Seduction - Film Review Of "The Devil Wears Prada"
(Caution: Gives plot away)

Some of us Christians are like me.
We switched off and don't watch anything to do with or has in its title the word, "devil."
I didn't want to watch this film, released in 2006, until it was aired on NZ television recently. I thought I just gave it a chance and see how it goes - after all it is supposed to be a comedy. But after watching the movie, I must say that it has lots of lessons for Christians. If you are thinking of borrowing the DVD, you may just want to fast forward the start of the DVD.

The movie starts with a naive, not so fashion conscious, young recent graduate of journalism, Andrea "Andy" Sachs (Anne Hathaway) going for an interview to be the Second Personal Assistant to the Managing Editor of a high fashion magazine, "Runway." Being the Managing Editor of a top fashion magazine is no easy task. It takes a certain kind of steely person. Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) must not only ensure her team meets the deadline for print out of the magazine, she needs to ensure that styles and fashion are fresh. They are the trendsetters. When end consumers like Andrea see a "blue" sweater, they just don't realize the process of how it gets to the end consumer. It sometimes isn't just blue or turquoise or lapis but cerulean (blue) that Paris designer Oscar de la Renta introduced to the catwalks in 2002. And this color then attracted the attention of other designers and then the mass market. So when Andrea, who was wearing a blue sweater, laughs at how Miranda and her team are so picky about clothings and accessories, Miranda retorts that the very sweater Andrea wears is in fact chosen for her by people like Miranda.

Anyway, Miranda has thus far found that all her Assistants sent to her by her First Assistant, Emily (Emily Blunt) failed in this demanding job even though they worship fashion. So for a change, Miranda hires a not so fashion savvy Andy to be her Second Assistant. Andrea is like a fish out of the water working in that place. This film does connect with us, the audience, because I remember working in my first job after graduation. There were so many things I didn't know. And I was afraid to ask questions thinking because if I were to ask questions, it will only confirm my ignorance. But on hindsight, we realize that it is okay to ask questions. Sometimes things are a matter of procedures, policies and preferences of the boss and everyone who is new to a company will not know it. So ask if in doubt. Emily tells Andrea what to do - not necessarily because she is a helpful person by nature - but more because if Andrea fouls up, then she will jeopardize Emily's chances of going to Paris with Miranda for an annual fashion show - the highlight of her career.

Reflection 1
When we "help" someone - whether in our workplace or in school or even in church, are we helping because it is our nature / character to be helpful or is it because it is going to help ourselves like Emily did?

Andy gets better at what she is doing - getting coffee, answering phone calls, fixing appointments, running errands, getting her boss lunch in 15 minutes which was then thrown away because Miranda is off to the next meeting in a hurry etc.

It is a lot of hard work and busyness. But there are fringe benefits to this job.
In the first place, it is a glamorous job that "a million girls will kill for this job."
Secondly, Andy is the happy beneficiary of lots of fashionable hand-me-downs from Miranda, which Andy in turn passes on to her friends who happily receives all the expensive presents.

But is there a cost to all these?

Miranda wants an assistant who can do everything. Andy is only considered qualified to be Miranda's assistant if she can get hold of the latest Harry Potter book for Miranda's twins. Not the latest published book - but the unpublished manuscript. Is this demand reasonable? Also when airports are closed because of a storm, Miranda expects Andy to get a flight out for her.

Do we have bosses from "hell?" Miranda is like a boss from hell. The boss is like the devil. And hence the title of the movie. How many of us think our boss is like the devil from hell - possessing all the evil qualities - unfair, unreasonable, expects us to do things beyond what we can reasonably do, controlling and sometimes gets staff to engage in unethical practices?

Reflection 2
How do we as Christians respond to bosses from "hell?"
a) What if we are asked to engage in questionable practices like bribing / giving under the table money, bringing clients to dodgy places for entertainment, using friends to get business?
b) What if the practices are not dodgy but just that the demands are just too much in terms of sacrificing most of our weekends and time with family?
c) What if our bosses are just demanding and pushy / push us to our limits?
How do we respond to such bosses from "hell?"

So far Andy has been struggling to keep up to the demands and expectations of her job and her boss. But to get the unpublished manuscript is the ultimate straw. Andy wants to quit her job and spend more time with her boyfriend Nate (Adrian Grenier). Her relationship with her boyfriend has been much strained as Andy works so much overtime. Her schedule is dictated by the demands of Miranda and Andy had to miss Nate's birthday dinner with some of their closest friends.

