Basic HTML Version
4 I The Best Online Education System in the world
ANOTHER MOVIE WORTH WATCHING
Kathlyn Q. Barrozo
Class of 1991, University of Santo Tomas
B.S. Medical Technology
One particular segment in the movie “The Devil Wears Prada” shows Andy Sachs, played by Anne Hathaway,
being berated viciously by her known-to-be-sadistic boss Miranda Priestly, played by the extremely talented
Meryl Streep. Poor Andy, not being used to this kind of treatment, runs to Nigel to seek some words of comfort.
She receives none of the kind, however, and instead gets a lecture on how she should never expect to get a
“ …kiss on the head and a gold star at the end of the day.” I love how Nigel turns the whole thing into being
Andy’s fault instead of Miranda’s. Miranda had wanted to be practically airlifted from stormy Miami to New
York so she could attend her children’s recital. Wow! Talk about horrible bosses and even more horrible
officemates.
I love the whole movie, really, and have watched it many times over. The lovely Anne Hathaway glows picture
perfect as she undergoes her transformation from a naïve young woman to a fashion plate worthy of the covers
of the fashion magazine she works for. And as always, the very talented Meryl Streep is the boss you love to
hate, the boss from hell who never finds anything likable about Andy at the beginning, but soon starts to trust
Andy more and more towards the end. Miranda Priestly, her character, flings her coats on Andy’s desk with her
greatly overbearing attitude while the poor girl can only look on helplessly.
In the movie, what gives Andy Sachs confidence is the fact that Miranda herself acknowledged Andy’s being a
smart girl. When Andy starts wearing those great power get-ups, she becomes more and more emboldened by
the fact that Miranda’s first assistant, Emily (played by Emily Blunt) and Miranda herself, seemed to finally see
her as a worthy second assistant.
Well, as is shown in the movie, we all deserve to be acknowledged for what is good in us. The movie ended
with Andy’s realization that we all have options, but the choice will always be ours to make. Andy decided it
was time to take action for her unjust treatment, so she virtually joined the Romans when it was obvious she
couldn’t beat them. Fortunately, she realized that in her pursuit of a career that really wasn’t even her first
choice, she had forgotten about her most important personal relationships. Finally, she got the confidence to
go for her ultimate dream of being a real journalist.
Stories like these remind us that people are only able to put us down when we allow them to. We must
remember that self-confidence has to come from within, not sold to us by others around us by the handful.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. Get a copy of the movie “The Devil Wears Prada”. Share your thoughts about the movie in class.
2. How can the people around us build up or destroy our self-confidence? Should we allow them to always do
so?
3. Have you ever experienced being put down in a group? How did you cope with the whole thing?
4. Is it always wise to “do as the Romans do”? What should be the boundaries?
5. What do you tell someone who always points out your imperfections? Is it worth the bother?