we must change ourselves! We must be who our jobs require us to and disregard our social lives to have success in our area of work. Also we find in order to succeed in our jobs we lose our sense of sanity and happiness, but that doesn't matter because we would be doing well at work and exceeding above all others.

Pointing this out we must now ask ourselves is our ultimate goal to fulfill our obligations of work or keep ourselves happy? We must find which is most important to us. In the movie, we see that Andy at first makes her job have more value than her social life i.e her friends, family and fiancee. But then as the movie progresses more towards the end Andy is exposed to the "reality" of Runway and decides that she had it all wrong. She finds that what was most important was her social life and right before it all slips through her hands she caught it. She took her life back because she realized that it was all more important than fame and glamour.

Here we find that it is a part of the American dream to be successful in your field of work, even if it isn't what you initially wanted it to be. But in that you must decide if you want your life or success in your job.

You Are Who You Are

     The movie, The Devil Wears Prada is full of ideologies; more specifically the ideology of the fashion industry. The fashion industry has deemed itself to be mostly concerned with appearance, whereas every woman must be attractive and fit into a size "0". In this movie, the protagonist Andy does not fit the ideal image of a fashionista which conflicted with her new job as Miranda Priestly's assistant. Following her interview Andy learns that Miranda may not hire her due to her non- existent fashion sense and her unawareness of the magazine, although Miranda does hires her for  being unlike her traditional employees.
     Andy is unlike the traditional female. She doesn't find that she must put too much effort into her appearance or conform to the stereotype of the other females, she calls "the clackers". She is a journalist with no interest in fashion or being the ideal size "0". Her only interest in a job at the magazine is to boost her career as a journalist. She is constantly criticized for her frumpy sweaters and loafers. Surrounded by skinny girls in designer clothes Andy soon feels that she is the underdog, especially since she's is the "new girl".
      Most of the audience, including myself would wish that Andy kept her non- conformist like ways, but instead she decides in order to do well in her job she must dress and act like her fellow colleagues. Her conformity only follows the female ideology of the fashion industry and is eventually her downfall. Although Andy does move up in her job at Runway, her social life goes up into flames. She loses not only her fiancee but her very best friends as well.
     In all, this story teaches us if we follow the roles that society creates for us instead of being ourselves it will ultimately turn out to for the worst. Like Andy many of us struggle with becoming what we're not in order to please others, but instead of being like Andy we should remain true to what feels right for us and in turn we will be successful.

The Thinner, The Better

     In the movie, The Devil Wears Prada character, Emily Charlton is the ideal model of fashion perfection. The director portrays her as the fashion forward assistant of the famed Runway editor Miranda Priestly. As protagonist Andrea receives her new job, to follow in the footsteps of Emily, Emily teaches her the ropes, presenting herself as the dominant one. Emily is extremely thin, yet extremely fashionable. Throughout the movie all Emily does is rave about her trip to Paris with Miranda. In preparation for this trip Emily says, "See, I'm on this new diet. Well, I don't eat anything. And right before I feel I'm going to faint, I eat a cube of cheese. I'm one stomach flu away from my goal weight." This quote embodies the very fashion industry and the culture that we live in. Character, Emily Charlton who was probably no more than 100 pounds found that she should starve herself in order to be picture perfect in Paris. Here arises the stigma for those who want to be in the fashion industry or be beautiful even to be thin. 

     Today's society glorifies the slimmer woman and the muscular man. These things have become ideal and have shaped the minds and bodies of many. Emily is one of many girls starving themselves to find perfection. The media shapes what we as a society considers acceptable and beautiful and for years what is acceptable and beautiful has been small and thin.

     Not only does this quote show society's dire need to be thin but also portrays the extremes people will go to in order to please other people. Both characters in The Devil Wears Prada Emily and Andrea were willing to somehow alter their appearance in order to fit the role Miranda saw for them. Although the movie is fictional it goes to show that people of our culture go to extreme measures in order to appease those around if they are bosses, or family etc...

       A discourse analysis of this quote brings the reality that our society will do just about anything to fit into a stigma set by people we don't even know personally.

To Wear Prada or Not to Wear Prada

     The movie, The Devil Wears Prada deems itself a cool medium in McLuhan's terms due to the high audience participation it received following the movie's premiere. However this audience participation was more so negative than positive. During the making of the movie, many designers as well as other "fashion notables" refused to play a role as themselves in the movie because of its depiction of the fashion industry. These designers also feared displeasing the editor of U.S Vogue, Anna Wintour because she is believed to be the inspiration for the main character Miranda Priestly.
     Newspaper fashion writer, Hadley Freeman suggested that The Devil Wears Prada is filled with sexism and mostly cliches about the fashion industry. Some others said that the movie was on the fashion tip is too safe, and the beauty too over stated. Others including Ginia Bellafonte, former fashion writer for the New York Times, argued that it is "the truest portrayal of fashion culture since Unzipped". Although the movie may have been getting a lot of hate for not properly depicting the fashion industry, that did not stop ticket sales.The film grossed almost forty million dollars in the first week of airing on 2,847 screens. In total the movie grossed $125 million in the United States and $325 in Canada and worldwide.
      McLuhan is likely to find The Devil Wears Prada as beneficial to all audiences because it allows the audience to view the "real" fashion industry through media, aside from what we hear on the news or in books. Critics including Postman would likely argue that Movies such as this are only dumbing audiences down rather than educating us on the fashion industry which should be done without the use of media. This movie would be considered a cool medium because the portrayal of the fashion industry caused a lot of designers not to participate in the movie and the hate the movie received also allowed for more viewers to want to see this movie including Anna Wintour herself.
     All in all, the movie The Devil Wears Prada received much prejudice as a fashion based film but it was all benefit the movie makers and the actors in the end.