“The Devil Wears Prada”
Film Case Study
“The Devil Wears Prada” is a movie about a naïve, yet smart young woman named Andrea Sachs, and her journey to becoming a journalist. Andrea, also known as Andy, graduated from Northwestern University and interviewed for a job at Runway, a major fashion magazine in New York City. Being a simple young woman, Andy wasn’t necessarily up to speed with the fashion industry, but ended up landing the job. Miranda Priestly, editor in chief at Runway hired Andy because she was “different” from any of her previous assistants. If Andy worked as an assistant to Miranda for at least a year, she was under the impression that she could easily be hired as a journalist in the future. The only problem was
…show more content…
Even Emily, Miranda’s other assistant began to get jealous of Andy’s accomplishments.
I think Miranda displays several different types of power throughout the movie. Individuals with legitimate power can influence people through requests or demands within their position. Miranda uses her power sources in this way through authority among her co-workers. Even though reward power and coercive power are opposite, Miranda carried out both. It’s obvious that she conducts coercive power by using threatening gestures and the fear of punishment to gain power among her work place. Miranda portrays reward power in a case like Andy’s because being at Runway for a year will give her extensive job opportunities in the future. Miranda knows that Andy is a smart, hard worker, and she’ll do whatever she is told in order to remain an assistant, and be rewarded with a good job in the future. Out of the three power bases I’ve mentioned for Miranda, I think legitimate power is most important and prominently used in her character role. Legitimate power is similar to the learning style we’ve been experiencing is class. Nigel had worked with Miranda for several years, and by now had built a strong relationship with her. She still bossed him around, just like she did everyone else, but he knew all of her tricks and was able to respond to her better than most of her colleagues. Nigel was very knowledgeable not only
One does not necessarily have to cluck in disapproval to admit that entertainment is all the things its detractors say it is: fun, effortless, sensational, mindless, formulaic, predictable, and subversive. In fact, one might argue that those are the very reasons so many people love it. At the same time, it is not hard to see why cultural aristocrats in the nineteenth century and intellectuals in the twentieth hated entertainment and why they predicted, as one typical nineteenth century critic railed, that its eventual effect would be to over turn all morality, to poison the springs of domestic happiness, to dissolve the ties of our social order, and to involved our country in ruin." said Neal Gabler, the author of Life in the Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality. I agree with this quote, that entertainment is mind numbing and lessen the values of our society. Back in the nineteenth century, entertainment was something that actually stimulated their minds,
This shows that Miranda is trying to adjust, thus, it develops her character overall from being at first teenager like, to being more worried and observant of the changes going on in her
The critically acclaimed film, Goodfellas, is a gangster crime drama that features a great deal of talent. Household names such as Robert De Niro (Jimmy Conway), Joe Pesci (Tommy DeVito), Paul Sorvino (Paul Cicero), and promising stars like Ray Liotta (Henry Hill) and Lorraine Bracco (Karen Hill), attracted numerous Golden Globes and Academy Awards nominations. That type of cast power, linked with the signature talent of Martin Scorsese as a director, made for cinematic gold. Unquestionably, the actors and actresses did an excellent job augmenting the verisimilitude of this film and compelling audiences to empathize with their characters. But the cinematography in this film plays just as large a role in having audiences feel what the characters are feeling at a specific moment. Through the use of freeze frames, we learn of significant moments that shape Henry into the man that he is. By means of first-person narration, we are able to know exactly what is going through a particular character’s mind. Finally, strong editing made efficient use of multiple jump cuts, which add to the sensation that we are undergoing the same experiences as the characters on screen. Altogether, Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas effectively depicts paramount scenes and allows the audience to empathize with the characters by virtue of stylistic editing and cinematography.
The movie I chose to watch is Courageous. The precipitating event in this movie is the car accident that takes the life of Emily Mitchell. Her father, Adam Mitchell, and the rest of her family are traumatized by the sudden death of their 9 year old daughter/sister. In thinking about information that would be gained in the first contact with Adam Mitchell, one thing that stands out about his previous state of mind/functioning is that he was somewhat uninvolved with his children, taking them for granted. This fact can also be a trigger for how he processes this event, causing a crisis for him as he realized his
During the 1930’s and 1940’s, women of the world held virtually one role and one role only…homemaker. This was no different for the women of Mexico, except for one woman in particular, Frida Kahlo. Frida refused to accept the current ideals of society and the accepted social norms by engaging in things that few women in history ever had. Frida was involved in politics, she was promiscuous with men and women, she painted pictures of herself in ways that had never been done before, and she wore the clothes of her indigenous people as opposed to the current fashions of the world. The movie Frida showcases all of these qualities. The director, Julie Taymor, uses the symbolism of these things to show how Frida
Andrea is fresh out of graduating from university in hopes of finding a job to help reach her dream of becoming a journalist in New York City. However she is sent to Miranda Priestly – the chief editor of Runway, a fashion magazine, for an interview as an assistant. She reluctantly gives it a shot in knowledge that a year of being an assistant for Miranda would open opportunities for her to become a journalist anywhere she pleased. Although Andrea lacked in experience and knowledge about the fashion industry, her credentials and smart thinking won her the position. Andrea, also known as Andy finds it hard to fit in with the lifestyle of the fashion absorbed. Through the instigation of Miranda and the people around her, Andy
Basics: not intersted in fashion with being 20% of all viewers and 45% being female.
