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CHAPTER III
ANALYSIS
The Devil Wears Prada as a chick lit has reflected the concept of hegemony
in the capitalist society. Lauren shows how women in Runway magazine are driven
madly in all famous fashion brands. Runway magazine has been become the center
of all fashionable women, because they can wear every branded skirts or stilettos,
they are driven by a driver in a luxurious limousine, and they can be considered as
same as celebrities, because the popularity of Miranda Priestly which is over any
celebrities in the world. The catch word ‗million girls would die for this job‘ are
written repeatedly and told by everyone who meets with Andrea, only to say that
this is the dream job which million girls will die for becoming Miranda‘s assistant.
This novel conveys the strategy of the capitalist, in this case is Runway, in
hegemonizing women. The plot of this novel deals with the exploitation in a
fashion magazine which is done by the chief-editor through her assistants. Her
assistants are Emily and Andrea Sachs. Emily is as the first assistant; she replaces
Allison who gets promoted to the higher position in Runway, and Andrea as the
new second assistant. To be an assistant for Miranda Priestly is a dream job, which
‗million girls would die for‘. It is because Miranda can make a call and get a job for
her assistant anywhere her assistant wants if they can work a year for her and do not
get fired.
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However, sometimes it is difficult for the assistant to survive in a ‗hellish‘
situation in Runway. Miranda really exploits them with impossible work to do and
their assistant must fulfill it or they will get fired. It is because Runway is a
prominent fashion magazine in America and Miranda as the chief-editor in Runway
tries to maintain the status of Runway as a lifestyle magazine which always
performs the best shoot and luxurious fashion. The assistants work for Miranda and
Miranda works for Runway and it ends in Runway as the capitalist which
suppresses them and controls them. As a capitalist, Runway has strategies in
maintaining its status in the society, looking for benefits, and spreading its values.
The strategies are needed to secure the capitalist‘s position in the society. The first
strategy is the exploitation and the controlling system which is done under the
context or workplace. The second is spreading value of the bourgeoisie and
spreading identity of the certain class which is done under the context of brands.
Both of the strategies will be ended in hegemony. I will use the strategies of the
capitalist to analyze how the capitalist works under brands of fashion to
hegemonize women in America, which is represented by Andrea Sachs.
A. Capitalist’s Exercise of the Concept of Working in the Workplace in The Devil
Wears Prada
The first capitalist‘s strategy under the context of workplace is doing
exploitation. Labor must have skill and competence in the workplace so they can be
professional and give benefit to the company, as the culture of Neo Liberal Culture
which demands skillful and professionalism. The more skillful a labor, the more he commit to user
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or she will be regarded by others. The skill is used to work professionally and to
give benefit result for the company. In this novel, an assistant is exploited by her
boss to show her competence in doing her job.
By the first three month of her job, Andrea feels the changing shift on her
life. She does not have time to spend with her boyfriend, family, and her best
friend. Her life is only about working. Her dream job is working in The New
Yorker as a journalist. However, working in a quality place like The New Yorker is
difficult to do because the rivalry of the applicants, so she sends an application to
all big magazine publishers and explains that she wants ‗to be a an editorial
assistant and gain some writing experience‘. She ends up in Elias Clark publisher
which is looking for an assistant for Miranda Priestly, a fashion magazine chief-
editor which Andrea never hear of her name before and she also does not read her
magazine. However, with a promise that she can work in anywhere she wants after
working a year for Miranda, she accepts the job. Her life then changes drastically.
The changing is actually the consequences of every job that a labor will only have
little time to spend with her or his family and spend most time in her or his
workplace because they are demanded to be professional. This is Andrea‘s first job
after graduated from her college and she does not seem ready for this changing; she
keeps complaining on how miserable her life is now because she does not have time
to spend with her relatives. For the outfit, she has to change her dress code from
jeans and sweatpants to stilettos and Gucci pants. For the place, she moves from
Avon, Connecticut, to New York, a big city for big people and big chances. For the commit to user
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activities, she has to spend 14 hours for working and no less than five hours to sleep
at night. Normally, a worker spends eight hours in a day and works from 9 a.m.
until 5 p.m. Andrea is not ready for the overtime work as an assistant of a chief-
editor. However, she is demanded to be professional and she tries to survive for
every of exploitation from her boss. She is demanded to always be ready for every
situation. Her readiness impacts on the little time she has with her relatives because
Miranda phones her every time she needs and she wants Andrea to fulfill her needs
at that time. Andrea‘s life which is free before has changed in a fast-professional
work with exploitation system which really frames her in little space.
The exploitation system makes Andrea becomes Miranda‘s new slave, and
it is acknowledged by Mickey, a guy behind the security desk in Elias Clark
building. He suddenly calls her ‗one of Miranda‘s new slaves‘ when Andrea comes
for her first day of work at Runway. Mickey says so because he is familiar with
Miranda‘s character as one of prominent people in the Elias Clark publisher.
Andrea is too nervous to ask what Mickey means and in the first week of her job,
she tries to figure it out. She tries to learn about her new boss. Luckily, Miranda is
not in the office for nearly a month because she takes her regular vacation around
Thanksgiving and New Year.
During that time, Andrea tries to explore Miranda‘s characteristics from the
first assistant, Emily. Emily really adores Miranda and her evaluation about
Miranda is always good. She explains to Andrea about what Miranda likes and
dislike, about Miranda‘s habit, and Miranda‘s characteristics which always commit to user
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demands her workers to wear stilettos from some famous brand industries like
Prada, Armani, or Chanel. By the first month of her work in Runway, she already
knows that working for Miranda is really exhausting. She also does not get enough
payment for this, compared to her overtime works and the thrill she gets from
Miranda all the time.
―Ahn-dre-ah!‖ I heard from somewhere in the deep recesses of the most magnificent living room I‘d ever seen. ―Ahn-dre-ah, I‘ll need my Chanel suit pressed for tonight, since it was practically ruined with wrinkles on the flight over. You‘d think the Concorde would know how to handle luggage, but my things look dreadful. Also, call Horace Mann and confirm that the girls made it to school. You‘ll be doing that every day—I just don‘t trust that Annabelle. Make sure you speak to both Caroline and Cassidy each night and write out a list of their homework assignments and upcoming exams. I‘ll expect a written report in the morning, right before breakfast. Oh, and get Senator Schumer on the phone immediately. It‘s urgent. Lastly, I need you to contact that idiot Renuad and tell him I expect him to supply me with competent staff during my stay, and if that‘s too difficult I‘m sure the general manager would be able to assist me. That dumb girl he sent me is mentally challenged.‖ (Weisberger, 2003, p. 231)
Miranda asks Andrea to do some jobs which are not related with Runway;
Andrea has to confirm Miranda‘s twin daughters to always go to school and she has
to do it every day, just because Miranda does not trust the nanny. Andrea also needs
to manage the twins‘ homework assignments and exams. In the modern society,
people do not mix their job and individual matters together. They separate it
because it is not professional to bring the individual matters into working area and
they will get many problems in the workplace because after they work on their job,
they still need to finish their family problem in the workplace. Too many works
will make them get stress andcommit have to mental user health disorders, which is a mental
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health disorder that affects mood, behavior, and thinking, just like eating disorders,
depression, or addictive disorders (Dopkeen & DuBois, 2014, p. 3). It may explain
the problem why Miranda needs two assistant and the junior assistant always
alternates at least two times in a year. The senior assistant always tells the junior
that if she can survive for a year, Miranda will promote her into the higher level or
place her in any place her assistant want. The first assistant uses terms ‗survive‘ to
symbolize that the job of being Miranda‘s assistant is a struggle. When the junior
assistant cannot fulfill the task and she cannot survive, she will be stress and having
depression and finally get fired. The mental health disorder is the result of the
exploitation and the demand of the working duty which too suppress the workers,
and this novel reveals this phenomena.
