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Is 'Devil' fluff or tough? |
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Written by ASAP
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Wednesday, 05 July 2006 |
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CARYN:
You ready? You ready to talk “The Devil Wears Prada?” You know, that movie about an assistant to a high-powered fashion editor that’s based on a book about an assistant to a high-powered fashion editor written by a woman who used to be the assistant to a high-powered fashion editor. I know you’re like, MY boss and everything, but sometimes the little guy... or girl needs to rise up. Let’s get to it.
LISA:
OK, hit me. We’ll see if you still have a job by the end of this.
CARYN:
TDWP — Fluff or tough?
LISA:
I think the two coexist well. Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway are both tough broads with great clothes. The ultimate chick flick.
CARYN:
I think this is an important movie. Maybe not Important but important nonetheless. Why? Why you ask?
LISA:
I do ask why, really.
CARYN:
Because the film’s whole backdrop is women in the workplace. And for once, it isn’t women and men battling it out in the workplace, it’s women and women. Kinda revolutionary. The logical next step after the ladies of “9 to 5” tied up their boss.
LISA:
I see where you’re coming from. But are catfights really that revolutionary? I mean, couldn’t we watch “Prison Vixens 3” for that?
CARYN:
I think it was more than a mere catfight. Catfights usually denote fighting over men. In this instance they’re fighting over power, over position, over prestige and over legacy. All things MEN fight over all the time. It’s the battle drum of equality. Let freedom ring!
LISA:
But you could also say it didn’t resolve itself in the most girl-empowering way.
The powerful woman comes off as the one rhyming with witch and her assistant learns that she’s sacrificed her romantic dreams for cold, cold power. We could have heard that message decades ago, couldn’t we?
CARYN:
I think that there are elements of the workplace that remain the same. If
you want to be on top you must sacrifice something. And, still, after all these years, women often have to sacrifice their romantic relationships to be the boss. I think it’s still relevant.
LISA:
You’re right. I’m going to go quietly sob now.
CARYN:
I don’t think you have to. The film shows that there are options. But yes, if you want to be a top-flight CEO type or, maybe secretary of state, you will have to leave something behind. Thing is, men lose something, too, I think. They also lose time with their families. And I think more and more that’s becoming an issue for them (but that’s a whole other movie. Or, please listen to the Harry Chapin song “Cats in the Cradle” for a refresher.)
LISA:
War of the sexes aside, I have to say the movie was a vast improvement over
the book by Lauren Weisberger. In the movie, I was really rooting for Anne Hathaway’s character. In the book, I just wanted her to quit whining and do her job. Maybe I have some sympathy for the devil.
CARYN:
I haven’t read the book. Is there really a devil in “The Devil Wears Prada?” Do you really think the character played by Meryl Streep was all that awful? Isn’t she like some people you admire: so good at what they do that earthly human things bounce off of them? Geniuses with no human compatibility?
LISA:
She was good at what she did, but she was also willing to jam an icepick into anyone who stood in her way. Of course, what’s left unsaid is that her young protege did the same thing by turning around and writing a tell-all book about the woman who gave her a foot in the door. | Only registered users can write comments.
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