Femininity in the Devil Wears Prada

In the film The Devil Wears Prada femininity is represented through the use of fashion, attitude and the ability to succeed. It can be clearly seen in two of the films principal characters Miranda Priestly and Nigel. Femininity in the film is portrayed through a range of characters and film techniques, including tilts, pans and camera angles. Miranda represents femininity through fashion, make-up and power where as Nigel represents it through his fashion, personality and behaviour. Nigel is the art director of runway, he looks after the fashion articles and photo- shoots. Miranda is the editor in chief of Runway and she is at the top of the fashion industry. Nigel and Miranda’s jobs are very dissimilar; Miranda is the top of the hierarchy and Nigel rests below her. This one makes Miranda superior to Nigel and two shows the diversity in their jobs.

The film demonstrates that an important part of femininity is a person’s attitude. Nigel is an obvious example of this. He shows femininity through his attitude and personality. Nigel shows femininity through his attitude, especially in the way he talks. An example of this is during the movie he says “wake-up 6!” Which is an insensitive fashion insult because, “size 6 is the new 14”. This demonstrates that Nigel has a judgemental attitude when it comes to fashion and Andy. Another way in which he represents femininity is through his creativity and artistic talent. He is head of the art department at Runway and he organises all of the photo shoots. He adds his flair to the way he dresses the models and the way he organises the artistic area of the magazine. This shows that his dedication towards fashion is feminine.

Miranda represents femininity through her knowledge of the fashion industry and her high fashion clothes and designer cosmetics. This is the reason why she is impressed when Andy changes her wardrobe to become more feminine. Miranda lives for fashion and designer accessories. During the film this is evident when she is explaining to Andy her knowledge of the fashion industry and why she wears her lumpy blue sweater. “That sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise. It's not lapis. It's actually cerulean… and in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns… And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers… that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry.” This quote demonstrates her complete knowledge of fashion and the industry in which she works. If Miranda did not know about the fashion industry she would not be seen as feminine, as the industry in which she works is feminine. She also represents femininity through her clothes and fashion. Many examples of this are strewn throughout the movie, such as; on Andy’s first day at work.

During the film both Nigel and Miranda represent femininity, in similar and different ways. In the film there are very little similarities between Miranda and Nigel however they both share the love of fashion and the sense of belonging they receive from working in the industry. Many differences separate Nigel and Miranda, from her superiority to his inferiority. His femininity is portrayed through his character’s personality and behavior. Examples of this are scatters throughout the film such as; when he says “We have to get to the beauty department, and God knows how long that's going to take.” Miranda’s femininity is reliant upon material items, such as designer accessories, cosmetics and clothes. These material possessions helped Miranda into the position she is in today. Without her accessories and clothes, nobody would have noticed her. These two different types of femininity are vastly different but help make the character’s personas complete. The film techniques in the movie are mainly in favor of Miranda as she is more powerful then Nigel, examples of this include that the camera is tilted up towards Miranda and down towards Nigel when they are together. Miranda is also the most dominant person in the shots. She is the most focused on, everyone else is in the background.

In conclusion femininity in the Devil Wears Prada is represented through many different areas. One way, Miranda’s way, is through high fashion, designer cosmetics and accessories. Another way, Nigel’s way, is through attitude, personality and behavior. A person’s persona. Film techniques and characters help portray these types of femininity throughout the film. The Devil wears Prada is a prime example of how femininity is not just about being a woman.

Metrecal

The way that femininity is being presented in this advertisement is that you have to be thin to be feminine. This advertisement, called Metrecal, is about a weight loss drink and how it is “the most convenient way to lose weight safely”. Metrecal also shows that it can be social to lose weight as the drink “fits into your way of life.” This quote also shows that by losing weight your social life will soar and so you will have less time to eat. The images that are shown are of the drink being opened and poured into a chilled wine glass. The hand holding the glass is also perfectly manicured with pink nails. This could be representing how women should always look good. This article comes from a woman’s magazine and so this is pointing out that only women are overweight and not men. This article shows to women everywhere that to be social you have to be thin.