The climax of Andrea‘s relationship as Miranda‘s assistant is when they go
to Paris for a fashion week. Miranda fulfills her job as the chief-editor for an
American fashion magazine to come to Paris and attend the party of the fashion
week and she needs an American assistant to accompany and assist her. Andrea
who has worked for eleven months in Runway will represent Runway and she will
not make mistakes during in Paris. All goes right before the incident in Parisian
fashion show, the first fashion show Andrea has in Paris. Miranda‘s daughters will
fly to Paris but unfortunately, their passports have been expired for a week, whereas
they have just known it in the last minutes before they fly. Miranda takes this as a
big serious problem because she does not let her twins to miss her party in the next
night. She intimidates Andrea and blames her because of these expired passports commit to user
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and commands Andrea to renew them immediately so they can fly to Paris and
attend the party in the next night.
―Ahn-dre-ah, we have a very serious problem here.You have a very serious
problem. I just received a call from Mr. Tomlinson. It seems Annabelle brought it to his attention that the twins‘ passports expired last week.‖ She
stared at me, but all I could do was concentrate on not throwing up. ―Oh, really?‖ was all I could manage, but that clearly wasn‘t the right response. Her hand tightened around her bag and her eyes began to bulge with anger. ―Oh, really?‖she mimicked in a hyena-like howl. People were beginning to stare at us. ―Oh, really? That‘s all you have to say? ‗Oh, really?‘ ‖ ―No, uh, of course not, Miranda. I didn‘t mean it like that. Is there something I can do to help?‖ ―Is there something I can do to help?‖she mimicked again, this time in a whiny child‘s voice. If she had been any other person on earth, I would have reached out and slapped her face. ―You damn well better believe it, Ahn-dre-ah. Since you‘re clearly unable to stay on top of these things in advance, you‘ll need to figure out how to renew them in time for their flight tonight. I will not have my own daughters miss this party tomorrow night, do you understand me?‖ (Weisberger, 2003, pp. 259-260)
Andrea sees that she will not be able to renew the passports in only one
night and she figures this out as the first problem during her work with Miranda
that she cannot accommodate. She knows soon that her work in Runway for eleven
months will end in nothing if she surrenders here; it is only a month to go and she
will be promoted to work in The New Yorker and she will leave Miranda. In the
contrary, she cannot renew the passports and it leaves Andrea no choices: she has to
end her career right now because Miranda will discharge Andrea anyway for ―her
incompetence‖. So Andrea takes her decision: she resigns from Runway and returns
home to visit her family and her best friend who just gets an accident in the
previous night. commit to user
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Andrea also resigns because she feels that it is not her mistake when the
passports are expired. Andrea thinks that Miranda cannot blame her because of this,
because it is not her mistake. The twins still have a father and a mother, even a
nanny, and Andrea does not understand why the expired passports become her
problem. It should be Miranda‘s problem because she is their mother. Andrea‘s
confusion leads her into mental illness; she acts differently from usual and it can be
categorized as the impact of mental illness. She cannot respond Miranda in polite
expression and she causes Miranda angry. It impacts on her behavior because
Miranda keeps exploiting and humiliating her and the result is Andrea rebels
Miranda. The rebellion is natural. When certain people are being humiliated and
exploited by certain classes or groups, those certain people will rebel the power and
try to get their freedom. Civil War and Women Movement are the obvious example
from the struggle of the people in the subordinate position against the power.
Because of the mental illness which causes Andrea to act differently from
usual, she does not want to just resign herself from Runway but she intends to
humiliate Miranda back to get a feeling of satisfaction.
―Fuck you, Miranda.Fuck you .‖
She gasped audibly while her hand flew to her mouth in shock, and I felt not a few Clackers turn to see what the commotion was. They‘d begun
pointing and whispering, themselves as shocked as Miranda that some nobody assistant had just said that—and none too quietly—to one of the
great living fashion legends. ―Ahn-dre-ah!‖ She grabbed my upper arm with her clawlike hand, but I wrenched it out of her grip and plastered on an enormous smile. I also
figured it‘d be an appropriate time to stop whispering and let everyone in on our little secret.
―So sorry, Miranda,‖ I announced in a normal voice that for the first time commit to user since I‘d landed in Paris wasn‘t shaking uncontrollably, ―but I don‘t think
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I‘ll be able to make it to the party tomorrow. You understand don‘t you?
I‘m sure it‘ll be lovely, so please do enjoy it. That‘s all.‖ And before she could respond, I hitched my bag higher up on my shoulder, ignored the
pain that was searing from heel to toe, and strutted outside to hail a cab. I couldn‘t remember feeling better than that particular moment. I was going
home. (Weisberger, 2003, p. 261)
Later, she is proud of herself because she can leave Miranda in a bad and
shocking condition among the guests of the party. She has the feeling of
satisfaction as the result of her freedom. Her intonation when she tells Miranda that
she cannot be able to attend the party with Miranda tomorrow seems calm and
quiet. Different from previous response which is uncertain, Andrea seems
convinced when she resigns herself. She feels ‗better than any particular moment‘
because she has already released her feeling of being exploited for almost a year
and got her satisfaction.
It is a big decision to leave Runway because she has to leave the job which
‗million girls would die for‘ and she has to start to find a job from zero point again.
In this point, she decides to leave Runway, which means she decides to fight
against the capitalist. The capitalist works under corporation culture which
demands the worker to have skill and competence, nevertheless, Andrea has already
proved it for eleven month and it is admitted by Miranda itself. For the first time
Andrea may not be ready for the situation where almost everybody in town seems
adores Miranda and serves her well and makes no mistakes, but then Andrea tries to
be professional to fulfill her duty as an assistant. However, her job is ‗hellish‘ and
she sacrifices many things for this job, including her choice about fashion. For commit to user
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eleven months, she is controlled by Runway and it gives her a little space. This is
the portrayal of the condition in New York, as the big city in America. People are
hard to get their dream job and they intend to work in several workplaces for the
springboard. They will get more experience and they will be promoted by their boss
to anyplace they want to work. It is easy to work by recommendation because their
professionalism is not doubted anymore. This novel conveys the difficulty of
finding a dream job in a big city like New York or Manhattan and brings a new
genre in chick lit novel. A novel by Sophie Kinsella entitled Confession of
Shopaholic also reveals the difficulty of working in a dream workplace and
working a year for a prominent industry will be a wise springboard for a beginner.
