intermission (couldn't think of anything worthwhile to say): well, i wanted to write because i was in a reflective mood after watching the movie. hmmm...
if that book didn't spawn the hundreds of chick lit populating the bookshelves nowadays, i wouldn't have thought there was something meaningful or thoughtful behind the story. from what i get from reading the papers, the book is about staying on the job that all fashion-conscious girls covet. and this new girl, andrea or andy for short, is just out to prove to herself and to her boss, the "vicious" (andrea's words) and - how else do i describe her? strict? - commanding miranda priestley, an icon in the fashion world, and editor-in-chief of runway, not just a magazine but a "beacon of elegance" in fashion. indeed, when one of miranda's artists said that runway is not just a magazine, i thought, what else would there be to it? and he said those quoted words. in fact, what miranda told andy when the latter made the mistake of mentioning (to miranda) that fashion is just stuff was quite true in a way. in the capitalist society, the norms are set by those in power, those with money who can change things with the exchange of cash. what may be deemed a good product may not entirely come from the opinion of the users coming to that conclusion out of their own volition. advertisements, or the promise of false truths, may have influenced their opinion. in the movie, miranda elucidated to andy that what she is currently wearing at the moment (a blue sweater and generic skirt - what is suitable to her in her own fashion sense) did not entirely come out of her. magazines past have declared that the blue sweater she's wearing is fashion, and so andy, being a female and a consumer, agrees with what they say and she buys and wears that item. initially, i thought what she said was so profound but now, after thinking it over and having written it down, it just seemed so simple. anyhow, i was a bit surprised that that thought was included in the movie. well, with miranda saying it, it just seemed the sort of power she would feel over all the other fashion-conscious people in the world. but it being a hollywood film, it's like playing with fire. you may fuel discontent there. hmmm. but it's a good thought, the producers using that line in the film.
and for more surprises, andy was actually accepted into stanford law but chose to pursue journalism after graduating with a number of awards to her name. wandering in new york, she gets hired after her talk about being smart. doesn't seem to make much sense why she'd end up applying at runway. maybe this was a change from the book. anyhow, we see andy's a strong person and can cope with anything with a bit of luck. imagine, miranda asked her to get a copy of the unpublished manuscript of the next harry potter book (oho, millions there to j.k. rowling and the harry potter franchise). she was really demanding from the second assistant and since andy rose to the demand, she was deemed better qualified and close to being promoted to first assistant. in fact, instead of the first assistant, she was asked if she would go to miranda to paris for the yearly fashion shows. there was a whole world of possibilities in paris, and though she was given a choice on whether to go (in spite of emily (1st assistant) who had been dying to go for a long while already) or not, it didn't seem like much of a choice, especially if you were told that you did not and would not care about runway or any other publication at all if you did not go to paris. seemingly, this signals the turnaround in andy's personality into one that is completely opposite her, doing some things she would never do to people she cares about. slowly, she is turning into the person that she disses, the traits she associates with shallow, runway-type people. in short, people in the fashion world, those who claw at each other's throats just to get to the top. although there is still the shadow of her old self, she was finally made to realize the person she has become by miranda herself. after learning of the hurt miranda feels towards her pending divorce, she discovers that miranda is also a person - a wife and a mother. so when andy learns that miranda is about to be fired from the editorship, she tells miranda. miranda knew about it all along, and had planned for a long while what to do to keep the job. it may be love for runway, or overconfidence based on the opinion that no one could do to runway what she had been doing, but she did it at the expense of her most loyal artists, nigel, who's also been a close friend of andy's during her stint at runway. and so, from the demanding and vicious miranda, runway EIC, we see a more human miranda priestley, and then seemingly, the devil herself, miranda, in prada or any other sensible fashion label. is this the entirety of the evils miranda has done? i would like to know. and so, i'm more convinced that i should find a way to read the book.
so there you go. the cycle of life. andy then realizes what she has become and what she really wants wants. she throws away the object that physically links her with miranda and quits right then and there. she gets into a job that she really aimed to have after graduating, but not without the help of miranda's recommendation saying that andy has been the biggest disappointment among all her assistants, but then the editor screening andy would be an idiot if he did not hire her.
while walking, andy sees miranda and acknowledges her. miranda, i guess thinking back to older days, only smiles at herself when she was out of sight. yes, there are still some good things in the world. a person would not be alive if there was not the slightest bit of goodness in him.
the devil? she wears prada, is tough on her assistants, loves her kids, loves but is demanding of runway and its people, but overall, she's a challenge to be overcome by those who wish to be in her world. quitting doesn't mean you're a failure, but knowing that that world is not for you.
so andy's story ends. but the fashion is so check! hairstyles and all, i wish i could look the same or do the same to me. probably feel better about myself in many ways. but no cutthroating. anyhow, this has been a long reflection. many moods have passed. i'm up for a make-up class later today at 1pm and my report on ion-exchange chrom on monday.
ciao!
