Communications in Humanities Research

- The Open Access Proceedings Series for Conferences


Communications in Humanities Research

Vol. 32, 26 April 2024


Open Access | Article

Feminist and Non-Feminist Elements in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ and Their Reflections in Contemporary Society

Jiaen Li * 1
1 The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Advances in Humanities Research, Vol. 32, 178-182
Published 26 April 2024. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by EWA Publishing
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Citation Jiaen Li. Feminist and Non-Feminist Elements in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ and Their Reflections in Contemporary Society. CHR (2024) Vol. 32: 178-182. DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/32/20240055.

Abstract

Although women are less represented and objectified in the film industry, in recent years, more women entered the film industry and are bringing in narratives from the female perspective. Under this social context, The Devil Wears Prada, a film based on the novel of the same name, premiered. This paper analyzes the feminist and non-feminist themes in the film. After analysis of the script, cinematography, and story plot, this research discovers that the film reflects on feminist themes – the fashion industry as a non-patriarchal industry, less gendered use of language, and fashion as empowerment - and efficiently reveals societal expectations of women to maintain a balance between life and career. However, the film also imposes stereotypes and objectification towards women, as demonstrated in the fashion industry’s strict rules for body image and gazes from male characters to Andrea. The issues identified in this film, such as strict body image for women, still exist in contemporary society, and more research can be done to try to address this problem.

Keywords

The Devil Wears Prada, feminism, fashion industry, body image

References

1. Barger, L. C. (2011). Backlash: From Nine To Five to The Devil Wears Prada. Women’s Studies, 40(3), 336–350. https://doi.org/10.1080/00497878.2011.553574

2. Lakoff, R. (1973). Language and woman’s place. Language in Society, 2(1), 45–79. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500000051

3. Juwita, T. P., Sunggingwati, D., & Valiantien, N. M. (2018). The Differences Between Men and Women’s Language In The Devil Wears Prada Movie. Ilmu Budaya: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, Dan Budaya, 2(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.30872/jbssb.v2i1.870

4. Lyu, M. Y. (2020). Examining Female Consciousness through “The Devil Wears Prada”..Mingzuo xinshang. (9), 3.

5. Sutherland, J.-A., & Feltey, K. M. (2017). Here’s looking at her: An intersectional analysis of women, power and feminism in film. Journal of Gender Studies, 26(6), 618–631. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2016.1152956

6. Yang, L. L. & Zhu, Y. (2012). Examining Gender Discrimination Issues in Contemporary Society through “The Devil Wears Prada”. Jiannanwenxue (Jingdian jiaoyuan), (05), 60.

7. Jinnah, A. M. A., & Priya, R. L. (2019). “I want the fairytale”: A Marxist Interpretation of Narcissistic Representation in Chick-Media. The Vedic Path, 69.

8. Braizaz, M. (2019). Femininity and Fashion: How Women Experience Gender Role Through their Dressing Practices. Cadernos de Arte e Antropologia, Vol. 8, No 1, Article Vol. 8, No 1. https://doi.org/10.4000/cadernosaa.2001

9. Frankel, D. (Director). (2006). The Devil Wears Prada. 20th Century Fox.

10. Seekis, V., Bradley, G. L., & Duffy, A. L. (2020). Appearance-Related Social Networking Sites and Body Image in Young Women: Testing an Objectification-Social Comparison Model. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 44(3), 377–392. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684320920826

11. Yager, Z., Prichard, I., & Hart, L. M. (2020). #Ihaveembraced: A pilot cross-sectional naturalistic evaluation of the documentary film Embrace and its potential associations with body image in adult women. BMC Women’s Health, 20(1), 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-019-0870-7

Data Availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Authors who publish this series agree to the following terms:

1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this series.

2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this series.

3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See Open Access Instruction).

Volume Title
Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Literature, Language, and Culture Development
ISBN (Print)
978-1-83558-399-9
ISBN (Online)
978-1-83558-400-2
Published Date
26 April 2024
Series
Communications in Humanities Research
ISSN (Print)
2753-7064
ISSN (Online)
2753-7072
DOI
10.54254/2753-7064/32/20240055
Copyright
26 April 2024
Open Access
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Copyright © 2023 EWA Publishing. Unless Otherwise Stated