However, working for a year as a springboard does not always easy because they
do not work by willingness. It causes them to work under a system they do not like.
When they are working in a system they do not like, it will cause suppression and
depression and end in mental health disorders. This novel conveys how Andrea‘s
life in Runway which is exploited by the system and finally getting mental illness.
To end her suffering, she decides to resigns and ignores her springboard job and
starts to find new jobs which fits her passion, writing.
The second capitalist‘s strategy under the context of workplace is
controlling. In Runway, controlling system is the big issues because the publisher
and the magazine industry itself deal with market demands. Elias Clarke provides
an ID card for each worker under its building to prevent them from being absent
without permission, because it impacts on her or his fee. Elias Clark also facilitates commit to user
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the building with many CCTV cameras to prevent theft. Closet in Runway is full
with luxury dress, stilettos, accessories, jewelry, and bags, and it can cause theft
among the workers.
I was pleased to discover that the rest of that first week wasn‘t much
different than the first day. On Friday, Emily and I met in the stark white lobby again at seven A .M., and this time she handed me my own ID card, complete with a picture that I didn‘t remember taking. ―From the security camera,‖ she said when I stared at it. ―They‘re everywhere around here, just so you know. They‘ve had some major problems with people stealing stuff, the clothes and jewelry called in for shoots; it seems the messengers and sometimes even the editors just help themselves. So now they track everyone.‖ She slid her card down the slot and the thick glass door clicked open. ―Track? What exactly do you mean by ‗track‘?‖ (Weisberger, 2003, p. 43)
―Well, between the cameras and the cards, they kind of know what everyone‘s doing,‖ she said as she dropped her Gucci logo tote on her desk. She began unbuttoning her very fitted leather blazer, a coat that looked supremely inadequate for the late-November weather. ―I don‘t think they actually look at the cameras unless something‘s missing, but the cards tell everything. Like, every time you swipe it downstairs to get past the security counter or on the floor to get in the door, they know where you are. That‘s how they tell if people are at work, so if you have to be out—and you never
will, but just in case something really awful happens—you‘ll just give me
your card and I‘ll swipe it. That way you‘ll still get paid for all the days you miss, even if you go over. You‘ll do the same for me—everyone does
it.‖ (Weisberger, 2003, p. 44)
Elias Clark uses ID card to track absent, purchases, and movement from the
workers. The card is used to open certain doors which belong private, such as
Miranda‘s office. The card is also a debit card and the workers can use it at the
dining room. Elias Clark explains that this intends to make everything ‗stay
organized‘. However, I analyze that this is Elias Clarke‘s method to track the
workers and take control oncommit them. to Relateduser to the professionalism and the
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corporation culture that I have explained, the ID card is the indirect tracking to
check the professionalism of each worker. They control everybody because they
have the power and authority. The controlling system frames them in limited space
and it is also a kind of exploitation which can cause depression. People will not feel
free because they are monitored by the cameras every time. They will be afraid of
making mistakes and it cause perfectionist syndrome. Miranda is the example of the
perfectionist person who never tolerate for any mistakes from her workers.
Runway also controls the workers by always making them ready with the
chief-editor‘s needs. Miranda works in a quick excellent way so many people
adores her because of her competence in Runway. She concerns with opportunity in
the market demands and works quickly to fulfill it. She keeps calling her assistants
to arrange appointments, to confirm the photography process, to check schedules
for that day, or to attend fashion week in all over the world. Miranda does not work
for herself; she does that for Runway. She cannot tolerate when there is a message
in her call, so she commands her assistant to always be ready near the phones. She
does not want to delay her work so she works soon after she receives a call. This is
Miranda‘s job to fulfill her duty as a chief-editor, who is responsible for the
contents and the outlook of Runway. This is also Miranda‘s method to control her
assistants to always close to the phones, because she can call them any time and she
will know when there is no assistant there to pick up the phone. She has ever caught
Andrea goes to dining room to take some soup within three minutes and find
Miranda has already sit on her desk. She is angry because Andrea intents on eating commit to user
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rather than keeping the phone. Another case is when Andrea goes to dining room
and bathroom because she is very hungry and she leaves the office unattended. It
makes Emily, the first assistant, curses Andrea. They check the mail immediately
and do not find Miranda‘s mail there. However, they are afraid and panic, because
Miranda can discharge them only to find that her assistant is not there to pick up the
phone.
B. The Exploitation of Women’s Belief in Beauty and Power in Producing Brand
Image in The Devil Wears Prada
The second strategy of Runway is done under the context of brands. The
first strategy under the context of brands is Runway tries to spread the value of
bourgeoisie. The theory of capitalism by Marxism states that capitalist‘s mode
produces bourgeoisie (Storey, 2001). According to Marxism, bourgeoisie are the
middle-class people who own most of the wealth in a capitalist. In this novel, the
bourgeoisie is represented by Miranda. Runway produces people like Miranda to be
the apparatus who are used to spread the value of the bourgeoisie.
Since Miranda is the chief-editor in Runway, she has to represent Runway
as the most prominent fashion magazine in America wherever she is. As a
bourgeoisie, it is not hard for her to buy $10,000 for a school bag.
Basically, it involved tossing her Gucci wallet and her Motorola cell phone
into that Fendi bag that she kept abusing. The past few weeks, the $10,000 beauty had been serving as Cassidy‘s school bag and many of the beads— in addition to one of the handles—had snapped off. Miranda had dropped it
on my desk one day and ordered me to have it fixed or, if it was impossible to fix, to just throw out. I‘d proudly resisted all temptation to tell her the
bag was unfixable so I could keep it and instead had a leatherworker repair commit to user it for her for a mere twenty-five dollars. (Weisberger, 2003, p. 226)
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As the apparatus of Runway, she spreads the value as a bourgeoisie to her
children. The children will go to school with the bag and everybody will notice that
these two little girls have expensive and branded school bag, which shows that they
are daughters from middle-class people. She can buy the bag as many as it is
needed. She orders Andrea to fix the bag or throw it, if the bag is unfixable.
Miranda can spend her money on everything she wants and needs because money is
not her problem, since she is a bourgeoisie. Also, she gets money from Elias Clark
which facilitates her by supplying money for her dry cleaning, Hermes scarves, trip
to Europe, and breakfast. She also spends Elias Clark money to order skirts, bags,
or jewelry for the property of Runway. Money is not a problem for her because
Elias Clarke supports her. This novel reveals that living as a bourgeoisie is
extravagant. However, many people adore Miranda and want to be like her. It
shows that Miranda is success in spreading value of a bourgeoisie to other people
around her. They see the luxury of Miranda‘s life and million girls will die for
working with her. This explains why everybody tells Andrea that she should be
proud of her job, because not all people can have the same opportunity like her.
Andrea is amazed when she notices that Miranda has a $40,000 dress from Chanel
and says that she can spend the money for getting a new home. Andrea‘s shocking
feeling shows that she realizes that Miranda‘s life is really luxurious. She can spend
$40,000 for a single dress while other people intend to spend it to get a new home.
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This novel reveals the life of bourgeoisie by performing Miranda which becomes
the apparatus of Runway.
