Fashionista or not, The Devil Wears Prada is a must-see film. Not just for its sartorial elegance as it educates viewers about Fashion 101 but also for the beauty and the antonyms-of-beauty that a human spirit can possess. The movie – acerbic and witty all through out and almost like a black comedy that surely cracks urine sacs – is a dissertation of good and evil and how these two traits define one’s character, disposition and conviction.
The so-called devil who wears Prada in the movie is Miranda Priestly, the single most powerful icon in fashion. (Miranda’s predator-like character is powerfully portrayed by Meryl Streep with calculating caprice and cruelty.) She is at the helm of Runway, the Holy Grail of fashion magazines. Working for this feisty femme and dictatorial editor is both a dream and a nightmare yet countless young ladies in New York would kill just to be her assistant. Take note: the assistant’s remuneration is not even good. Being Miranda’s assistant is the big pay itself because the job with her will surely open doors of opportunities for the willing victim. Well, the movie insinuates, fame and being fashionable have no tag price. They will only not matter when dignity is at stake, the real priceless tag anybody can have.
The uninitiated prey of Miranda is Andy Sachs, the small-town girl who becomes her new assistant, so-so played by Anne Hathaway. (Andy metamorphoses in the movie – from a baduy (tacky) dresser, she becomes part of the army of clackers – the term used in the movie to describe fashionable ladies who walk the dizzying fashion scenes of the Big Apple wearing their Jimmy Choos, Ferragamos, Blahniks and the likes.) Andy is privy to the fact that working for Miranda can either be heaven or hell – she found out so easily it was the latter – but she only sees this opportunity as a stepping stone to another career in journalism. In effect, she succumbs to the sole-survival-of-the-fittest syndrome wherein the only competitor in the game is herself. So, in the process, she takes both the brutal and subtle emotional and mental lashings of Miranda. (Later on, she survives by detaching herself from the force of the "devil’s fork.")
Miranda requires her assistant to buy her Starbucks coffee and, in effect, Andy masters the art of ignoring third degree burns. Andy takes care of Miranda’s bag while in the office and hangs her jacket; buys and prepares her lunch; answers the phone; delivers the mock up copy to her house no matter how late; memorizes names of important people for her just in case she forgets their names while in a party; does magic by securing copies of the latest installment of the Harry Potter book even if it is still being printed and not yet available in the bookshelf.
The job with Miranda is the type that no self-respecting person can endure and survive. Miranda is as real as the many bosses in different offices – superiors who think they have the monopoly of power when in fact no one, indeed, has the monopoly of it.
I had my own unfair share of two Mirandas in the past (one even branded me lazy after slaving myself for an overtime, more like an over tawad, in the office; the other called me names even after I prepared his speech and his slides presentation). Though they did not have the requirements of The Devil Who Wears Prada, they tried to monopolize their power over me. The end of the reign of my former haughty bosses over me came when I stood my ground and taught and showed them how to treat me. As many sages say, you will be treated the way you want to be treated. Looking back, if I did not call their attention to their misdeeds, I could have ended up in jail. If I allowed myself to be under their spell, I would one day report for work seeing blood all over while wringing their necks to perfection. (Of course that’s a hyperbolical statement.) Then I would blame myself for not telling or showing them the way I want to be treated. If it happened, I would be writing this column from my cell. Thank God I conquered my fear and thereby conquering their pseudo monopoly of power. From those experiences, I learned industrial peace and harmony can be achieved when people communicate.
I will repeat: We are treated the way we want to be treated. If at first instance your boss pounces on you on matters that do not revolve around your official duties, you let him know. Do not endure things that do not sit well with you. Write your boss a diplomatic letter about it. Burning your bridges may do more harm than good. Then be ready for a dialogue between you and him. Justice prolonged becomes just-tiis. And soon, when you cannot function well anymore, it will show in your performance. Poor performance is a ground for termination.
Because of the rigors of our job, however, we tend to neglect so many things far more important than our daily routine in the office. In one scene in the movie, Andy’s father arrived in New York so he could spend some time with his daughter. She was with him but her mind and heart were with Miranda who was demanding from Andy to book her a flight out of Florida when all flights were canceled due to a hurricane and a stormy weather.
That particular scene had me thinking about people’s priorities in life. I don’t mean to sound morbid and preachy but if Andy dies that day because of mental, physical and emotional exhaustion from Miranda, does she ever realize that Runway, the company she works for, can replace her in a jiffy with someone who is equally good as her, better than her or inferior to her? The bigger picture she probably misses is the fact that when she dies, the family she will leave behind will feel her loss for a long time, others – perhaps like Nate, her live in boyfriend – for the rest of their lives.
Studying the characters of Miranda and Andy brings me to these simple questions: Is it good to be bad? Or is it bad to be good? In Miranda’s own version of "queendom" where she is the editrix, being difficult and demanding is chic. But as always, I give a thumb’s down to haughtiness. Why make life miserable for other people when more things can be achieved when everyone is at peace? People are not required to be chummy-chummy all the time but at least an atmosphere of cordiality should be observed so everybody can relax and treat work like a productive game that everyone can enjoy. In the case of Andy, on the other hand, too much kindness – or perhaps it’s not out of kindness that she obeys Miranda but because she cannot entangle herself anymore from the labyrinthine whims of her boss – is numbing. She starts to lose herself, her family and loved ones because she is at the beck and call of Miranda 24/7. In the final analysis, this simple dictum holds true: It is bad to be bad; good to be good. That’s all.
(Thank you for your letters. Please e-mail me at bumbaki@yahoo.com or my.new.beginnings@gmail.com.
Have a blessed Sunday!)