The Devil Wears Prada: Queen Bees and Getting What You Want | Stuff You Like

[@michaelfordham9840]

I appreciate that you didn't fully dismiss the fashion industry as something that's irrelevant, as so many do who don't take an active interest in it (assuming you don't based on what you've said). While yes, much of the fashion industry revolves around the premise of something being 'pretty', cliche aside it really is SO much more than that. Fashion is ultimately built on the idea of fantasy. Like any good piece of fine art, a book, architecture, performance, it falls into the same category of creating something for a beholder and grants us the chance to make a commentary on the things that move us, or to move others, or to instantly communicate anything we want about ourselves without having to open our mouths. The high-commerce of the fashion industry in the modern world should not delegitimatise this, whilst it's grating and turns fashion into a commodity, it is undeniably an unmistakable weapon of self-expression.

[@InkHeart17]

You just reminded me of the movie The Set Up where the lady and guy assistants try to get their awful bosses to date one another so the two assistants won't have late nights at the office anymore. The guy assistant is sticking out the terrible job to get into a career where he can make lots of money, but his character arc is learning that having the hot model girlfriend and high paying job are not keys to happiness; and it ends with him getting the successful job but quitting it so he can look for a job that makes him happy. And the woman's assistant job keeps her so busy that she doesn't hone her own journalist skills but quitting gives her the time to write and she gets her ex-boss to mentor her into a writing career. That's a bit of a change for the better from the traditional "lady" story of "personal relationships are more important than a successful job" like the Devil Wears Prada movie.

[@Kimnicpat]

I, too, have such mixed feelings about this movie. I wanted to like it, but it just infuriates me more each time I watch it. Her friends ARE immature assholes, her boyfriend is a bit whiny, and Andi is painted as doing bad things for selfish reasons. There's one line in the movie that really affects how I view this movie. Andi tells her boyfriend that she has to work for Miranda for a year. One year, and then she can have pretty much any job she wants. In the grand scheme of things, one year of hard work for a demanding boss in exchange for the job you really want and career growth for the next thirty or so years is nothing. She does the smart thing by networking to show her writing skills. It's like she's punished for thinking about the future. All of Andi's friends work at jobs they're not particularly fond of, so they of all people should understand what an important opportunity this is for Andi. Miranda can either help start your career, or she can end it before it even has a chance to start if her (admittedly high) standards aren't met. It's imperative to remain professional, and again, it's for a mere twelve months.

[@tiffanypersaud3518]

I LOVE that you made the parallel between passion and sports. I don’t think the film was so much about fashion. It was more about survival and owning yourself. Yes, queen bees seem to be the exception rather than the norm. Miranda didn’t do anything good for Jacqueline. She threw Nigel under the buss and walked over him to keep her position. Miranda doesn’t like her life all that much. She wears a façade thar is tiresome to bear. She marries several times and is unhappy, her life revolves around her career and she spoils her children. If they wanted the angle of showing the challenges of career mothers, more could have been done here. You’re right. I didn’t think she and her boyfriend should have got back together. Blonde dude was annoying too.

[@JillBearup]

Blond guy was VERY ANNOYING. Probably not quite as annoying as the boyfriend, but...he was a bit...hmmm.

[@sandramilfort9261]

You're very smart. Comments on point 😇

[@christopherbrown5409]

It wasn't ABOUT career mothers, sweetie

[@tiffanypersaud3518]

@@christopherbrown5409 which is why I said "more could have been done on that". I appreciate the film as one of my faves regardless of that anyways.

[@christopherbrown5409]

@@tiffanypersaud3518 but why would you bring that up as if its a problem? The focus isn't on Miranda (scene-stealer and titular devil though she is) or her journey; its about ANDY. This is like complaining that Romeo and Juliet doesn't spend a lot of time on Mercutio. They didn't want that angle because it simply wouldn't have been relevant for that story, so they didn't go there. Neither did Lauren Weisberger, who write the book. Next?

[@damonblade3195]

I used to hate this movie but I watched it again and I realised this movie is really underated . I actually kind of liked Miranda . Maybe she is not the boss any of us would like to be but she has a work ethic one can admire. Plus some of Anne Hathaways so called freinds are real jerks and her work while outwardly hostile actually helps her to grow as a person.

[@AmericPet]

"The boyfriend that annoys me," Thank you!