Reflection 3
What can we do if we have a glamorous job like Andy - but it involves so much work that it strains our relationships - with our spouse and children?
(The glamorous job can be fashion for girls or being a lawyer or millionaire businessmen for guys or whatever that seems to command our attention and worship.)

Just as when Andy loses hope of securing the manuscript and is about to quit her job to spend more time with her boyfriend, a handsome renown author she recently met - Christian Thompson (Simon Baker) is able to get hold of a copy of a manuscript from a friend. Andy is then able to perform to Miranda's expectations and perhaps exceed her expectations. Miranda promotes Andy to First Assistant whilst Emily assumes the role of Second Assistant. And Miranda wants Andy to accompany her to Paris bypassing Emily even though Emily had clearly been waiting for this trip. Ironically perhaps cruelly, Miranda charges Andy with the first task of informing Emily that Andy is the one to accompany Miranda to Paris. Andy doesn't want to dash Emily's dream of going to Paris. Andy protests strongly but Miranda said that the choice is hers. Does she want to remain her Assistant?

So she goes to Paris and Nate breaks up with her. Andy is happy for Runway's designer Nigel (Stanley Tucci). He is slated to be the partner of a new design house. Andy learns that Miranda's husband wants to divorce her. Thompson meets Andy in Paris and Andy, against her better instincts, spends the night with him.

Reflection 4
How vulnerable are we to adultery and fornication when:
a) we have a recent break-up or quarrel with our spouse or partner?
b) we travel for business?
c) we are lonely?

Andy learns from Thompson that Irv Ravitz (Tibor Feldman), the owner of Runway, is about to replace Miranda with the younger Jacqueline as the Managing Editor to provide freshness to the magazine. Andy rushes to tell Miranda about this and finds her in a meeting with Irv. Was she too late to warn Miranda?

At her company's dinner that night, Miranda announced that a partner has been found for the new design house. Nigel was beaming expecting his name to be announced. Instead, Jacqueline will be the new partner. Miranda had in fact saw what was coming and told Irv that she had a list of designers, editors, writers and models found by her and nurtured by her who all had promised to follow her if she ever chooses to leave Runway. So Nigel was sacrificed in the process in order that Jacqueline can be diverted away.

Reflection 5
In a time of financial crisis like this, many sacrifices are made.
a) Is it different when we sacrifice ourselves compared to when we sacrifice others as Miranda had done to Nigel?
Or when Caiaphas, the high priest, said "it would be good if one man (Jesus) died for the people" (John 18:14)?
b) Who (like the Nigels) have we sacrificed to protect ourselves - our jobs, our positions?
c) How do we respond if we are the ones being sacrificed like Nigel?

The most pointed lesson of the movie comes at the end.
Miranda "complimented" Andy saying that "I see a great deal of myself in you."
But Andy of course protests that she is not like that and she won't do what Miranda did to Nigel.
Miranda said "You already did. To Emily."
To Andy, she had no choice.
But Miranda said she had a choice.
She chose to get ahead. If you want life, those choices are necessary.

Andy said: What if I don't want this?
Miranda replied: Don't be ridiculous Andrea. Everybody wants this. Everybody wants to be us.

As the movie ended, I thought about how Andy was like Miranda.
1. Work consumes their lives.
2. Relationships fail. Miranda experienced two failed relationships with her ex-husband and her present husband and has no time with her family. Andy's relationship with Nate breaks up.
3. Sacrifices are made to move ahead or even stay ahead in a career. The Nigels and the Emily's.

Reflection 6
Who are we becoming like?
Are we becoming like Miranda, our boss from hell - the devil that wears Prada - or are we being transformed to the likeness of His Son more and more (Rom 6:29)?

I will like to end with this final reflection.

Reflection 7.
This film so aptly shows us that the "devil" does not necessarily come in all its awfulness of visible sins. There is no violence, no great hatred. But Andy slowly changes.
The glamour of a profession and the career gradually seduces us.
We know about the seduction of Greed (Money) and Girls (Sex).
They are the obvious seductions of the devil.
But the glamour of a position or a profession has a certain seductive force.
It seduces people to make choices - even without us realizing it - sacrificing relationships (Nate and Miranda's family), sacrificing people (Emilys and Nigels) - for exceeding excellence in our production of services or products like Runway Magazine.

So watch out. The devil does not wear a fiery suit carrying a poking fork.
The devil wears Prada inviting us. seducing us to go for the Prada and the Chanel, seducing us to work more and more in a glamourous job to have more glamourous clothes, sacrificing our values, sacrificing not ourselves but other people.