Martin Korberger states that brands have power to manage, control, and live
the ‗lifestyle‘ itself (Kornberger, 2014). In this novel, Miranda is presented as a
woman who really adores brands. Runway sells the products of Armani, Versace,
Prada, or Chanel through the models. As the chief-editor in Runway, Miranda has
to represent Runway wherever she goes. She wears a Chanel dress and a Louis
Vuitton bag to represent the life of the bourgeoisie. Implicitly, it is also her strategy
to influence value and manipulate meaning to sell product (Kornberger, 2014, p.
139). Miranda does not only sell Runway but she also sells the value of the
bourgeoisie which is living in a luxurious and extravagant life. Miranda tries to lead
the community to the proper fashion, work ethics, and life. The consumption of the
product attract people into a thought that living in Runway environment is a dream
life, even working for Miranda is a dream job. It is a dream job and million girls
will die for it. The representation of Runway through Miranda is also performed by
Miranda‘s workers. Runway governs people under its industry, controls them, and
manages them through the representation of the people like Miranda. People will be
attracted by the facilities of brands such as Prada, Armani, and Versace rather than
the need of working as the prime activities of life. This is the value that Runway
wants to spread.
Other values are the values of protection, pleasures, warmth,
acknowledgment, and the quality of the brand. Most people do not only look for the commit to user
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identity of the bourgeoisie by wearing those brands but also they look for the
protection, pleasures, warmth, acknowledgment, and the quality. Those values can
be gained because of the habit of always wearing brands in daily life. The fashion
industry like Prada and Armani always prioritizes the quality and the material. The
bourgeoisie will be able to pay the high price only for getting the values.
Since the people are willing to pay more prices to get the values, they lead
themselves into the consumptive behavior. Miranda can spend $40,000 for a red
dress from Chanel, $2,000 for a snakeskin belt, $16,000 to send Christmas presents
for Miranda‘s relatives and relations, and $10,000 for a Cassidy‘s school bag. The
fashion industry will get more benefit from the sale and they keep influencing
people with their values. Those people are unconscious that they have been already
controlled by the capitalist, in this case the fashion industry. However, Runway also
takes an important role as a fashion magazine which advertizes the products to the
consumers. People like Miranda will only concerns about the values because money
no longer becomes her problem.
The second strategy under the context of brands can be seen in the way
Runway spreads the identity of certain classes. The spreading identity is used to
maintain the position of Runway in the society. As I mentioned in the beginning of
this chapter, Runway intends to maintain the position of the prominent fashion
magazine in New York trough the representation of Miranda and the workers. The
maintaining of Runway is needed to secure the position so Runway‘s position will
be safe from the other fashion magazine. It is told in the novel that Miranda Priestly commit to user
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and Anna Wintour do not like each other. It is because Anna Wintour is the chief-
editor of Vogue fashion magazine and it means they are rivals. As a capitalist,
Runway needs power to control people and market demands. To get the power,
Runway has to become a very prominent fashion magazine in New York. People
like Miranda and Emily who have already hegemonized by Runway will not let
Runway down and they will secure Runway‘s position.
In The Devil Wears Prada, brand establishes Andrea to be a stylish,
beautiful, and fashionable girl which is loved by everyone in her surroundings. It is
because brands make her creditable. Before she wears that clothes, everybody turns
up their nose when they meet Andrea, but after Emily gives her proper suits with
prominent brand, even Miranda starts to consider her. This shows that brand is
significant in creating identity for the consumers.
In The Devil Wears Prada, the women need to strengthen their identity with
such clothes made by famous designer. It is to make their identity as Miranda‘s
worker becomes stronger. Emily, one of Andrea Sachs‘s friends in Miranda‘s
office, does not want people to see Andrea in ugly clothes or unfashionable outfit
once she works as Miranda‘s assistant, because it can make the identity of
Miranda‘s magazine is in risk. In this case, fashion holds the important roles in
holding an identity of the institution, like Barthes‘s theory in Language and Fashion
(Barthes, 2006).
Miranda is famous because of her involvement in Runway. She has her own commit to user identity in representing herself and Runway. The signature ‗MP‘ is significant in
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fashion industry, modeling, photography area, and publishing. The signature has a
power. People will concern more with a letter or an e-mail with the signature ‗MP‘
below it. People will already know that ‗MP‘ represents Miranda Priestly and they
will try to fulfill Miranda‘s demand. The signature ‗MP‘ and the mentioning of
‗Miranda Priestly‘ can create emotion in the people who read it and know the
meaning. The emotion or feeling can be fear, especially for Miranda‘s assistants,
because it contains Miranda‘s demands and they need to fulfill it immediately. The
emotion can be admiration, especially from people who adores Miranda.
Marion, a manager of Starbucks is one of those people who adore Miranda.
Starbucks is a franchise which runs a coffee business and has million customers
with 17.000 locations in 50 countries. Starbucks mission is to inspire and nurture
the human spirit by giving them a cup of coffee at a time and it always tries to serve
coffee well (http://globalassets.starbucks.com/assets/f62c45cd8a8b4699
befc60a2618f0431.pdf). I use it in this paper to describe the popularity of
Starbucks. In this novel, Marion is one of a manager in Starbucks cafes. No wonder
if Marion feels amazed when he knows that Miranda orders coffee from his
franchise every day, because according to the mission, he can ‗inspire and nurture‘
Miranda indirectly. He even tries to fulfill Miranda‘s need immediately.
―Ohmigod, are you kidding? You work for Miranda Priestly? And she
drinks our lattes? A tall? Every morning? Unbelievable. Oh, yes, yes, of course! I‘ll tell everyone to help you right away. Don‘t worry about a thing. She is, like, the most powerful person in fashion,‖ Marion gushed as I
forced myself to nod enthusiastically. (Weisberger, 2003, p. 100)
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Marion feels surprised when he knows that Miranda drinks latte from his
café and he feels indirect association with her. Starbuck is a famous coffee shop in
the world, and it is impossible if New York only has one Starbuck coffee shop. It
gives Marion privilege because Miranda chooses her café to get a latte, although it
is Andrea who orders the latte. The enthusiasm feeling from people who hears
‗Miranda Priestly‘ becomes the acknowledgment of Miranda‘s identity.
Another Miranda‘s signature is from her scarves. She likes to wear a white
Hermes scarf everywhere and leave it everywhere. This is how Elias Clarke also
supports her identity as the chief editor in Runway. Elias Clarke provides Miranda
with more Hermes scarves than she needs because Miranda has an obsession with
scarves. It is her identity which is copied by people who adores her, like Emily.
Scarf is Miranda‘s identity and also it is a validation that wearing scarf is elegant
and it is a proper fashion for being stylish and fashionable. Emily and Allison also
remind Andrea to bring scarves during her trip to Paris with Miranda. Presenting
Miranda‘s signature by wearing a scarf will emphasize the identity for Miranda‘s
assistants and be considered by others.
The strategies of the capitalist which are done under the context of
workplace and fashion brands lead the capitalist into the manifestation of
hegemony. The first manifestation of hegemony in this novel is the use of stilettos.
