User:Daalexandram/The Devil Wears Prada (film)

Beauty Standards
One of the major themes throughout The Devil Wears Prada is women’s beauty standards, specifically body image. Right in the opening credits of The Devil Wears Prada, Hathaway’s character Andy (Andrea) Sachs is put side by side with tall and lean women who are dressed in carefully selected clothing and accessories, including notorious high fashion models like Gisele Bündchen. After Andy gets her makeover from Nigel, she too has her own model-like montage showing off her new style. Miranda also makes an effort to look at Andy, and even smiles, after she is dressed in all of the designer clothes she is given by Nigel. Dr. Andrew Joseph Pegoda, a professor in women's, gender, and sexuality studies, states, “Only after this transformation, do they respect Andy.”

Throughout the film, Andy is constantly reminded of her size by other workers at Runway. When Nigel and Andy are talking in the cafeteria, Andy mentions she is a size six and Nigel responds with “Which is the new fourteen.” The average size for women in the United States is a 38.7-inch waist which translates to a size sixteen or extra large, while a size six is considered a small. Nigel frequently calls Andy “six” as a nickname referring to her body size. Towards the end of the movie, Andy tells Nigel that she has lost weight and is down from a size six to a size four, and then they clink their glasses in celebration.

In one scene during the movie, Emily tells Andy about the new diet she is doing in order to prepare her body for Paris Fashion Week, to which Andy replies, "You look so thin." Emily's diet entails eating nothing until she feels like she is going to faint, and then she will allow herself one cheese cube. Emily's happiness in Andy's response reiterates the preference for smaller body sizes in the movie.

Sexual Misconduct
Throughout the film, The Devil Wears Prada, there are scenes that not only depict unhealthy beauty standards among women but also broken consent in the form of sexual misconduct. Towards the middle of the movie, Andy is seen picking up a design at a party for her boss, Miranda. During this event, Andy meets a famous writer, Christian, who happens to be well-connected in Andy’s aspiring career. As she converses with Christian, he continuously invites her to have a drink and offers to take her out on a date. Andy discloses that she has a boyfriend; that is, until the very end of the movie when she and her boyfriend end their relationship. Following that conflict, she decides to take Christian up on his offer and go out on a date with him. On a separate occasion, Andy is struggling with work and calls Christian since his job gives him the ability to provide her with assistance. Near the final moments of the film, Christian asks Andy on another date and claims that she “owes him” for his help. Coercion is explicitly shown when Andy is in Paris after having ended a relationship with her boyfriend. While Andy went on a date with Christian, her body language depicted the extent to which she was evidently intoxicated. Furthermore, Andy states that she had “too much wine,” which, according to The Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network, communicates that consent cannot be given when one party is under the influence. This is shown on the screen when Andy stresses, “I can’t, I’m sorry, I can’t— Nate and I just split up, I can’t— I’ve had too much wine and my hearing, vision, judgment is impaired— I barely know you, I’m in a strange city—” wherein each time she says no, he continues to kiss her without her consent. Not only was Christian highly connected to Andy’s job, but he was also linked to her career. The dynamic between Christian and Andy demonstrates a power dynamic, which, according to Title IX, can play a large role in cases of sexual assault.

Power
The Devil Wears Prada features many women in positions of power and the common perceptions of them. The power dynamics in the Runway company are expressed through the editor-in-chief, Miranda Priestly, and the way her workers have to “gird their loins” whenever she is present. Miranda is first introduced with this phrase and the entire staff panics at the mention of her name. The main thing that allows women in power to be perceived like Miranda is gender stereotypes regarding leadership. Miranda leads as an editor-in-chief and holds the same power men are traditionally expected to hold in businesses. Women are expected to be caring, warm, and understanding due to these gender stereotypes. Miranda shows the reality that leaders are leaders, regardless of gender. Miranda is knowledgeable and passionate about her job which is seen as a bad thing. The New York Times explains that Miranda is observed to be terrifying yet awe-inducing.

According to a Pew Research survey, women’s abilities to be good leaders are equal to men’s. Women are held back by standards that expect them to prioritize motherhood above anything else. The capabilities of women are represented by Miranda’s ability to manage a home and a work life. There are moments when Miranda reveals vulnerability and interest in the people around her. In those intimate moments Miranda can be seen as a human and not just a cold-hearted boss. Studies also show that women are perceived to be better with compromises, honesty, and empathy. The expression of Miranda’s leadership does not convince the audience that she embodies these qualities but the movie shows all of her kinder qualities at different times. Towards the end of the movie, Miranda is seen disheveled and upset when her husband files for divorce. Miranda knows the press is going to call her, “The Dragon Lady. Career obsessed. Snow Queen drives away another Mr. Priestly.” Her ideas of what will be said about her show how working women are treated unfairly for prioritizing work. She fears disappointing her children more than being shamed by the media. Miranda is deeply concerned about her family but is dedicated to her career simultaneously.

The issue of women systematically competing against each other is displayed through the competition between Andy and Emily. The systematic workplace dynamics cause women to behave this way, not a woman’s antagonistic views towards other women. Women are not inherently mean towards each other. It is the gender roles in work environments that promote the competition between women. Forbes states that due to the few number of women’s positions, women are set up to compete directly against each other. Women struggle to find a balance between competing vigorously against one another and pushing other women back in the process. Sometimes women try to adopt career strategies that men use and when they do this, they are seen as selfish and unpleasant. The Devil Wears Prada pits Andy and Emily against each other and shows the way women are taught to compete for power in the workplace. Andy and Emily both work hard to be Miranda’s “first” assistant and there is tension between them at times. Andy makes a selfish choice to go on the Paris trip, despite knowing Emily had been working hard to go on the trip for over a year. Andy's choice betters her career and she is not trying to sabotage Emily, but women are expected to take everyone’s personal lives and interests into consideration before making decisions for themselves.