"The Devil Wears Prada" is an iconic movie. Does it really get better than watching Maryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, and high fashion? I really don't think so. Not only is this movie just downright amazing, it accurately represents sexism in the workplace.
1. It's in the title.
The Devil Wears Prada. Sure, Meryl Streep does a flawless job (as usual) of portraying a terrifying, overly demanding boss, but if it were a man leading the magazine? There wouldn't even be a movie. He would just be seen as a person who is good at his job.
2. The protagonist's boyfriend reaction to her job.
He goes from a very supportive boyfriend to a downright baby when she starts to become busy with work. He describes that because she has become invested in her job by wearing designer clothes and spending countless hours devoting herself to the job, she is a fake, changed person. His support stops when she steps into this new world of fashion, and due to the nature of materialism that coincides with working in a magazine, he has little to no faith that she is actually investing in her future of writing like she planned.
3. We have no idea how much determination Miranda (Meryl Streep) actually has until she explains it at the end of the movie.
Up until the end, she is just described as a demanding b*tch. We seldom see her do actual work past asking Andy and Emily tasks and favors. The first time I watched it I realized that Miranda almost seemed to have her work cut out for her with her two assistants. This isn't until she describes at the end of the movie that no one could do what she did. That if someone else took over the magazine, the whole thing would go up in flames. If it were a man, it would be assumed that he was shouting these demands because he had work to do, and they would seldom be seen as superfluous, yet passed as necessary so he could do his job.
4. The way Andy's friend views her job.
In her art show, Andy's friend blatantly calls her out for no longer loving Nate, Andy's boyfriend. That Andy has turned into someone she no longer knows because of her new clothes and newfound passion for the world of fashion. She calls her out for missing events and being late, though in this exact scene Andy is on time and there for her best friend's art show.
5. The scene where Miranda discusses her divorce.
Meryl Streep stripped of makeup in this scene symbolizes her becoming real and unclothed from her everyday facade. She explains her divorce and how she expects that the press will call her a snow queen or work-obsessed, which shows us that similar adjectives have been used to describe her in the past. We see how the media tears successful women down for their high position in work, yet neglects to do the same to exes of Miranda's.
6. The ongoing theme of thinness.
Though seen as a joke in the movie, Andy's size and eating habits are touched upon frequently. As Andy becomes thinner in the movie, she becomes more successful, alluding to the fact that women's bodies are directly associated with their physical appearance. This theme is wrapped up at the end when, as her coworker is celebrating his new promotion, they simultaneously celebrate her smaller dress size. Promotions and unnecessary weight loss as a result of social pressure are deemed as equal.
7. Nathan (Andy's boyfriend) only gets back together with her when she no longer has the fashion magazine job.
When asked if he would get back together with her, he responds with "are you done being a jerk?" AKA are you done being dedicated to your job? So, a little time in a job that implores her to become interested in fashion makes her a jerk? A change of heart about the fashion world makes her a jerk? But she supports him with his job in the world of food and wine. Got it.
