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“It’s men who complain most about female characters while simultaneously writing most female characters.” Yes, this!

You’re WAY too forgiving when it comes to the friends and boyfriend. Andy clearly has real self esteem issues in all aspects of her life. Her “friends” are actively disparaging and destructive to her new job, telling her it’s meaningless and demeaning, but also grasping and unappreciative of the high value gifts Andy’s job allows her to give them in the same conversation (and Andy just accepts this treatment).

Nate is even worse. He’s a chef in NYC, he should completely understand being dedicated to your career and working long hours/on holidays. Also, a SANDWICH was the birthday meal?!? He’s a chef at a fancy restaurant and he’s whining at his girlfriend for missing a store bought cupcake and toasted bread with $5 worth of cheese.

Andy is messed up before she worked for Miranda and hopefully she will continue to grow and stand up for herself in her personal life too.

I fully agree that the roles and humans are more important than the fact that the main characters are women. But I don`t know if the genders were reverse would have worked that well in that context. The fact that Miranda is a woman is a huge part of her character because she is quite judged (from her and Andy`s perspective) because of that, she is the "ice queen",  she can`t hold a marriage, a "bad mother" who misses her kids recital and etc. Andy states that if she was a man nobody would have cared that much about her personal life rather than how good she is at the job.

You should add that the screenwriter is a woman, adapted from a novel by a woman who based the story on her own experiences working in the fashion industry. This is rare enough in Hollywood to call out and probably contributes to the nuanced, three dimensional portrayal of female characters as complicated people who aren’t just symbols for a cause.

im a 32 year old black dude and i just want to say this movie had me crying real tears at the end. it was so touching to me. It made me proud that someone as cold as Miranda could express such pride in Andrea. I was overwhelmed by joy in seeing her finally reveal to us just how much she cared about losing Andrea. that she knows her worth to her. And Miranda really presented at the end as an anti-hero. She knows that while the position does put her in a high status, she knows that its a position to which no one should subject themselves. She's taking on all of the stress to ensure that the company doesnt crash and that someone else doesnt go down with it.  And watching andrea walk away and that Miranda lost ZERO respect for her. This movie was very simple yet captivating at the same time.

I think the scariest thing about the movie is that it shows just how fast we can change ourselves, from internal and external factors, to fit into a new or niche segment of society bc we want to be a part of it and/or fill a part of one's self

I'm so glad someone is finally pointing this out. The Devil Wears Prada is hilarious, dark, mind-twisting, and superbly well-written and acted. Thanks for this great breakdown!

Having to defend this as "it's not about fashion" rubs me the wrong way because even if it is not, fashion, just like eating, is something EVERYONE does and there's a lot of history and political comment to be found in fashion. It's not as vapid as to sell this movie just as a "psychological thriller", it teaches you why fashion is important through a brilliant audience surrogate. If there's anyone who should watch this movie it's those that would judge this movie as just some chick flick about fashion.

There's usually less of a spotlight on female-focused stories. They're less celebrated as great storytelling, seen as less universal, as opposed to stories focused on men. Films starring women and traditionally female stories are labeled as "chic-flics". Just something I've noticed as a woman consuming both types of media.

On the surface Miranda seems to have sacrificed her relationships and whilst that may be the case, what if the men she married had failed to support her in turn, not wanting to be the supporting spouse similarly to how wives of politicians take on supporting roles.
Additionally devil wears prada is a wonderfully crafted story of the delicate and nuanced cycle of abuse between women.

Miranda is a Dragon, sticking with the fantasy narrative structure. Mortals scurry and hide when she nears, they bow, they make offerings, those who do not hide are engulfed in her fire, some die.

honestly, as a fashion lover myself, i think that some of the behavior of Andys coworkers, especially Emily is at least somewhat justified. imagine working at a company, in a field that you absolutly love and that you work very hard for and someday you get a new co worker who thinks the whole industry is just a joke and doesn't really matter. Nigel saying that she should quit is surely in part because he is used to the abuse but he kind of has a point. Andy shoudn't have be thankful just because a million other girls wants the job and it's true that there is a lot wrong with the fashion industry as it's displayed in the movie and yes, most of the things Andy has to deal with are workplace abuse, but Andy should really pay respect to the work and passion her co workers put in to fashion, as she also does later in the movie. her transformation is bad because she looses her sense of self, but it also incorparates her respecting this industry and loosing her kind of toxic 'not like other girls' attitude.

I remember my sister asking me to watch this movie. I kept telling her no it's a chick-flic. Now all these years later I'm the one asking people to watch it because it's really good.

Don’t forget about the humor. Sometimes it’s dark, but this movie had moments when I literally laughed out loud.

Saw The Devil Wears Prada many times with my mom. Enjoyed it a lot. I hate that, as a dude, you'd need to defend liking this film. That said, I understand that many stories across genres are the same, except with different backgrounds, but the truth is, some backgrounds appeal more to some than others. I used to hate science-fiction because I associated it with Star Wars, ie aliens in outer space, which is a setting that didn't appeal to me at all as a kid, precisely because I didn't like SW. It's shows like Black Mirror and The original Twilight Zone that showed me that sci-fi can cover a lot of backdrops.

19:30 changing them to men WOULD change the story. Part of the key to Miranda's character is showing that the cutthroat things she has to do would likely be more accepted/celebrated if she were a man. The movie even supports this, showing that Miranda's career was hallmarked by people writing nasty things about her ("Dragon Lady, Career-Obsessed...Snow Queen Drives Away Another Mr. Priestly"). That is in large part why Andy admires her by the midpoint - "if Miranda were a man, no one would say anything about he except how good she is at her job", and the thing is, she's kinda right.

Miranda is not someone to emulate, which Andy figures out by the end, but she IS a woman in a patriarchy, and that's key to her character. The characters who are women in this movie (and very likely the book too) do need to be. Miranda, at the very least, and Andy too (and arguably also Emily because the obsession with weight that she has is usually a consequence of femininity)

“Is that the cinematic analysis of a great movie that people disregard because it’s about fashion”

“Yes it is. 🙂”

I agree with most of the points you made here, but there’s something I think is missing from this analysis, specifically Miranda and Andy's relationships with the men in their lives.

Do both characters neglect their relationships for their work, putting those relationships in jeopardy? Yes, and I can see interpreting that as a gender neutral experience that effects all sorts of relationships.

However, as a woman it's hard not to watch the movie and hate both men, at least a little (especially Andy's boyfriend. I have never met a woman who left this film with a positive opinion on him). The difference lies in societal expectations on women in the workforce and at home. There is a price women have to pay for ambition that men do not have to pay.

If Andy was pursuing a career that she believed in with all her heart, and was making big changes to the world, and she had to to dedicate herself just as much to her career to pursue something that meant so much to her, do you think her boyfriend would be more understanding of her ambition? I don't think he would. I think he'd still be mad that she ever prioritized anything, even herself, above him.

Was Miranda abusive? Absolutely, I'd hate to work for her. But I'd argue that the people in Andy's personal life were nearly/just as bad, getting mad at her for any change or growth, while simultaneously reaping the literal rewards of her success. The fact that she didn't leave her boyfriend at the end as she left her job ruined the movie a bit for me, personally.

I watched this movie on acid once and was thoroughly convinced she was the devil, quite frightening