[@alexia513]

I totally agree with you though I do think that it's a movie that hasn't aged all that well in terms of the boyfriend character who was, let's face it, completely heinous. The friends seem unreasonable as well frankly, I can't imagine having any of those arguments nowadays

[@diannholland]

I love this movie and I loved the book. The ONE thing I did not like in the movie is what you stated. That Andy's Boyfriend was a whinny Beotch. And in the movie, she was OK with that? He got all pissy with her new job Because it was not about HIM? And her so-called "Friends" Instead of being supportive of her working her butt off to farther her career so she can do what she really wants, They get mad at her? Andy was supportive of THEM, but they never return the favor in the movie. Andy's BF was this way in the book as well, but instead of her being all supportive of a BF that was not supportive of her. They break it off but remain friends. In the book, she also gains NEW friends. Which I wish they showed more of in the movie. Miranda May have been a royal pain in the butt, She KNEW however that business, especially Media, is a cut-throat, male-dominated environment. In order to make it, you HAVE to be tough. You can't make excuses, you can't start crying, you can't scream at the top of your lungs. You have to be tough or you won't be taken seriously. In the movie, instead of befriending those that showed her support, she went back to being friends with all the people that were all about themselves. In that aspect... It is unfortunately close to what most women do. Make everyone else more important than themselves. I have done this in the past myself.

[@fuenfzehnterfebruar67]

I love this movie. The theme and the actors/actresses. Also it's one of the rare movies you can watch multiple times. (In my opinion)

[@WhiteWave3]

Did anyone see the Alley McBeal episode focused on a “queen bee”? Very interesting take on it! ☺️

[@kesserobinson5459]

I love pretty clothes, but I think fashion only hits that mark part of the time. "Fashion is merely a form of ugliness so unbearable that we are compelled to alter it every six months.” -Oscar Wilde Which does make Miranda's role much more important!

[@ddqfpluskick]

hmm...I always saw Andy leaving wasn't based off a relationship with a boyfriend but more off of how far Miranda would go to maintain power. When she sacrifices Nigel and dismiss Andy attempt to warn her as quaint it showed that Miranda saw people at tools. Miranda even threw it back at Andy on how she took Emily's spot at the Paris fashion show. I thought when Andy saw that staying with Miranda would make it have those same beliefs she walks away. Andy wants to be a journalist and sees Miranda's path as something that will take her away from it.

[@ramflight]

" [X] is stupid, let's throw rocks at it" is now my favourite phrase for something I don't like. I love Miranda, I love everything about her, how cutthroat she is. She is just reality.

[@mirthfulArtist]

0:45 Somewhat controversial take: You don't have to feel bad about criticizing/delegitimizing an industry that actively feeds into class/body insecurity, just because its a "women's industry." Fashion is a "women's interest" only because it largely *targets* women. Not because of anything inherently "womanly" about it. 1:39

[@spruce56]

It's an interesting movie, charismatically acted, but kinda tough to enjoy because Andy's friends and boyfriend don't get called out on their garbage behaviour. Andy does, Miranda does, but the movie doesn't find fault with the idiots who don't seem to get the idea of "this will suck but it's only for a year." Like they don't know how long a year is.

[@drewpamon]

I've always thought andie should have stayed with Miranda in the end. The heel turn was too extreme. Every choice she made to that point was in a single direction with no question about which choice she would make

[@geneyounkin6789]

Hi, Jill! This is my favorite video where I haven’t seen the original movie and I’m not the target audience (middle-aged white guy.)

[@JillBearup]

I’m trying to think if the movie has any middle aged men in it...well, there’s Stanley Tucci, but that’s about your lot. Mostly it’s extremely well groomed ladies, and a couple of young men with shiny hair (and in one case a weirdly shiny face)

[@DimaRakesah]

Andy's friends were jerks. They all know she's trying to tough out the job for a year so she can get a good line on her resume, yet when she commits to her work in order to get through it they all mock her. She gets a makeover and looks great, but you never see them compliment her. Aside from getting a free handbag, none of them seem to like her new job purely for their own selfish reasons. I suspect they were jealous and intimidated, honestly, but the movie didn't do a good job of showing that. As for the boyfriend, I've dated someone in the restaurant industry and it's a lot of long, late nights. Him complaining about her getting home late is utterly laughable. If he was really working in a kitchen trying to get a sous chef position he would easily be coming home past midnight, working 60+ hours a week. The movie seems to highlight that working a lot is only bad *for women* to do, and that's certainly a problem I think our society tends to see it that way, but aside from a throwaway line when Andy defends Miranda the movie never really addresses the double standard. In the end Andy learns how to be more professional and take her careers more seriously, and how to stand up for herself when a job may be taking advantage of her. Besides sleeping with that bozo who's name I don't even care to remember... she never really did anything *wrong*. Being dedicated to her job isn't a crime. It wasn't as if she had kids she was ignoring or something. Spending a year in your 20's working your ass off to get a good referral for the job you want is pretty common, and frankly if it was just a year then she was lucky. Most people have to work long hours for multiple years just to get a little bit ahead.