In the relation with beauty, stilettos accentuate women‘s beauty. The use of stilettos
has several advantages. The first advantage is making women look taller. The 5 – 6
inches heels can make women look taller and fulfill short women‘s pretension of commit to user
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tall look. The second advantage is stilettos can give women good-looking legs.
When they wear mini skirt or shorts pants and sandals with 5 – 6 inches heels, they
will look stunning with good shape legs. It helps them to have good body posture.
The third advantage is the stylish look, especially when they wear branded stilettos.
Wearing a dress or gown and a pair of stilettos can emphasize their image of stylish
women and accentuate their beauty. The advantages are the points which are
considered by women when they are wearing stilettos or high heels
(http://www.indiaparenting.com/fashion/309_2653/ advantages-and-disadvantages-
of-wearing-heels.html).
However, compared to the advantages, stilettos have several weaknesses
which are considered dangerous for women‘s health. This novel also reveals a
woman‘s feeling when they are wearing high heels. Andrea, as the representation of
American women who give priority to the capability of inner beauty rather than
style, complains about the painful caused by stilettos.
―So sorry, Miranda,‖ I announced in a normal voice that for the first time
since I‘d landed in Paris wasn‘t shaking uncontrollably, ―but I don‘t think I‘ll be able to make it to the party tomorrow. You understand don‘t you?
I‘m sure it‘ll be lovely, so please do enjoy it. That‘s all.‖ And before she could respond, I hitched my bag higher up on my shoulder, ignored the
pain that was searing from heel to toe, and strutted outside to hail a cab. I couldn‘t remember feeling better than that particular moment. I was going
home. (Weisberger, 2003, p. 261)
This is not the first time she complains about the pain in her heel to toe, but
she always ignores it because of Runway‘s rule. Andrea has worked for Miranda
for eleven months and during that time she always wears high heels at work. commit to user
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During that time, she also always ignores the painful feeling. This reveals the
sacrifice of women have to afford when they talk about fashion and style: to look
gorgeous means to ignore the pain and be accustomed with the pain.
Laura Beil writes an article in Women‘s Health Magazine about the impacts
of wearing high heels for women. First, wearing high heels can force the ankles to
bend forward and the movement will alter the circulation of body pressure and
blood of the feet. Eventually it can cause Achilles tendon, an illness in calf muscles.
Second, it gives the knees extra stress on the inner inside because the legs are bent
forward. Third, although the body looks sexy because it is curving, women will feel
pain in the back because the spine sways unnaturally (Beil, 2013). The result will
be lower back sore. A journalist in Washington Post, Christina Ianzito also writes
the badness of wearing high heels for women‘s feet (Ianzito, 2013). She writes a
review of a podiatrist from Bethesda, Michael Liebow. Michael says that wearing
stilettos will alter the angle position of foot and it can be a pain in feet. Women who
often wear high heels can cause ankle spraining. However, Michael‘s patients who
mostly women always refuse to abandon their shoes and keep wearing it because
they want admiration from people to their shoes. Michael suggests wearing flat and
wider shoes will be healthier but those women refuse and they prefer style rather
than health. On this level, women have already hegemonized by style and it is
difficult to leave the custom. It is because their refusal to abandon stilettos is caused
by the pride and prestige which is offered by branded stilettos.
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In 19th and 20th Century, the use of heels symbolizes the imperial power and
popularizes erotic. However, in 20th Century, stilettos symbolize the power of
women in the battleground of sexual politics. The power of beauty and femininity
which can attract men‘s behavior is the effect of wearing high heels. In a research,
men are more attracted to women who wear well heels because they look taller and
sexually confident with lengthened silhouette. Now, the assumption of the feminists
that high heels will frame women in a limited space because they will be difficult to
run or walk has been countered because in 21st Century, the use of high heels
portrays the power of women in romance and it does not subordinate women.
Marilyn Monroe once says that well-heeled women with right shoes can conquer
the world. The thought and assumption about power and beauty becomes a reason
for women to refuse to abandon their shoes.
However, this novel portrays the rebellion of a woman who does not agree
with the assumption that stilettos accentuate women‘s beauty and power. Andrea
precisely feels the opposite; she cannot run faster or walk properly because she has
to ignore the pain and suffering every time. Andrea portrays the representation of
women who concern on inner beauty rather than style, and this is feminism type.
She admits that stilettos do not accentuate her beauty but they bound her. However,
her rebellion and thought of inner beauty cannot fight the system. She works for
Runway and it means she has to follow the system in Runway, including wearing
stilettos. Once she does not follow the system, she will be warned by the system.
―Enough.‖ She paused at the door and looked at me. ―Whose shoes are you commit to user wearing?‖ she asked again in a none-too-pleased voice.
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I checked out my black sling backs again and wondered how to tell the
most stylish woman in the western hemisphere that I was wearing a pair of shoes I‘d purchased at Ann Taylor Loft. Another glance at her face and I
knew I couldn‘t. ―I bought them in Spain,‖ I said quickly, averting my eyes. ―It was at some
adorable boutique in Barcelona right off Las Ramblas that carried this new Spanish designer‘s line.‖ Where the hell had I pulled that one from?
She folded her hand into a fist, put it over her mouth, and cocked her head. I saw James approaching the glass door from the other side, but as soon as he saw Miranda he turned and fled. ―Ahn-dre-ah, they‘re unacceptable. My girls need to represent Runway magazine, and those shoes are not the message I‘m looking to convey. Find some decent footwear in the Closet. And get me a coffee.‖ (Weisberger, 2003, p. 189)
Andrea wears a pair of shoes from Spain. Unfortunately, Miranda tells
Andrea to represent Runway and her shoes do not represent it at all. Miranda
commands Andrea to change her shoes into ‗some decent footwear‘. Miranda does
not care about where the shoes come from and who designs the shoes. Everything
has to represent Runway and according to Miranda, Andrea‘s shoes are
unacceptable. When the shoes are not appropriate with Runway or Runway never
advertise the shoes, Miranda will say that the shoes are unacceptable. This case is a
manifestation of hegemony, which capitalist uses shoes as the device.
It can be said as the manifestation of hegemony because basically stilettos
hurt women, as I have explained in the beginning of the second sub chapter. The
pain makes them cannot move freely. However, because of the hegemony, they are
led to ‗agree‘ that wearing stilettos can make them beautiful. Stilettos offer the
‗dream result‘ such as good body silhouette and taller look. Stilettos also make
them having power and self existence. The process is Runway advertises stilettos as
commit to user the content, and then Miranda as the chief editor writes about the benefits and other
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good things about the footwear. The good explanation influences readers that
stilettos are proper shoes for women. Since Runway is a fashion magazine, Miranda
has to present the latest issues about the shoes; the brands and the models. In the
practice, Miranda‘s workers must wear stilettos from some famous brands and
designers to represent Runway. It is also the validation of the ideology that stilettos
are proper shoes for bourgeoisie women or high class society. High class society is
the ruling class society which controls ideologies from the lower community. The
society will organize meaning and make their ideas become the dominant ideas
which the domination is done by the sustained capitalist (Hebdige, 1993). Miranda
as the representation of bourgeoisie spreads the ideology of proper shoes from her
writing in Runway. Her ideas as the chief editor dominate Runway which plays role
as the capitalist. With Runway, Miranda will make meaning of stilettos as ‗hurting
shoes for women‘ becomes ‗proper shoes for women‘ and the idea becomes the
dominant idea. It influences the readers and creates consensus that stilettos do the
proper shoes for women. Although women admit the pain caused by the stilettos,
they still wear those foot wears because it has been become common consensus that
stilettos are the proper shoes for women. The consensus are created by people like
Miranda – people with power and domination – and spread by Runway, a public
magazine consumed by high class society. The consensus makes women overriding
the impacts of wearing stilettos for healthy and giving priority to always wearing
stilettos for sake of style. On this level, it can be concluded that those women are
already under the hegemony. commit to user
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The second hegemony is the use of expensive brands. Runway as a fashion
magazine portrays the life of the bourgeoisie which is glamorous and luxurious.
