The Real Villain of The Devil Wears Prada

How Andy’s boyfriend held her back

All images are pictures from “The Devil Wears Prada” on Disney

The Devil Wears Prada is one of my favourite films and I can quote some scenes word for word. After watching it a gazzilion times, it is so obvious that there was more than one villain. Miranda may have been…ok let's be real…she was a horrible boss. Let’s not try to normalise or accommodate her toxic behaviour. She was definitely the work villain. However, his blog post is about the everyday villain in Andy’s life that may be in yours. The one that meets you one way and expects that version for the next 60 years. Change may be good for you, but scary for others.

ANDY AND ANDY’S DREAMS

Andy wanted to be a journalist, she wanted to write. She moved to the big apple to pursue the dream career that almost every woman in early 2000s romcoms were in. However, she never planned for it to be in fashion journalism. Sometimes in life, we have an idea of what we want to do, what we enjoy, what makes us happy but we should also open ourselves up to what can challenge us, what can teach us, what can help us grow. For Andy, with her questionable taste in shoes and skirts, her opportunity for growth was Runway.

Runway is the magazine in the movie where Andy is hired by the hot headed and cold hearted Editor in Chief, Miranda Priestly. There she is pushed, and I mean pushed to her wits end by Priestly’s outrageous demands and sky high expectations. (You’ll have to watch the movie to understand). The moment in the movie I want to focus on is where she is presented with the perfect opportunity to leave the job she supposedly hated.

She was told, find the unpublished manuscript of the next Harry Potter book or don’t return. Given the crazy request, she prepared herself to quit…until, she was given an opportunity. Again, you’ll have to watch the movie to understand how, but said manuscript was made available to her over the phone as she stood on a crossroad. A literal and emotional crossroad. At that exact moment is where she decided, regardless how hard it may be, this is the job for her. Cinematic masterpiece.

Before that she was open to someone changing her style to suit the fashion office look, but after that moment, she was dressing herself. She didn’t need to be told what to do, or what to wear, she was at the top of her game. She knew how to dress, memorised the names of the designers, had industry contacts, she was on it. She was doing it for herself. She didn’t just look confident, she was confident - in her work and herself. When she changed her wardrobe she embodied the person she wanted to be, or maybe always was.

Of course, as you watch the film, there were some things she could have done differently. Missing birthdays aren’t fun and emotional cheating is outlandish behaviour. But regarding her work, she was allowing herself to try something new and actually dare to be good at it. It’s not about whether she made the right choice, it was about her being able to make a choice alone. I would say her main fault was not owning her decisions. She knew what she was doing and the type of life she wanted, but she refused to accept that it meant she was changing and the people who knew her before couldn’t understand. Had she been honest from the start, it would have been easier for the friends to then make a decision on how they were going to react. But they were all - Andy included - clinging onto the past version of her.

LE BOYFRIEND AND SO CALLED FRIENDS

This is villain No.1. His behaviour in this movie was honestly disappointing because he looked like what I imagine Brandon in Dork Diaries to look like in real life - but I digress. The reason why the boyfriend is the villain is because he never gave Andy the space to grow. People change, ideas develop and jobs are not forever. From the start, her job was ridiculed by him intront of others and he did not have a single good word to say to her about her development. I also found it interesting how, despite them living together, he wasn't really shown during Andy’s style and career evolution - probably because he was there physically but not emotionally. He had his career going on and they were both still young.

So if Andy was presented with the possibility of pivoting into fashion media - who is he to stop her? What really gets me is the ending when Andy reflects on all she did and if it was worth it. His response was to condense it to “shoes and shirts and jackets and belts”. First of all, God protect us all from people who don’t understand fashion. And second, lack of understanding does not give permission to diminish value. This is turning a bit into a rant but I can’t BELIEVE, that after he refused to adjust to her new lifestyle, she quit her job and agreed to go to Boston for his work opportunity?! Are you serious?!

And her friends…don’t get me started. What grown, working adult would find it funny to miss a work call because their phone is being thrown around a dinner table. In the grand scheme of things, it’s just a reflection of their disregard of her work, and maybe even disrespect towards Andy too. They enjoyed the benefits of free goodies, but didn’t care for the responsibility to it takes to enjoy those advantages. Too many times I hear “Oh, you’ve changed” or “Where’s the girl I knew before” news flash - she’s not here. Growth should be encouraged, not diminished. Too many times we allow external voices limit our potential. We’d rather stay mediocre instead of risking the discomfort simply trying may bring.

I was actually planning on doing a whole paragraph on Miranda Priestly, but I think you get the gist on why she is not an ideal boss in any sense of the word. Pinning employees against each other is not strategic, it’s manipulative. Again, you’ll have to watch the movie to understand.

People listen to me, get used to being uncomfortable. Growth doesn’t come from being comfortable - yes I’m speaking to you young creative minds. I spent my whole childhood thinking I’m going to be a fashion designer, but after giving myself time and space to explore, I realised that journalism is more for me. Even after making that decision, I give myself permission daily to evolve and grow. Make sure to subscribe for more articles from the girl who’s just trying to figure out this thing we call life. (That is such an early 2000s movie ending - I LOVE IT!)