Category: Reading Group

The Devil Wears Prada (2006) Dir. David Frankel [Feature Film] USA, 20th Century Fox.

The Devil Wears Prada is a movie about the fashion world in New York. It is also a touching and interesting story about a young woman’s first experiences with making moral and ethical decisions at work. Many points are worth being mentioned about from this film, whether it be:

• The toxic work place culture and unfair labor practices
  “bad work-life balance.”
  
  Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) is a new journalism graduate who, after carefully pursuing any and all job openings in New York publishing, has decided to try her hand as an administrative assistant to the most influential lady in the fashion industry, Miranda Priestly. Because Andy has never heard of Miranda or read Runway, she’s unprepared for the nasty world she’s entering. Miranda is a self-centered diva who demands her staff to cater to her every desire. Andy neglects her personal life as she gets increasingly preoccupied with her employer’s demands. All the people in her life are concerned by the toll the job is taking on Andy’s health and her sanity.
  Even though she is being mistreated, she believes this is the best way to advance her profession. She could always leave, but she believes that she must experience pain in order to be in a better place in the future. This alteration in her personality gradually begins to impact her personal life. But, her coworkers simply encourage her to accept the harassment and swallow it. The fillm suggested a simple massage which is Don’t sacrifice your life and well-being and selfhood for a job. In the contemporary environment, today more people start to defend themselves and speak up. People acknowledge that they need to be treated properly in a workplace environment and that there are jobs out there that doesnt consume your whole life, which makes bosses more aware. On the other hand, a stressful work environment can occasionally make people stronger and improve their character.

• Identity and class division
  
  The film explores themes such as identity and how far people would go to accomplish their goals. Andy’s persona is the same gold star, all A’s, jittery energy-filled woman we’ve seen numerous times. Her success as a determined secretary, on the other hand, establishes a bridge to the second way women succeed in a patriarchal society: by being sexually desirable and stylish.
  
  Andy begins her journey by wearing the ugly uniform of Northwestern University’s clever folks who believe they are above fashion.   However, after hearing a few rants about how important fashion is and realising that Priestly will not recognise Andy’s accomplishments as long as Andy does not respect fashion, she then puts on her Versace and Jimmy Choo shoes and works herself down to a size four to fit into her new role. This new wardobe gives her the fashion world’s seal of approval. She conducts errands for Priestly, which takes her through high society, where she meets a “genuine” writer who tries to bed the well-dressed Andy and even asks her to email him some of her writing. She seemed to have gotten the tool she needs to go into “real” journalism by letting go of her old self, who was too focused on “serious” journalism to care about small things like style.
  
  In summary, fashion, the best way to demonstrate social class, allows her to join the fashionable, culture-making elite. Although though the story is about fashion, it still provides a glimpse into the upper middle class life. The Devil Wears Prada emphasises patriarchal beliefs and the feminine gender role’s dominance. The film encourages the audience to understand that in order for women to be successful, they must be pretty. The original Andy is excluded from a large part of feminine expression and the female realm in our society (i.e. fashion) due to her good grades and college newspaper writing . But nevertheless she can have it all because she has the same drive and focus that has brought her success in the past. And what does she get for pursuing both paths to female success? Being a member of the High society.

• The limitations of female power
  (Gender Identities and the Patriarchy)
  
  On first glance, the film shows the fashion business as being dominated by successful women. It is a film about a traditionally female society in which women work in fashion and want to be successful fashion editors/journalists. Although though the film does not necessarily criticise women’s limited roles in our society or class differences, it does make use of these truths about our culture.
  
  Yet, as you go deeper into the film’s investigation of gender roles, stereotypes, and even the editing itself, it becomes evident that this film confirms the popular idealisation of the woman: that women must be attractive and rely on men for a societally acceptable life. It is critical to address the beliefs since this  progressive comedy actually promotes reactionary morals.
  
  The Devil Wears Prada reinforces the concept that women should not pursue job ambitions if they spend time away from important patriarchal figures such as family, friends, and lovers.  This film highlights that women should prioritise friendships over jobs, that they should allow men to support them, and that men are more reasonable and less devilish bosses, as Andy’s decision to work for a male boss at the newspaper demonstrates. Finally, this film delivers the message that working women should abandon feminism and submit to patriarchy.

Parasite (2019) Dir. Bong Joon-ho. [Feature Film] South Korea, CJ Entertainment. 

The Oscar-winning film “Parasite” depicts the contrast between the exclusive upper-income class and the  lower-income class in South Korea, with symbols of poverty and social class inequality depicted through the lives of two families – the Parks and the Kims. 

In “Parasite,” education acts as a link between the rich and the poor. The plot revolves around a brother and sister who schemed into becoming tutors for the Parks, a wealthy family whose patriarch runs a successful technology company, by using a forged diploma from the prestigious Yonsei University. It demonstrates that the wealthy family is gullible, whereas the low-income families are cunning and deceitful. Kim’s family is brilliant, but they are unable to attend university because they cannot afford the tuition; they are one of the poor cases.

