originally when i saw the posters for this film i scoffed, but who wouldn't? a film about fashion and coming of age sounds like the classic cinderella story that we have all seen one too many times. the fact that meryl streep was in it slightly swayed my opinion, and then the teenage girl in me said i had to see it because anne hathaway also stared in this chick flick. and that was what i expected, the chick flick that i would come away from annoyed by the presumption that women cannot be strong and must change for their men. but, as you may have seen coming, this was not the case. now around every plot twist, every new scene, especially after the transformation montage, i waited for the media system to tell me that i should not have a career that i will make sacrifices for, that i should not be able to ask for my significant other to adjust to my life. now it was also not the case that this was a film that claimed that women should have more power than men, and that men are the scum of the earth. and don't get me wrong that can be a really fun flick to watch, but rather unrealistic under the actual definition of feminism. in 'the devil wears prada' our main character does adjust into the life of fashion and she makes decisions that go against her principles, as well as going against her relationship with her live in boyfriend, but her friends call her on the fact that she is changing as a person and not the she is abandoning her love life. there is an understanding that this is her career, and they trust her when she says that it will take her to where she wants to be. this is all very complex and is not black and white by any definition. that is what impressed me. it was not a film of easy, obvious answers. in the end the main character made the choice that we wanted her to make but for moral reasons, not because of some boy or some obligation that she felt the need to fulfill as a woman. there was even the line that directly states that we only call powerful women bitches, not powerful men; powerful men are just impressive. and in the very end there is a moment when the whole movie could have been a waste with a reunion that could have asked hathaway's character to make career sacrifices for a lover, but it left it open to negotiation. this film truly spoke to the woman in me that wants to be strong and in control of her life and feelings, one of the very few films that has done so; and i'm sure if i go in with my nit picking comb i would fine things that bug me, but after one viewing i would say this would be a movie i would show to young women and say 'pay attention! find inspiration!' and of course 'don't get distracted by the pretty clothes!'
(what is really great about this movie watching experience, i was watching something else and said to myself, 'oh yeah i kinda wanted to see 'the devil wears prada'', i then downloaded it in two hours and watched it the same night. technology sure can be friendly, when it wants to be. I HAVE INTERNET!!!)
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