The impression will attract the readers. According to Estiani, a fashion magazine
can attract the readers because the readers can find their own escapism and
satisfaction when reading it (Estiani, 2012). The magazine sets the high price
because it targets the high class societies and the elite groups. However in the
practice, it is not only the people in high class societies who read the magazine, but
also the people in working class societies, the lower societies. For the lower
societies, this magazine sells ‗dream‘ and ‗fantasy‘, as Estiani argues. It cannot be
denied that the main purpose of a magazine is a promotion and a fashion magazine
‗sells dream and fantasy‘ behind the articles.
Blank. Completely and totally blank, I couldn‘t remember a thing. I couldn‘t believe she wasquizzing me! I‘d never read an issue ofRunway in my life—she wasn‘t allowed to ask me aboutthat one. No one cared aboutRunway . It was afashion magazine, for chrissake, one I wasn‘t even sure contained any writing, just lots of hungry-looking models and glossy
ads. I stammered for a moment or two, while the different names of editors I‘d just before forced my brain to remember all swirled inside my head,
dancing together in mismatched pairs. Somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind, I was sure I knew her name—after all, who didn‘t? But it
wouldn‘t gel in my addled brain. (Weisberger, 2003, p. 12)
A magazine properly contains several articles and news which gives
knowledge for the readers. In the first meeting with Miranda, Andrea says that she
often reads The Now Yorker, Time, and Newsweek. Since Andrea goes to college
to study about writing, what she often reads is magazines with many articles and
qualified news. She never reads Runway, because according to her, Runway does commit to user
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not contain any writings. Runway only contains ‗lots of hungry-look models and
glossy ads‘. The content of Runway which is revealed by Andrea in an annoyance
expression represents the condition of the common fashion magazine: less of
writings but more glossy advertisements. The advertisements are what Estiani
means by ‗dream and fantasy‘. The dream and fantasy become the ‗hidden
meaning‘ behind the advertisements and through the process of reading, the
magazine hegemonies women. Hegemony can happen because the ending of the
advertisements in a fashion magazine is purchasing the products. To purchase the
products, people will consider the price and the quality of the products.
Price is the important factor which influences the decisions and purchasing
patterns of consumers. Price is the first consideration of Runway when they target
the bourgeoisie, because the bourgeoisie‘s money can fit with the expensive brands
offered by Runway. For the bourgeoisie, money is no longer becoming their
problem, because as the people in high society, they have more money. They will
consider more about prestige and status. They consume Runway because they want
to prove that they are indeed from the higher level in the society. They also
consume the products which are advertised by Runway to prove that they can earn
what they want, with the purpose that they can secure their position as the high
class society. As the example, Elias Clark orders Hermes scarves for Miranda. For
about 500 sheets of white Hermes scarves have been purchased for Miranda
Priestly, although it is priced hundred dollars for every sheet. It is not a big
problem for Elias Clark because the industry has money to support Miranda‘s commit to user
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need, especially because Miranda is someone important in the industry. Miranda
also does the same: she has power and money, so having and earning products of
certain expensive brands are not a big deal for her. Although she knows that Elias
Clark has paid a couple hundred dollars for a sheet of white Hermes scarf, Miranda
does not hesitate to leave the scarf everywhere – restaurants, movies, fashion
shows, and taxis – as if they are Kleenex (Weisberger, 2003, p. 96). It indicates
that money is not a problem for bourgeoisie. Runway will set the high price and
target the bourgeoisie or the people in high class society to consume the brands.
However, it cannot be denied that the readers of Runway are not only from
the bourgeoisie or the high class society. The readers also come from the middle
class or the working class. Once Andrea finds a letter for Miranda which is written
by a girl named Anita who sends a letter for Miranda.
Dear Miranda, My name is Anita and I am seventeen years old and I am a senior at Barringer H.S. in Newark, NJ. I am so ashamed of my body even though
everyone tells me I‘m not fat. I want to look like the models you have in your magazine. Every month I wait for Runway to come in the mail even
though my mama says it‘s stupid to pay all my allowance for a fashion magazine. But she doesn‘t understand that I have a dream, but you do,
dontcha? It has been my dream since I was a little girl, but I don‘t think it‘s gonna happen. Why, you ask? My boobs are very flat and my behind is
bigger than the ones your models have and this makes me very embarased. I ask myself if this is the way I wanna live my life and I answer NO!!!
because I wanna change and I wanna look and feel better and so I‘m asking for your help. I wanna make a positive change and look in the mirror and
love my breasts and my behind because they look just like the ones in the best magazine on earth!!! ….
I‘m gonna stop bothering you now, but I want you to know that even if you throw this letter in the garbage, I will still be a big fan of your magazine
because I love the models and the clothes and everything, and of course I commit to user love you too. (Weisberger, 2003, p. 185)
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The point of this letter is, Anita wants to be as beauty as the Runways‘
models but she is not rich. She can spend all of her allowance to fulfill the ‗dream
and fantasy‘ that she gets from reading Runway. Her mother says that she is stupid
because she spends her allowance only for buying Runway every month. However,
Anita has ‗a dream‘ since she was a little girl and she thinks that Runway can help
her to reach her dream. She consumes the products of capitalist and consumes the
ideology of beauty women in the same time. On this level, the exploitation by the
capitalist is clearly seen. She is ‗commanded‘ to deal with the price of Runway.
Runway offers the ‗dream and fantasy‘ of good-looking models, expensive stilettos,
glamorous gown, or sparkling handbag. For Anita, it is almost impossible to have
those luxurious stuffs like Runway girls have, therefore, she only can satisfy her
dream by looking at the content of Runway because she comes from an ordinary
family. She is ‗commanded‘ to consume Runway and Runway leads her thought
about ‗beauty and appropriateness of women‘ and it seems Runway is succeed.
When Anita is unconscious that her thought has been ‗dictated‘ by Runway, it
means the exploitation by the capitalist has already started. It is the representation
of the society in America, especially the girls who rely on their dreams on a fashion
magazine and have an obsession with the magazine and everything in it. Later, I
will analyze the obsession occurs to women which is caused by Runway. This will
be the representation of how a fashion magazine can rule women.