Empathy Exercises

Imagine you are Andy and you have just found out that you are going to Paris instead of Emily. You haven't told her yet.

Dear Journal.
Miranda just told me I am going with her to Paris. I am still in shock. I don't know how I am going to break the news to Emily. I feel really bad about her not going, she has been starving herself for weeks. She looks amazing. I still haven’t decided how to break the news to her. Miranda has kind of dumped it all on me, as usual. I have also been made first assistant, which is also pretty exciting. I just don't know what to do. Actually I might call her right now.

Bye, for now journal.

Empathy Exercises

Imagine you are Emily and you have just found out that Andy is going to Paris instead of you.
Dear Journal.
I am so angry today. Life just isn’t fair. What is it about me journal, I starve myself for weeks to go on this trip to Paris and I now find out that Andy is going instead of me!! Miranda is a dragon-lady, well we all know that but this is too far, I have been working here for over 3 years now and Andy got the job only 2 months ago!!!! It is just so frustrating journal, the level of unfairness is unbelievable. I know Miranda would have fired her but that is no excuse. I don't even care that I’m in hospital that's also Andy’s fault I was on the phone to here when I got hit by that stupid car. I AM JUST SO ANGRY. I am so angry that I can see straight and I can even write in you I just getting more frustrated, did u known I have broken my pencil 4 TIMEES!!! ARGH!!! I don't want to hurt you journal so I will write to you again when I have calmed down.

Emily <3

How Women are represented through fashion and self-help magazines

The article in cosmopolitan called 23 ways to fake your weight represents women as fake and not being who they really are. This is partially the media fault. We are shown images of tiny size 0 model s and we want to look like them because they are the ones with the fame and success. The media has helped distort our vision of whom/what is normal. It used to be size 8-10 was normal and healthy now its size 0-4. In this article they talk about Isla Fisher. Fisher is clearly a healthy weight and yet the magazine portrays her as ‘faking her weight’. It also shows you how to do the perfect photo pose to make yourself look slimmer. They use Isla Fisher as the model for the ‘perfect pose’. This article names and shames many stars who may not have looked that good that night the photo was taken but they are still people and on other occasions they may have look amazing. Cosmopolitan and many fashion/self help magazines have distorted our view of what is normal and have cause us to no longer be who we want to be but the fake ‘perfect’ person.

The Way Women are Represented through Song

A Gold Digger is a person who seeks a partner under the guise of a romantic relationship, but only seeks to exploit the person financially. In this song Kanye West is singing about a beautiful woman who he ‘loves’ but “From what I heard she got a baby by Busta, My best friend say she used to f*** with Usher”. This is saying how she is a woman who has been ‘around’ with quite a few famous musicians. In his last verse Kanye raps that “She got one of yo' kids, got you for 18 years, I know somebody payin' child support for one of his kids, And on her 18th birthday, he found out it wasn't his”. He is trying to say that women are cheating liars who only want your money. This corroborates with “She was supposed to buy ya shorty Tyco with ya money, she went to the doctor got lipo with ya money”, which means that she was supposed to buy food and pay for schooling for the child but instead she is out getting plastic surgery with the child support money. This is offensive to women because not every woman is looking for money in a relationship some are looking for romance and companionship. Kanye West’s song Gold Digger is very offensive to women everywhere because they are being misrepresented and are seen to be just Gold Diggers.

Show Don't Tell

The land was beautiful, but harsh. The town was safe from the elements, but outside could be dangerous if one did not take precautions.

The land behind our wall was supposed to be wild. We knew there was a forest but the creatures that lived within were supposed to be dangerous. ‘The wizard’ was born and bread there. When I was a child I had sneaked out from a hole underneath the wall and had gone into the forest, apparently I had almost been lost. The wall was our safety but some, like me, thought it was a cage that kept us in. Only a few had made it out and even fewer had come back in. One of the people who had made it back, was my father.