[@Gr95dc]

Good analysis. I also read the book and putting aside some Clichés and stereotypes I enjoy a lot more the movie specially I like a lot more this Miranda

[@Lazarus1095]

I have never understood why so many people who watch this movie are so willing to defend the character of Miranda Priestly. Being great at her job is not an excuse for her behavior. She constantly belittles her underlings, imposes expectations that are not merely high but actually go far beyond what anyone can or should reasonably expect (not to mention vastly exceeds the stated job descriptions of those she hires), and forces everyone who works for her to live in a constant state of fear that she will utterly ruin them if they fail her. She is, bluntly, a bully who dominates the lives of everyone who falls into her orbit. Just look at what she did to Andy. She gave up any semblance of a home or private life because Miranda demanded it, over and over again. Andy signed up to work for her as an employee, but in the end she was basically living as an indentured servant with no privacy, no friends, no personal life, no time to pursue her own interests, and not even the ability to control what she wore or even ate. And for what? Fancy clothes that Andy didn't even value but was forced to wear to conform to Miranda's image? A recommendation that Emily could have easily obtained by working for pretty much anyone else? Knowing that she could survive the experience? You might just as well expect a cult survivor to be greatful to the cult's leader for letting them get away. It was not worth it.

[@anna_in_aotearoa3166]

I'd have to agree. Although Miranda's character has some great lines and is quite entertaining to watch, the way she treats her staff is appalling and unfortunately workplace bullying (of this form & many others) really IS a huge socioeconomic issue. The movie really only plays it for laughs, doesn't address how it destroys people's mental & emotional health, re-entrenches all sorts of discrimination, and makes firms way less productive than they could be. Getting ahead in a tough industry is admirable but not the way Miranda does it. I can't agree with Jill's contention that she brings others with her intentionally? She just doesn't care how her behaviour affects anybody else. I think Andy's real victory in the film was realizing that wasn't the way she wanted to get ahead?

[@cristhianjosesamayoamartin5580]

This is the first video I've watched from this channel and 60s in I subscribed. Love the content

[@nurainiarsad7395]

There is a big difference between sports and fashion though, although your point is correct in that there’s no reason to dismiss fashion just because it’s a largely frivolous industry. Sports as an industry relies on its target demographic all feeling in on it. sure tickets can be expensive but you’re not judged for not getting them or getting cheaper seats or for watching it at the pub with your mates etc. of course if you get ringside seats you’re the envy of others but it’s treated as a great fortune rather than social status. Fashion on the other hand, relies on social signalling. there’s stigma for not having the correct brand or the latest season, stigma for getting an imitation if you can’t afford the original. Fashion as an industry relies on its target demographic competing with one another in a hierarchy game where some people who ‘get it right’ matter and everyone else who is interested in it but are not in the elite are considered nobodies even by its own target demographic (ie basically other women). can you imagine regular folks being able to rake the big fashion names across the coals for some minor thing the way sports fans feel they can criticise top players and teams?

[@frankharr9466]

I like Devil although I haven't seen it sense I first seen it. And when I first saw it I was all over Andi finally trying, although I didn't put it that well. I'm not steeped enough in feminism to to really appreciate that aspect, but I do think at the time I noticed that Miranda wasn't trying to hurt the people working for her (except maybe on an emotional level to keep them tied to her and moving forward) but I'm not sure I did. Em. I don't think she was reacting to not gong to Paris. I think she was reacting to what that meant. At that point, it was very clear that Andi was doing Em better than Em was. Not going to Paris might mean that Em might get cut loose. She has no reason to think otherwise and I can't remember if she knows she's not very bright. Andi leaving might have saved her her job. No. Andi her boyfriend very much to not get back together. If this is a movie about getting what you want, then her boyfriend made a choice. He wanted Boston and advancement. And more importantly, when Andi was going for advancement, he did not want her. I won't go so far as to say that he wanted someone submissive to him, but he is a little more selfish than will work with him being with Andi. She needs someone who wants her to have what she wants as much as he wants what he wants and him physically moving to another state is emblimatic of the fact that is not him. It stinks, but sometimes it doesn't work out. I actually feel rather strongly about that. I have reasons. After looking at some of the comments, yes, her friends are not the greatest. Might that be the point? The people who love you as you are are good. Just so long as the still love you as you grow.

