"The Devil Wears Prada" came out in 2006 and is great film for a number of important reasons. The acting was very good, starring Merrill Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci. But for me, this movie was so great because it tapped into the stress and anger so many of us have to deal with every day when we work for other people. The Devil in this movie is played perfectly by Merrill Streep and during the entire story, she reminds all of us of one of my favorite quotes: "Power Corrupts Absolutely". Merrill plays a famous fashion executive Miranda Priestly, loosely based on an actual fashion executive, Anna Wintour and in scene after scene, she is incredibly rude, condescending, short tempered, vicious, and abusive to everybody, especially her new employee played by Hathaway. Some scenes in this movie are difficult to watch, especially for those of us who have had to put up with abuse at work, to make a living. We all know that Priestley is so abusive to people because she can be, she answers to no one, and she has no sense of human compassion for other people.
I asked myself many times during while watching this film, why does poor Andy, played by Anne Hathway, have to put up with so much abuse by her boss, played by Merrill Streep and even her co-worker, played by Emily Blunt? Well, because if she doesn't, she loses her job, potentially damages her career, loses money and it could take her a long time to get another job, if she can at all. So she contains her anger every day, doesn't complain, or report this constant abuse and rudeness to the company or Human Resources. Stress builds and in some cases can even damage your health after months or years of abuse. There are many bosses in companies in this world who are decent, treat people with respect and remember what it was like when they had the job that their employee now has, but unfortunately, this seems to be too few and far between.
I really liked the messages at the end of this movie, where integrity wins out over screwing over someone else. Rising above it all, realizing that you have to like yourself as a human being first, before doing things that are beneath who you are to get ahead. We all like to believe that we could be Anne Hathaway at the end of this movie, but how many of us really could be, considering the payoff you would leave behind?
It is hard to believe that this movie came out over 10 years ago, and because of the work-realism, very relatable story and messages about making a living, I highly recommend The Devil Wears Prada.
No comments:
Post a Comment