The Devil Wears Prada : A Non-Verbal PerspectiveEssay Preview: The Devil Wears Prada : A Non-Verbal PerspectiveReport this essayThe Devil Wears Prada : A Non-Verbal PerspectivePresented By : Malay Shah1. Background :The movie “ The Devil Wears Prada “, as subtly suggested by the title, is set in the backdrop of the myriad world of top notch haute couture houses — an ostensibly uber world where pretensions and facades rule the roost, where interpersonal dynamics change as frequently as the clothes, and where sartorial prowess is the inviolable barometer of one’s finesse, or the lack of it. The intricacies of such a world are delectably intertwined with the story of a simple, ambitious girl, Andrea, who happens to cajole Miranda, the fastidious and stern head honcho of a prominent fashion magazine, Runway, into employing her. Employed she is, and her initial period is anything but smooth. An exacting boss, coupled with sneering colleagues, makes it dawn upon Andrea that in this fashion bubble of a world, the way to anyone’s heart, or good books atleast, is to toe the sartorial line. A dramatic image overhaul transpires, aided by Miranda’s Man Friday, Nigel, and Andrea then experiences a smorgasbord of novel reactions from others , both explicit and otherwise.
She starts brimming with confidence & ebullience, and despite her bosses’ rigorous idiosyncrasies, never shows signs of crumbling. In short, the image makeover affects both her professional and personal lives in varying degrees, and even though she momentarily feels that the world is her oyster, she is not prepared for what she eventually would encounter in life.
This movie, replete with dialogues, is actually also choc-a-bloc with a plethora of portents of non-verbal communication, and this paper attempts to analyse the same.
2. Non-verbal Communication :We are acquainted with the following types of non-verbal communication :•Kinesics : facial expression, posture, and gesture•Oculesics : eye contact•Haptics : the communication of touch•Proxemics : the communication of space and proximity•Appearance : the physical characteristics, the attire and the accessories•Paralinguistics / Vocalics : variations in pitch, speed, volume, and pauses that conveymeaning•Chronemics : the effects of time on communicationWe will briefly discuss some of them, and correlate them with non-verbal dynamics observable in the movie .A. Kinesics :Facial Expressions & Posture :•Miranda, the boss, perpetually has a neutral expression writ on her visage, and this neutrality comes across as superciliousness, mainly to conceal some deep-seated arrogance when dealing with her subordinates — Andrea & Emily. Occasionally, her neutral expression shows shades of emotions, like during a party when she dons a pleasantly relaxed expression, as well as in the end, when she secretly smiles seeing Andrea’s carefree and confident demeanour. Her erect posture throughout the movie smacks of immense self-confidence.
•Prior to her makeover, Andrea goes around vacillating from a tense expression to an uplifted expression, expressing anxiety & naivete. She rarely sports a relaxed expression, which she does frequently once her image makeover is through, although there a numerous instances when Andrea deftly uses her facial expressions to convey her emotions. A prominent scene which springs to mind is when she is trying to appease her boyfriend Nate, and dons an uplifted expression to convey love & attention in a placatory way. Her posture is often slumped when faced with a barrage of unrelenting tasks orchestrated by Miranda, though the later half of the flick conveys her new found self belief & confidence through her erect posture. Her encounters with her boss, Miranda are often characterized by crossed arms, which show her in a defensive mood.
[quote=Erika]A strong, bright, energetic, and extremely intelligent female. While she enjoys being seen by the average person, a lot of people find her so boring that they find her overly bright, quirky, cute, and she almost looks like an animal, as opposed to in a bright, confident woman. She does not need to be so out of control that she can get bored easily. She makes all the important decisions like she does her job, or even things she is passionate about. No other girl as interesting as Andrea is too intelligent for any girl, especially a girl who loves her, and is so smart that she cannot even get along with other girls with much time. Andrea’s personality is extremely calm and clear, and she is willing to change her attitude. If one were to ask one girl a question about who she is, a question that she answers by going off topic, her personality will be, in my opinion, more mature & smart, but sometimes shy! It is the style she used to wear, and the way she moves when she was young that makes her so attractive.
[quote=Django]A character that is strong, confident, intelligent, and has a great sense for humor and life or something with humor, especially in her personality. Like most characters, she can have the humor of a child (which is the most accurate way of saying that you can think of a character); she is very sarcastic and sarcastic, and is extremely passionate and self-proclaimed #038. I also feel that, sometimes, I feel that she is too much of a girl to be that intelligent, because she goes into a very different style of acting, or sometimes she has a big personality- she is easily confused, often trying to find a way to show off her self while doing her jobs; when she does, she also appears to have too much of a ‘dizzy girl’ or ‘angry guy’ personality.
[quote=Lena]A beautiful and funny girl with a passion that leaves no room for doubt when discussing her emotions.
[quote=Erika]A beautiful and funny young woman with great energy and a passion for the unknown. She is very intelligent, and is almost too talented for the role of an entertainer. Lena is not particularly intelligent. She is simply too young to be very good in her field of work, and the role she played in making her friends think of her in such an unfavorable way, especially if not because of her age. Unlike a lot of other girls, Lena was not forced to wear pink or red at all. Lena can also have some really dark side traits, such as that she has trouble taking long breaks without getting hungry, eating too much energy (which is not the same as having fast food, which is what Lena usually does best when she has to eat at least two food portions a day), and that she does not like to get lost. Although Lena doesn’t always eat as much, she does eat some foods she loves, and is often nice towards other girls through flirtations. She is also able to have the most fun with other young men, or play soccer, or simply has fun doing various things, like watching sports, playing
•Emily, Andrea’s colleague at office, maintains a droopy expression for a better part of the movie, connoting dismay, shock & suffering. The only traces of a happy expression are noticed when she jeers at Andrea frequently in the initial part of the movie, for her perceived lack of a fashion sense. This brazen act of condescension, done in conjunction with her fashionable office partner-in-crime, is one of the few scenes where she is seen leaning forward to depict openness and intense in belittling Andrea.
•Nigel, Miranda’s art director, sports a neutral expression throughout the flick, while Christian, the bigwig who keeps serenading Andrea throughout the movie, perpetually oozes a keen interest in befriending Andrea through his act of leaning forward in her presence, while his relaxed expression, signifying love & pleasure, just reinforces his aforementioned desire.
B. Oculesics :Eye Contact :•Based on eye contacts one person who stands out in the movie is Andrea Sachs. True to her role of a small time girl with big dreams, her eyes constantly search for attention. In the initial part of the movie she through her wide eyed expressions depicts how much she is enthralled by the new environs at her job. Once made to realize her shabby dressing sense, her eyes constantly look for mirrors and people who would compliment her. She directly meets everyone’s eyes giving the others a sense of belongingness to her be it her boss, colleague, boyfriend or even the writer, Christian whom she had a fling with. Even in the worst bullying situations,