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Besides price, a quality is also an important factor which influences the
decision and purchasing patterns of consumers. Quality is something that
consumers expect to get from the brands, combined with the actual result. The
advertisements of the brands will make a good advertisement to show the quality of
the brands, and the brands also offer that their product is the best from other
products. Although their products have high price and very expensive, but they
convince the consumers that their products are not imitated by other companies,
therefore the consumers will not worry anymore about being imitated by other
people. Big brands like Hermes, Prada, or Calvin Klein usually produce their stuffs
in limited number, but in a high price. They try to gain more consumers and benefit
by offering a good quality and exclusive price. According to Afsar, products which
are difficult to be imitated by competitors are the best product and they will give
benefit to the companies (Afsar, 2014). The consumer will think that the products
they purchase are limited, qualified, and the best stuffs; therefore it will be fine to
spend lots of money. As long as they can get the quality, they are willing to pay
more.
The exploitation by the capitalist also occurs here. The consumers can know
the quality of the products mostly by the advertisements and the editor‘s writings in
the magazine. Nevertheless, the consumers have already dictated by the magazine
that the stuff is the best; it is made from specific and qualified material, it is
expensive and glamorous, it is limited edition, and the most important thing is it can
accentuate the beauty of the consumers. After all, the price and quality become the commit to user
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important factors for the consumers to decide the purchasing, because they believe
that stuffs with higher price will give them high quality too. However, they cannot
prove that the quality of the product is the best quality in the world. There is no
exact measurement, unless the writing message from the editor in the magazine.
This is the tactic or the strategy from both the fashion magazine and the companies
to show that their products are good. They produce the stuffs in limited number but
in a specific qualified, as if the products are the best. It also contains a message that
‗you are lucky if you purchase this and wear this because this is limited edition‘.
However, after the products are sold out, they will produce more products and
spread it, with new advertisement with new writing, new specification, and new
advantage, so the consumer will be interested more. The advertisement will reveal
that this product is special product, rare, and marvelous. They will also compare the
product with the previous product to show that this product is much more perfect.
By this, the consumer will be attracted once more to purchase the product based on
the quality offered. That is why brands can hegemonize women, because the
process will always end in purchasing product by considering the price and quality.
During the exploitation by the capitalist, brands have several steps to gain
more interests from people. The first step is the purpose of the magazine itself.
Estiani states that the purpose of a fashion magazine is always a promotion. No
matter how good the articles, how many pictures in it, it always ends in promotion.
Several magazines offer tips and tricks to be a beautiful lady – how to make skin
brighter, how to look perfect in office, how to look tall and fascinating – but the commit to user
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magazine always advertises some brands under the tips. For example, the magazine
tells the readers about how to have brighter skin, how to look gorgeous, how to
undergo a healthy diet, etc. It contains several useful tips which mostly work.
However, under the tips, the magazine usually advertises some products. When the
magazine tells how to be taller and gorgeous, the magazine also tells and suggests
the readers to purchase certain brand of shoes, after giving advice about how to get
slim feet. The magazine also often offers the readers to buy certain brand of
cosmetic, in order to be more beautiful, after giving tips about how to have brighter
skin. The tips are included to the strategy of the magazine to gain interest from the
readers, which ends in promotion, as Estiani has stated in her work.
The second step is the exposure of luxury goods. According to Zou and
Chua, people seek for luxurious to gain social status; however, it ends in self
directed pleasure (Chua & Zou, 2009). Miranda exposes the luxurious facilities
which becomes her signature; a green Porsche, white silk Hermes scarves,
Starbucks lattes, a snakeskin Gucci trench, and a Chanel dress. She tries to gain her
status as a bourgeoisie and as a chief-editor of Runway. Her status as a bourgeoisie
is strong, but she has another competitor such as Anna Wintour who works as a
chief editor in Vogue magazine. That‘s why Miranda needs to make her position in
social status strong and secured. In the end, the activity for always exposing luxury
goods becomes ‗self-directed pleasure‘ which leads Miranda into a habit of always
wearing and using luxury goods. It is Miranda‘s pleasure to always wear a white
Hermes scarf everywhere she goes and the pleasure comes from her consciousness commit to user
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which she will feel satisfy of herself for all of her achievement in fashion. Her
exposing of luxury goods ends in gratification as Zou and Chua states before,
because Miranda wears it in a consciousness condition to represent her as a
bourgeoisie and also represent Runway.
People also pursue luxury in part to fulfill certain personal desires. The
social desire can include the gratification or self-directed pleasure. In this case, the
personal direction can change into human needs and the needs end in hedonist
(Chua & Zou, 2009). The process from the personal desires until becoming a
hedonist can be seen in Miranda itself. She exposes luxury goods and spends many
dollars on a dress or a bag. The clearest evidence is her obsession through scarves.
An obsession usually triggers people to do everything only to get what they want.
This is not about need anymore but desirability. When people can get what they
want, they will feel satisfy and complete. Miranda has an obsession with white
scarves from Hermes and wears them everywhere and every day. When a guy from
the company tells her that the stock is limited and they will not produce it anymore,
Miranda is very angry. She scolds the guy and humiliates him. She buys all remain
stock of the scarves and keeps it in Elias-Clark, because the purchasing is done by
Elias-Clark, as a form of facility. After Miranda gets all of those stocks, she feels
complete and satisfied. The feeling of complete and satisfied is the kind of personal
desires that I have explained above. For Miranda, a scarf is her every day need;
Emily describes her as if she cannot live a day without scarf. Emily also reminds
Andrea to bring scarves when she will go to Paris with Miranda, because a scarf is commit to user
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Miranda‘s identity. As an identity, Miranda really needs scarves wherever she is. It
means a scarf has been already becomes Miranda‘s need that has to be fulfilled. The
impact of this need is the spending of the money. Hermes is known as a famous
brand and expensive. Elias-Clark spends hundred dollars to purchase the scarves.
This activity is the evidence of hedonism. The process from the feeling of social
desires until the hedonism is the way how branding hegemonies women. The
process is as the impact of the exposure of luxury goods as the second step of the
hegemony after advertisement.
The third step is the hegemony through image of the brand itself. The image
of a brand is as the result of the competition with other brands. The image of a
brand includes the quality of the product, the reputation among the society, the
performance, the credibility, and also the prestige (Afsar, 2014). A brand which
fulfills the standardization of a ‗good brand image‘ can be the dominant brand
which strengthens its position in the social. The brand will get a strong social status.
A brand with a strong status in the society will create a ‗brand trust‘ among the
users. The trust will be a string that binds the consumers to always purchase and
consume the products. Brand with high credibility and high quality will be more
consumed by the consumers rather than new brand or unpopular brand. It is because
brand needs to be more dominant than other to secure its position in the society, and
brand trust can be the method to keep the social status of the brand. Miranda ever
addresses Andrea because she wears shoes from a designer who Miranda never
acknowledge before. The shoes are bought from Spain, but Miranda says that it commit to user
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does not represent Runway and Andrea has to change the shoes. Runway always
performs luxury and well-known brand such as Prada, Armani, or Calvin Klein, and
for Miranda, a Spain designer cannot represent Runway enough, because the
designer is not acknowledged by Runway. In this case, it can be concluded that the
reputation and prestige of a brand are important to show the status of the brand
itself. The prestige, credibility, quality, and reputation help brands to gain more
interest from the consumers and the consumers will purchase more goods from the
brands. The more goods purchased the more profits the brands get. The ending will
be the hegemony, because the consumers are led to consume more goods with more
money which based on the influence of brands‘ images.
