Therapist Reacts to THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA

How do you deal with a narcissist boss? How do you achieve a work-life balance?

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright are reacting to The Devil Wears Prada. They talk about how Miranda belittles Andy and how Andy loses herself as she finds her footing in her job. Jonathan talks about how to recognize and deal with narcissistic people in your life. And Alan praises the stellar writing and how exceptionally Meryl Streep plays the "evil" narcissistic boss. That's all.

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Cinema Therapy is:
Written by: Megan Seawright, Jonathan Decker, and Alan Seawright
Produced by: Jonathan Decker, Megan Seawright, Alan Seawright, and Corinne Demyanovich
Edited by: Jenna Schaelling
Director of Photography: Bradley Olsen
English Transcription by: Anna Preis

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[CinemaTherapyShow]

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[trinaq]

Not only did Meryl Streep suggest "Everyone wants to be us", as opposed to the scripted "Everyone wants to be me", but she also proposed Miranda constantly speaking in a hushed tone, rarely raising her voice, causing people to have to lean in to hear her, symbolising how Miranda is the centre of the universe, pulling people into her orbit.

[swamplinglvr]

Apparently Meryl Streep based her performance as Miranda off of Clint Eastwood. She was like, "When he talks, everyone has to quiet down and lean in and listen carefully". What a brilliant idea!

[errolteichert]

I was surprised Alan didn't talk more about Miranda's entrance into the movie. It's arguably the best I've ever seen. We hear that she's on her way, and immediately people bustle around getting ready for her arrival. A woman changes her shoes to be more fashionable. Another woman reapplies her makeup. We see Miranda's feet as she goes into the building, but not her face. One woman, upon seeing that Miranda is going to get into the elevator she's in, APOLOGIZES to Miranda and goes to another elevator. All of this happens before we see Miranda's face for the first time. Before we even meet her, we're told so much about her. It's absolutely brilliant. Terrific writing and filmmaking. *chef's kiss*

[ToriTheDormouse]

As a woman who constantly has to defend her fondness of dresses and make-up and high heels in front of beginning-of-the-movie-Andies, I think Andy deserved that speech. She entered a world she did not understand that is filled with people who work hard and are extremely passionate about this thing, and instead of trying to understand that, she has this holier than thou attitude and outright laughs at them. The Cerulian-Speech is really merely a reaction to Andy showing how unprepared she is for this job and how uneducated she is on the subject of fashion. It doesn't lessen her worth that she is not interested in fashion, that's totally fine, but it also doesn't increase it and this is the lesson that End-Andy learned.

[oceanmariep]

Andi doesn’t go back to her old target clothing lifestyle. By the end of the movie she’s still dressing fashionably, even if she’s given the designer clothes to Emily. She’s grown to respect the fashion world and she’s chosen to take the knowledge she’s acquired through it with her as she pursues her true passions. She did change, as she needed to, not because she was worthless if she didn’t live up to Miranda’s standards, but because she needed to grow and expand her worldview for her own good.

[AxelQC]

Miranda isn't a devil because she's mean; she's the devil because she tempts others to betray their morals. Andie betrays Emily at Miranda's behest. Andie quits because she realizes that Miranda is turning her into another devil.

[Lumenum]

Miranda knows what she is, she is not delusional by any means. She is a highly successful woman, and like Andy says in the Paris restaurant scene, noone would bat an eye if she were a man. She is cruel and manipulative, sure, but if she was a narcissist she would have destroyed Andy for walking away. Instead she personally provides a reference and ensures Andy gets the next job.

[jamiegdubois]

I just noticed how Andy’s hair changes throughout the film. She starts without bangs and then gets them as she’s starting to adapt to Miranda’s lifestyle. But in the car scene in the end, you can see the she has started to push her bangs to the side again and reveal more of her face, like she did in the beginning of the movie.

[mizv]

"if you're being abused by your boss you can choose another path" thats not always true, especially if youre poor or struggling. there are so many people out there that endure the abuse because the alternative is homelessness, not eating or losing their kids

[trinaq]

The older I get, the less I sympathise with Andy's friends and boyfriend. They toss her phone around when her boss is calling, criticise her for dressing nicer, even though she has to make an effort when working at a fashion company, yet have no problem with accepting expensive gifts she gives them from work. Her boyfriend gets upset at her for missing his birthday, even though she had no real control over it.

[FrumiousMing]

Meryl is so good, I love the subtly of her reaction when Andi walks away. At first she's surprised but then it seems like she's impressed, maybe even a little bit proud of Andi for quitting. Andi got to do what Miranda never could, walk way from the job.

[jessicad]

The saddest part of the film for me was that she was surrounded by people who didn’t care about her as a person or what she wanted only Nigel really throughout the film. Her friends were the most cruel excuse for friends. Her boyfriend wanting her to give up on her dream when she was almost done with the year of torture. Hopefully he doesn’t ever date anyone who wants to serve in the Army, or is a doctor, or I don’t know has a tough schedule for a year.. 🤦 he could’ve been supportive saying ‘yay you’re almost there you got this’ or “is this something you still really want?”

[hersheywalla]

"Uploaded 22 seconds ago"

...I may have an addiction

[musearrivesam]

Miranda is the perfect hybrid of a Antagonist and a Mentor. She is ruthless and powerful and encourages others to take on toxic traits she has herself, but she also builds them up to have her incredibly high standards and work ethic. Its implied that the work ethic she instills is the reason she "opens doors" and Andy is a perfect Protagonist to not only overcome her, but learn from her in the process.

[metrux]

I think the only thing left I'd like to see your reaction, is the final end: Miranda HELPS her get to a new job, because after she chose this other path, she got for the first time miranda's respect.

[gkccbim]

The reason why the "all this stuff" monologue is so powerful, same with all of Meryl Streep's monologues in this film, is because Meryl spoke softly and calmly to Anne Hathaway while she was ripping her to shreds. I read somewhere that Meryl got that idea from Clint Eastwood. Being on the receiving end of verbal abuse is horrible when it's loud and aggressive, but it is soul crushing when the abuse is spoken softly and calmly because you have to lean in and pay attention to every single word.

[ericaavery]

My best friend died during our PhD. The demands of Johns Hopkins and her mentor led her to sacrificing her health and putting off doctor's appointments until it was too late. And any criticism of the culture in academia afterwards made our department hostile and defensive. The toxicity of certain industries is unbelievable. I still don't know how to cope with how horribly they mishandled her death. I always said my mentor was just like Miranda Priestly. This movie is such a real cautionary tale.

[LittleHobbit]

The thing is, Andy's not wrong though when she comments that if Miranda were a man, nobody would be saying anything about her behavior. We're usually more likely to chalk it up to "CEO behavior" than any kind of neurological condition for men, collectively brushing it off that they "just be that way sometimes" as CEOs. Yet we STILL talk with morbid fascination about how downright cutthroat and narcissistic Miranda is and whether or not it's "appropriate" or "effective leadership", and often gloss over the fact that Miranda actually has the expertise to back up her holding the position she does. (Which is all the more fascinating considering Meryl based her performance off male CEOs.)

[hihey]

I feel like they sorta missed some of the core of the movie.
Andy is "just fine" when she starts true, but she is also arrogant, thinking all that fashion "stuff" is beneath her. The cerulean scene calls her out on her arrogance, on the fact she took this "silly fashion job" and is treating it without any respect.

Andy comes out at the end of the movie fundamentally changed, her fashion has changed as has her worldview. She saw a glimpse of a life she could have had and stepped back, but took a lot of what she learned with her.