“The word ‘parasite’ is a negative word that conveys contempt, but saying ‘coexistence’ gives rise to a beautiful, positive expression,” Bong told Nikkei last month. “I’ve created a peculiar setting in which the rich and poor, who normally don’t come in contact with each other, interact closely.” 

(https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Parasite-offers-glimpse-of-South-Korea-s-class-divide)

Even if people of different social classes appear to coexist, the scent of poverty – a recurring theme in the film – distorts the relationship between the rich and the poor.  As a result of the daily living conditions, that smell would be infused in the clothes, seeping down to the bodily core. Even if the person carrying the scent is unaware of its presence, it can easily pass through social barriers and be detected on the other side. This brings to the surface feelings of unfairness and inferiority that we’ve been suppressing in the back of our minds.

When Kim’s family is not present, the wealthy family degrades them. Kim’s family stinks of “poverty” – the smell of a dirty slum basement – and the wife and husband only admire them for their work ethic, not as people. It depicted the relationships between a wealthy family and Kim’s family, as well as the ruling elite and workers. The parties only see them as slaves who carry out their orders, and they are unconcerned about the workers’ health and safety. Even the parties feel superior to their status and constantly denigrate the workers. The smells have become the main symbol of Kim’s family’s inescapable poverty; they lack the ability to become affluent. It’s just a family dream that eventually turns into a fantasy.

The film reminds me of the saying “The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer” this is a saying I heard of a lot in Thailand. It implies that people are born into a social class that they cannot escape. No matter how hard you work, the system or where you were born determines your class position. The was symbolised by the use of stairs, (incline, upstairs, and downstairs.) Many people may see the stairwell as objects, but we know that Bong Joon-ho uses these two things as visual symbols of class separation in the parasite. The stairwell represents how it is nearly impossible to change you status, no matter how hard you try to climb.  

However, poverty and social inequality cases continue to occur around the world, as there is a stigma from both classes. The symbols in the film are a message to us that lower and upper classes can coexist and live together, regardless of their social status. There are no vertical distances between us because it is simply a form of class separation from what society sees in life, and we want to eliminate class inequality.

Reflection – Enacting Through Sci-fi , Black Mirror and Philosophy by Sergio Urueña 

The article discussed that human’s vision of the future often connects to technology. Because technology plays such a significant role in our present lives, the future is usually associated with technology in the human imagination. Technology is and will continue to play a crucial role in our future. As an example from our daily lives, mobile phones have already significantly affected and influenced us. Technology has already altered how we interact with our surroundings and raises the question of what our future existence with technology will look like, how it will evolve, and whether there will be any associated concerns. Sci-fi is the genre that most accurately reflects how the future can be envisioned and can provide excellent instances of this.

There are so many similarities to reality in certain science fiction films that they convince us that the future could perhaps be as depicted in the film. Moreover, science fiction depicts a variety of possible future worlds and realities. It also provides scientific and technological concepts. In addition, an increasing number of individuals are focused on the relationship between science and technology and society, as well as incorporating philosophy to obtain insight into the future. Sci-fi goes beyond mere entertainment by revealing the present and future dangers associated with these technology if we are not cautious. Humans must be prepared for such shifts and establish political-minded strategies.

Black Mirror is an excellent example of a Netflix series that depicts future philosophy through the use of present-day technology and features. It also illustrates how humans and technology may be interconnected in the future and raises questions between politics, technology, and science. Moreover, Black Mirror focuses on contemporary challenges related to technology, making it less about futuristic scenarios and more of a pointer in that direction. It illustrates the concerns that many in our society today have regarding technology (e.g., scared of losing privacy, changing identity, etc.). The series attempts to convey messages to the audience, prompting thought and reflection about the present and future. Sci-fi is also intimately related to philosophy and presents concerns about how we might act in the present. But, the question also arises as to how such a series may help us be more innovative in the future.This could also assist us in altering our existing reality, perhaps for the better. Examining how we envision the future effects our present-day reasoning and our efforts to achieve it. This can include scientific and political decisions, for example. People will begin to do research based on the fictitious tales in Black Mirror, which can later inspire future innovations.

Still, we need to remember that Sci-Fi can only change a few small parts of our lives. It can’t change the world we live in now. Even if most of the ideas in Black Mirror won’t be around in the future, how could we use them to make new technologies?

If people realise the dangers of technology, then social changes need to be made sooner. They need to be aware of these risks and come up with other ways to innovate instead. Also, our society needs to understand the present better if it wants to make good decisions for the future.

In general, there are two approaches to construct the future: developing scenarios or writing science fiction. Fictional stories are good because they can reach people of all ages and give them ideas for where to start their research. Some shows, like Black Mirror, only show people what could happen and try to help them understand how the world could be. Scifi is meant to make people think about what they want the future to be like. Even though movies have to be based on assumptions, everything could be a real and possible future.The show is called “Black Mirror” because technology screens are black when they are turned off. The show is meant to show people how they relate to reality. The goal of theseries is to show how we should build things and use technology in the future to avoid a crisis. It should remind us that we are in charge of the future and get us to think about both the present and the future.