WHAT IS THE UNDERLYING MESSAGE OF 'THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA'?

There has been a lot of hype over the message of "The Devil Wears Prada". People can barely agree on the villain of the film: Miranda, Emily, Nate? It all depends on your point of view on fashion and sense of work ethic. One thing remains clear. Miranda Priestly runs a tight ship. She commands excellence and gets a bad rap for it.

The Youtube review channel The Take completed a wonderful series on the film, including the characters of Miranda and Emily. In their essay on Miranda, they compare her to Cruella DeVil from "101 Dalmatians". On the surface, it does feel like a fair comparison. Both characters are fashionistas and frightening bosses. Dig deeper, however, and we find that Miranda Priestly harbors far more character than DeVil ever could. DeVil is a narcissistic designer with questionable taste.

What is Miranda? Is she also a narcissistic, female boss? Though she runs a tight ship, I would say no. Miranda is an editor. She commands excellence because it is the job of an editor to do so. It is lonely, thankless work, and it's never personal to receive our critique (especially since writers ask for it). To be a female editor take intelligence, hard work, and excellence that few can produce. Miranda does this without ever raising her voice to a single staff member. Miranda is a rare gem in the working world run by men. Even in the best of moods, DeVil wishes she was Miranda.

That said, there is a serious problem with the way Miranda leads Runway. She leaves no room for her employees to exercise self-care, which is crucial for positive productivity. Each Runway employee works themselves to the bone to keep up with Miranda's impossible standards. They are anxious and burnt out. How does that fit into her vision of excellence?

Emily embodies the extreme example of her lacking self-care. She barely sleeps, has no social life outside the office, starves herself, and ignores illness. This leads to such a frazzled brain that her work performance suffers. Ultimately, she winds up in the hospital after her inattentiveness gets her hit by a car. This is the result of doing too much at once.

Because her performance at works suffers, she loses Miranda's favor and loses her cherished trip to Paris. That is nothing short of hypocritical. Miranda needs to reevaluate her management style. If she needs excellence, she should promote self-care in her people. However, fashion is the industry Miranda choses to lead. While lucrative, it is harmful to our wellbeing as reasonable human beings.

Runway is a fashion magazine. Fashion stands for the opposite of self-care. With the severe incompatibility between image and wellbeing, one must ask. Can excellence truly exist in a fashion-rich environment? One must then choose between looking the part or playing the part. In the end, Andrea chooses to play the part through hard work and self-respect before she loses her soul to the fashion industry. How do you prefer to spend your time?