No one believed that she can stay in this position for long but Andrea proves everyone wrong when she becomes one of the best assistants that Miranda has ever had. However, this came with a price. Late shifts, a constantly ringing phone, expensive clothes and haughty surroundings changed Andrea and became a threat to her personal life. She had to make tough decisions, choosing between what is right and what is desirable. However, surprisingly for everyone, Andrea kept her individuality and didn't break under this pressure. She
Throughout her life, which began at age three on the island, to the time in which she met the only other human contact, Ferdinand, at age fifteen, she learned many things from her father about life and all its complexities. Living on this island, Miranda is a product of " nurture" rather than that of "nature."
Analyze This is a hilarious, feel good movie about two men from different backgrounds living completely opposite lifestyles. Through a series of very funny, random and bizarre moments they form a memorable friendship together. The movie came to theatres in 1999, was directed by Harold Ramis and included a cast full of some of Hollywood’s brightest stars. It begins with two gangsters leaving a café, discussing their plans to attend a meeting involving the countries major crime bosses. One gangster goes back in the café to get a toothpick and at the same time the other gangster is killed from a drive-by shooting. The movie’s plot is based upon the surviving gangster seeking out a psychiatrist to help with his emotional
Her perception of the real world is only what she has imagined in her dreams. She only knows what she has seen and what she has been told by her controlling father, Prospero. Prospero puts Miranda on a pedestal and treats her like a princess so she has no idea of how the world really is. He only starts to tell her the story of how they became stranded on the island once she turns 15. Miranda’s kindness is demonstrated in the beginning of the story when she is concerned about the people aboard the shipwreck in the storm she witnesses. She has a kind soul and will most likely treat her people fairly but may be too naïve to see through the ones who are likely to plot against her.
In Miranda’s case, she uses intimidation as a tool in establishing fear, respect and power. In the opening scene, Runway employees are seen running around in preparation for Miranda’s arrival. Once she arrives, she speaks in short commands and uses a condescending tone with all employees irrespective of their experience or seniority in her organization. “Do not bore me with your questions” was Miranda’s response when Andrea asked a follow-up question to Miranda’s instructions. To make her intimidating delivery more effective, Miranda does not make eye contact with her subordinates nor does she use common courtesy such as please and thank you. If Miranda feels that her above mentioned intimidation tactics have not worked, she takes to the ultimate intimidation levels with threats of dismissal.
The film The Devil Wears Prada is about the personal transition of Andrea Sachs who is played by Anne Hathaway. In the film, Andrea seeks to get a job working for Miranda Priestly, the Editor in Chief of Runway Magazine, who is played by Meryl Streep. Runway is a fashion magazine, and although Andrea shares no interest in fashion or the fashion industry, she wants the job because she was informed that anyone that works for Miranda for a year without being fired will be given the chance to be promoted to a job position of their dreams. Since, Andrea aspires to be a journalist for The New Yorker; she believes that working for Miranda for a year and with Miranda's contacts, she will able to obtain her dream job. However, with Miranda's
Since the 1940’s, movies have predominately portrayed women as sex symbols. Beginning in the 1940’s and continuing though the 1980’s, women did not have major roles in movies. When they did have a leading role the women was either pretreated as unintelligent and beautiful, or as conniving and beautiful: But she was always beautiful. Before the 1990’s, men alone, wrote and directed all the movies, and the movies were written for men. In comparison, movies of the 90’s are not only written and directed by women, but leading roles are also held by older and unattractive women. In this paper I will show the variations and growth of women’s roles in movies from the 1940’s though the 1990’s.
The organization in The Devil Wears Prada is headed by Miranda, her assistant Andy who is also assisted by Emily Charlton. They are forced to quickly learn Miranda’s preferences and behaviors in order to facilitate the smooth running of their business and in addition to that, in order to meet Miranda’s expectations. Andrea is forced to change her behaviors and attitude of a simple and plain style in order to gain acceptance and adapt to the fashion world organization since she is no longer in journalism.