[@joemck74]

The difference between this and exactly the same film but with male characters, is that in the male film not only would the hero triumph, other people would HAVE to lose. A man cannot Win unless someone else Loses. Thus we have todays world.

[@annamattos8627]

This is my husband's favorite "girl"movie. And he is a Chuck Norris/Rambo/Arnold/The Rock/Tom Cruise/speedy cars kind of guy... Go figure.

[@KatherinaBathory]

A lot of my male friends love it. I remember we were getting ready to play some RPG at a friend's house and I was the only girl and while waiting we found this movie on the telly. Then I said "guys, I know it's girly but can I leave it" and two of the guys went to sit with me and one says "are you crazy? I LOVE this movie" and the other said "yeah. I like it a lot too"... So gosh... They liked it more than I do...

[@AdamMendoza007]

Very smart review. Thank you.

[@fzysknr]

Goodness, I thought you were about to let loose an expletive! :O

[@DianeCastle]

Queen Bee Syndrome: when one or two women do what thousands of men do and are highly rewarded for it. Also, I hate badly-done 'surveys' which are obviously biased pieces of garbage which then misinterpret the results in ways that make statisticians sick.

[@PulpHerb]

Here in the states, the common use of "Sportsball" to refer to sports among the college-educated is pretty dismissive, as much or more than I hear about fashion. I will accept this might be a limited context, college-educated upper middle class under 50 in the US, but the amount of cultural authority those people have may make up for numbers.

[@johnathandwayne1461]

Any boss that makes you do illegal and or wrong stuff, just to satisfy her twin daughters entitleness is beyong wrong. Also, if a guy helps you, flirts with you, saves your job and then goes to bed with you and the next morning calls you baby and you feel offended? You live in fantasy land of ungratefulness.

[@matthewhemmings2464]

What was illegal or wrong about getting the Harry Potter manuscript?

[@christopherbrown5409]

@@matthewhemmings2464 it was unpublished, so not released to the public yet? How about YOU try to take a copy of a JK Rowling manuscript and see what it gets YOU?

[@classicslover]

I kind of compare the fashion industry and sports with equal...meh. Both can ruin souls...both can ruin a person physically. No-salt crackers and two bits of popcorn do not a real meal make, fashion industry. And to state the obvious...this is a movie where all the women "win" because it was written by a woman who wanted them to win. Saw a movie where a woman cheated on her husband while he was away with the kids, got pregnant from the encounter, did not put the baby up for adoption and got her husband back. So she got what she wanted. Cheating sex, another baby, and kept her husband as well. Getting what they want doesn't excuse the yuck of it all. Or make for a good movie.

[@RonJohn63]

While sports may not be stupid, *sports journalists* are definitely *not* considered real journalists. *That* is the guy-comparison with the fashion industry.

[@christopherbrown5409]

I always wanted to be a journo, but NEVER a sports journo; respectfully, I'm not into sports, and why do sports journos rise in newspapers? Like...

[@Ttoby89]

Another great one on the topic! Thank you. My ooonly quibble is that I hate insipid boyfriend more than the telegraphedly-awful blonde dude.

[@KatherinaBathory]

I hated Andy's boyfriend. Hated!! Hated him!!

[@ergosum1840]

realmente me encanta como hablas. Cuando dices "cant look away" con esa voz cómo susurro me parte de risa y me parece increiblemente sexy. Tu video sobre las falacias lógicas está narrado con la mísma métrica y estilo y aun así estos otros tuyos no son tan exitosos, se deba posiblemente al tema que tratas. Por favor sigue! me encanta lo que haces

[@stevenbeck8166]

Even when movie was made, quitting a fab job to work for the then-failing and now defunct Village Voice? A VERY poor career choice!

[@curiousness8305]

There's nothing fab about a job that gives you an eating disorder.

[@HosCreates]

I don't care for fashion but the women were interesting , the boy friend was a dud and she deserved better.

[@christopherbrown5409]

How did she deserve better when she was a whole cheater?