I had the chance of seeing Devil Wears Prada for like the 4th time. I love that movie, especially because I think Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, Emily Blunt, and Anne Hathaway are all extremely convincing at their respective roles. I enjoy the posh flavor and sarcastic blunt humor of the ridiculously high powered fashion/art industry and I can even say a part of me understands where it comes from, especially being a musician.
The movie appropriately begins with the song "Suddenly I See" by KT Tunstall. It goes: "Suddenly I see...this is what I wanna be....why the hell it means so much to me." It kinda sets the stage for Andy's (Anne Hathaway) identity crisis. One reason I love movies is because there are those times when the actors and actresses play their parts so well that I easily connect, read the mind of, or empathize w/ the characters. Thats also probably why I get so teary and emotional or even pissy when i feel strongly connected w/ the character. (unless it's the joker in Dark Knight...I felt pretty dirty and sick after watching that...but that was pretty cool nevertheless). It was no different for Andy...I so easily saw myself in the shoes of the naive, smart, highly motivated, and fashionably awkward girl who decides to shoot for a low paying yet high maintenance job in pursuit of her dreams. The innocent girl is seemingly confident as she starts off the job pretending and convincing herself that she wasn't like the rest of her obsessive uptight fashion colleagues...to then only find herself at the mercy of her boss, Miranda Priestly...who only sees life one way...her way. You then start to see Andy comprise her life, relationships, and ultimately her integrity...to win approval to the department...and essentially, tho not instantly recognizably, to get ahead. With hindsight and outside perspective, you keep yelling at Andy with "uh-ohs"... or "don't do it's"... but we're all as dumbfounded and blind as she is in most cases. She thinks she has everything under control...when really she can't seem to hold on to anything...not even the unpredictable job she sells her soul for. What matters?
And then there's Miranda...The lady on the top of the food chain... although part of you hates her because of her rudeness and ego...you can't help but think about and even admire the fact that she's untouchable. You wonder what makes her so special...why everyone kisses her shoes even though they curse her. You admire her bc she'ss tough, edgy, physically attractive, and composed. But you out of your conscience despise everything she is...even if you feel sorry for her at her one scene of vulnerability.
But if I'm gonna be very honest...i'm not too off from Miranda either...freakishly enuff. I still remember my preschool - 3rd grade days when I was a diva. I bossed every girl around to get MY way. I was cute, I acted "good", and I was "sweet"....but I always had to have the main roles every time we played make-believe; Sailormoon, Pocahontas, the pink ranger...you name it. I was a Miranda. Every girl hated me...but they all worked so hard to gain my approval...to lick my shoes clean. But don't worry..i got my fair share. Not long enuff, I became the awkward lonely girl in other circles and especially when I hit 5th grade. I lost the beauty, the confidence, my friends, and my identity. The glory doesn't last...lemme tell you that. You can try so hard to grasp on to it...until it falls out like sand.
I still haven't learn my lessons well. I'm still Andy...and I'm still trying to be Miranda. We all believe that to be perceived well, we must be confident and have everything under control. We want the power and the ability to hold our heads above others. We think that the hardest thing to do in life...is to be diligent and to move up the ladder...and we think the best people in the world are the ones at the top of that ladder...whether it's economically, socially, and might I even say spiritually. We fight to be masters. Those are the people who know who they are, have their priorities straight, and get the respect and glory they deserve. When there's fear, there's results. We want the results.
I beg to differ. I think if it's not at least just as scary...it's more terrifying to let go of your life. But that's exactly what God calls us to do. To save our life, we must lose it. It's hard bc it doesn't seem to make ne sense....it's foolish talk to the standards of the world. But us Christians are sometimes walking oxymorons, aren't we? We're always gonna be slaves to something... there's no way out of it. We just have the power to choose to what we are a slave. We will never succeed in being our own masters...if we think we can...then we are blind. We might as well be slaves to the righteousness of God...to the love of God..to the will of God....
Look at Andy... she, to get ahead clearly becomes a slave to her boss. She doesn't discover herself in her work or achievements...but really discovers herself to be a mini-Miranda...merely a puppet in the business. Even Nigel, who seems to know all the ins and outs of the demanding lifestyle...claims he doesn't get to call his own shots in his life. He claims in the end...all he can do is hope....but hope in WHAT...the devil in Prada? We however as Christians...we trust our lives upon someone who is faithful, loving, constant, sovereign, and GOOD.
But lets look at Miranda. Even SHE is a slave... and though she claims she doesn't care about the publicity, her daughters, who she loves most, are tormented by her actions and choices. She is a slave to her job...to her art... to expectations...and to the world. It's just that she gets to do it in style...with a powerful facade. Believe me...in the real world. She'll break.
But we have choice. There is some freedom in that. Andy finds it. I wouldn't say it's the complete freedom package that Christ offers. But she realizes, she doesn't hafta be a slave to Miranda. Thankfully i don't either. There are Mirandas in my life...and not just those associated with my career choice. But I don't hafta live in their shadows...under their fear...or under their pressure. I spend so much time, trying to escape from them...but I don't see that I can just walk away from them. I don't hafta be a Miranda.
Rather... "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." I definitely have someone better that I can be... that is Christ.
Gracie