The fourth hegemony is the process of the diet. Emily undergoes a strict diet
by only drinking a can of Diet Coke and eating raisins for her lunch every day
(Weisberger, 2003, pp. 118, 120, 186). Those two snacks only contain fewer
calories which are not balance for her daily needs. As an assistant of Miranda,
Emily has to work hard to fulfill Miranda‘s needs and spend most of her time in the
office. She has less time to sleep. Moreover, she wants to be slim and stay thin, and
it makes her drinks Diet Coke and eats raisins. The impact is that she gets
mononucleosis (Weisberger, 2003, p. 212) and she cannot join Miranda to Paris.
Mononucleosis is a disease which attack immunes, causing swollen glands, fever,
and a sore throat. It contaminates other people and the doctor says that Emily has to
stay at home to rest for weeks. This is the impact of the diet. With many activities,
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Emily needs more calories than usual people, but she only fulfill her calories with
Diet Coke and raisins; that will not be balanced.
The same condition also happens to other girls of Runway. They are very
slim and their bodies are straight-shape. Andrea describes them as anorexic and
hungry looking models (Weisberger, 2003, pp. 12, 54, 130, 211, 259) because their
bodies are very much thinner. In Runway, a girl with a slim body will look
beautiful. Runway‘s girls try hard to be slim and thin and this is the impact of the
image of beautiful women. The image of beauty women which is believed by
Runway girls is a woman with a very slim body. The slimmer the body is, the more
beautiful a woman is. In the starting weeks, Andrea thinks that it is ridiculous to
think that a beauty standardization of a woman relies on the slenderness. However,
after working for Miranda for several weeks and months, she realizes that
slenderness becomes an important aspect of beauty and perfection for Runway girls.
Here, the exploitation by the capitalist is seen. Women in Runway are obsessed
with the standard of slenderness and slimness. Because of the standard, they can
spend a whole day without having any meals. At first – like Andrea‘s case – they
cannot do it because working for Miranda is exhausting. However, after several
weeks of working, they can control their appetite. They can stay hungry all the day
because they want to be slim. Runway has changed their orientation about beauty;
Runway put an image of slenderness as the new standard of beauty. With image of
slenderness, Runway tries to change the mindset of the women about beauty and
hegemonies them. The women can eat nothing when lunch time so they can stay commit to user
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slim and this is as the impact of the hegemony. Many relatives of Andrea say that
Andrea is like a junkie because she is very thin. It means, although Andrea is hard
to refuse to be one of Runway girls, in the end, she becomes one of them. Andrea
becomes the victim of hegemony of Runway and she tries hard to avoid it but she
cannot. She belongs to the system and she has to follow the rule. While following
the rule, Andrea does not realize that she is being hegemonized. It means the
hegemony runs unconsciously.
However, as the nature‘s law, every action must have reaction. As the
response of the exploitation by the capitalist, Andrea fights back. In the eleventh
month of her career, she meets the condition where she cannot afford. Miranda
humiliates her and it becomes the turning point of Andrea. As the response, she
humiliates Miranda back then she resigns from Runway. She tries to leave the
system of Runway and it is considered as a form of fighting hegemony. She tries to
leave the ideology of Runway and creates an ideology for herself. Finally, when her
ideology cannot meet with the ideology of Runway, she decides to leave the system.
After leaving Runway, she tries to put many of her writings in many publishers and
hopes that one of them will publish it and pay for her. Finally she meets Loretta
who can pay for her articles. Andrea is very happy for that. She hopes that working
for Seventeen Magazine can be a good way for her to start her new career. She also
starts to send away her Runway clothes to a resale shop on Madison Avenue. Her
action signs that she wants to leave Runway and Miranda, because she no longer
deals with Runway ideology. She meets Loretta who also hates Miranda. Loretta commit to user
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helps Andrea by contacting other magazine so Andrea can publish her work. For
months, Andrea has been free and she enjoys it, although sometimes she still feels
the fear of Miranda‘s existence. One day, Loretta arranges a meeting with her friend
in The Buzz and her friend is willing to meet Andrea. The problem is, The Buzz
office is in Elias Clark which means Andrea has to enter the building one more
time. Her fear about Miranda rises again and she remembers everything again about
her experience there. While Andrea is there, she sees a girl with tank-top and tight
pants bringing a pan of Starbucks. It reminds her about Miranda and her experience
in fulfilling Miranda‘s needs.
What Andrea has is the response of a woman towards the hegemony.
Andrea fights back, as the representation of a woman who rebels system and tries to
create her own ideology. Andrea is the representation of a woman who conscious
that she is hegemonized by system and tries to leave the domination. Finally she
looks for an opposite place which suitable with her ideology. Andrea likes Loretta
because Loretta does not demand Andrea to speak French and she is not freak about
proper fashion, moreover Loretta hates Miranda. Andrea thinks that she can work
with Loretta. However, a system of capitalism cannot be left easily by people.
Capitalism is built in a sustainable way so it can be strong and secured. What
Andrea does is trying to leave the system; however, she cannot leave it actually.
She goes back to Elias Clark to have an interview with The Buzz. It means that
actually she cannot leave the system. It represents the condition in the society which
everything is controlled by the dominant system – huge company, strong commit to user
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government, and liberal market – and people cannot easily leave the system. The
new assistant of Miranda who is seen by Andrea is also the representation of the
existence of people who are hegemonized by system. Andrea tries to create her new
ideology, but the system is very strong and secured and Andrea cannot fight it. The
news about Andrea‘s curse to Miranda has spread in Page Six and many people
appreciate Andrea because she has done something brave. However, although the
news has been spread, many people still want to work for Miranda. It is because
Runway has built prestige, credibility, reputation, and performance which makes
Runway‘s position is strong in the society. Also, Runway spread the image of
bourgeoisie which has been becoming a dream for many people. The existence of
Miranda‘s new assistant is as a proof that the enchantment of Runway to common
people s strong and people are willingly hegemonized. By the showing of the new
girl as Miranda‘s new assistant, it continues the hegemony that is done by the
system.
Andrea has to do what her boss asks to her, because that is her obligation
and if she does not do it, she will be fired and Miranda will put Andrea into black
list so other publications cannot hire her. This is an analogy of the hegemony itself
which exists in The Devil Wears Prada. To be a fashionable woman, many women
have decided to wear glamorous branded clothes everyday and they will think that
it is a need, an obligation that they must fulfill. They are afraid if they take the
brands off, they will not be accepted anymore in their community. It means they
have already being driven by the brands. They cannot leave the system, although commit to user
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they try hard. Although Andrea Sachs finally can quit from her job in Runway
magazine, but later she comes back in Elias-Clark building – the same building
with Runway magazine – to work with another publication. It shows that although
she tries hard to release herself from the capitalist system, she cannot do it.
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