The Significance of Fashion in the Construction of American Career Women As Seen in the Devil Wears Prada

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FASHION IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF AMERICAN CAREER WOMEN AS SEEN IN THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA

THESIS

Submitted as a Partial Fulfillment of Requirement

for the Sarjana Sastra Degree in the English Department

Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts

Sebelas Maret University

By:

RENY FIAN ABRITA C0304005

FACULTY OF LETTERS AND FINE ARTS

SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY

SURAKARTA

2010

15 16

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FASHION IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF AMERICAN CAREER WOMEN AS SEEN IN THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA

By:

RENY FIAN ABRITA

C0304005

Approved to be examined by the Board of Examiners

Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts

Sebelas Maret University

Thesis Supervisor

Dra. Sri Kusumo Habsari, M. Hum, Ph.D

NIP. 196703231995122001

The Head of English Department

Dr. Djatmika, M.A.

NIP. 196707261993021001 17

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FASHION IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF AMERICAN CAREER WOMEN AS SEEN IN THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA

By: RENY FIAN ABRITA C0304005

Accepted to be examined by the Board of Examiners Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts Sebelas Maret Univertisty On February 2010

The Board Examiners:

Chairman Dra. Nani Sukarni, M.S ( ) NIP. 195103211981032002 Secretary Yusuf Kurniawan, S.S, M.A ( ) NIP. 197111301999031001 First Examiner Dra. S.K Habsari, M.Hum, Ph.D ( ) NIP. 196703231995122001 Second Examiner Dra. Susilorini, M.A ( ) NIP. 196506011992032002

Dean of Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts Sebelas Maret University

Drs. Sudarno, M.A NIP. 195303141985061001 18

PRONOUNCEMENT

NAME : RENY FIAN ABRITA

NIM : C 0304005

Stated whole-heartedly that this thesis entitled “THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FASHION IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF AMERICAN CAREER WOMEN AS SEEN IN THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA”, is originally made by the researcher. It is neither a plagiarism nor is made by other. The things related to other’s people work are written in quotation and included in bibliography. If it is discovered and proved that this pronouncement is dishonest, the researcher willingly accepts any penalties from English Department of Sebelas

Maret University.

Surakarta, February 2010

The researcher

MOTTO

“...I’ll spread my wings and I’ll learn how to fly...

I do what it takes till I touch the sky

Make a Wish

Take a Chance

Make a Change

And

Breakaway!!!”

DEDICATION

This thesis is dedicated to:

My beloved Pak Soenar and Bu Soenar,

You’re the best I’ve ever had in my life

My Brother, Wempy H.K, S.H and wife

My Cute Little Nephew, Putra

My Self...

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Alhamdulillah. Thanks to Allah SWT to lead me in the journey of my life and be my guidance to finish this thesis.

I would like to express my gratitude for all those who gave me the possibility to complete this thesis. I want to thank Drs. Sudarno, MA, the Dean of

Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts for the approval of this thesis, Dr. Djatmika, MA, the Head of English Department, for the permission to write this thesis and all of

English Department lecturers for giving me so much knowledge and deeper understanding of American Studies.

I am deeply indebted to my thesis supervisor, Dra. Sri Kusumo Habsari,

M.Hum, Ph.D, thousands of gratitude can not be compared with all which you’ve given to me, I should say that you’re my real tutor.

My friends under “Bu Habsari” supervision, Rosalina, Risky Ady and

Sonny, thanks for all of your supports, interests and valuable hints which help me to complete this thesis. I also would like to thank my best friends, Ria, Martha,

Hilda and Ingrid, also Ika and Santi in Jakarta, for being my true friends who always understand me in the proccess of my life. My former friends in English

Department, especially American Studies ’04, thanks for all valuable sharing we’d ever done.

Especially, I would like to give my special thanks to my beloved father and mother, I am everything I am because you love me. 22

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE ...... i

APPROVAL OF THESIS CONSULTANTS ...... ii

APPROVAL OF THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS ...... iii

PRONOUNCEMENT……...…………………………………………...... iv

MOTTO ...... v

DEDICATION...... vi

ACKNOWLEDGMENT ...... vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... viii

ABSTRACT ...... x

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ...... 1

A. Research Background ...... 1

B. Scope of Study ...... 4

C. Problem Statements ...... 5

D. Objective of the Study ...... 5

E. Benefits of the Study ...... 5

F. Method of The Study ...... 6

G. Theoretical Approach...... 8

H. Thesis Organization ...... 13 23

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 15

A. A Brief Sketch of Working Women and Postfeminism in America ...... 15

B. Fashion and Female Body ...... 21

C. Semiotic Film Theory ...... 27

D. Basic Terminology in Cinematography ...... 30

CHAPTER III: ANALYSIS ...... 37

A. Who is The “Devil” Wears “Prada”? ...... 37

B. The Construction of Successful Career Women in The Great Influence

of Fashion Industry ...... 50

1. Andrea Sach and The Significance of Fashion Transformation ...... 53

2. Miranda Priestly “The Dress for Success” ...... 68

3. The Ambivalence of Gender Roles and Politic of Life

Choice...... 72

CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ...... 81

A. Conclusion ...... 81

B. Recommendation ...... 83

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 84

ABSTRACT

Reny Fian Abrita. C0304005. The Significance of Fashion in The Construction of American Career Women As Seen in The Devil Wears Prada. Thesis. English Department. Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts. University of Sebelas Maret Surakarta.

This thesis is written based on researching a movie entitled The Devil Wears Prada, directed by David Frankel. It is purposed to explain how the movie constructs American successful career women through their fashion styles and how this fashion style leads women into object of spectacle by male gaze which results the issue of female body objectification. The research is descriptive qualitative of which the main data are in the form of characterization of the characters, costumes, dialogue, gesture and visual expression, and other cinematographic elements of the movie. The supporting data are taken from other sources such as, film reviews, books, and some internet articles related to the movie. It is also supported by some articles of American women’s issues to answer the research question. Since the research is in the scope of American study which is an interdisciplinary study, it involves some disciplines which are applied in the form of theory and approach. In answering the research questions, this research applies some theories and approaches including semiotic film theory, sosio cultural approach and feminists approach as its point of view. From the analysis, it can be found that The Devil Wears Prada movie uses fashion as a sign of power and success for women in the working place. Despite of its power, fashion style has also been used to objectify female body in the patriarchal mainstream. Fashion products mainly explores women’s body to be an object of spectacle through its style. Beside providing the great influence of fashion toward women, the movie also explores the construction of American career women today through the issue of gender roles ambivalence and politic of life choice. Since the movie is the product of mass culture, finally, it is going back to the beliefs and values embraced by the society.

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. Research Background

Fashion is actually something that can be found everywhere and everytime. Fashion seems to be an important thing because it is considered as the reflection of one’s self. Cyntia Durcanin, the editor of ELLE magazine, has said that “Most of all fashion is about being comfortable with yourself, translating self- esteem into a personal style”. At a glance it looks like, being fashionable is being comfortable with one’s self, but then the word ”translating self-esteem” has to be underlined to understand more about being fashionable.

Fashion itself is like a “mirror phase” which reveal the creation of cultural myth. Clothing and other kinds of ornamentation make the human body culturally visible...clothing draws the body so that it can be culturally seen, articulates it in a meaning form (http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2001/4/01.04.11.x.html).

Fashion brings the image of people who wear it and has a contribution to send the cultural message in the society. Since women are more attracted in fashion rather than men, the image of women in fashion becomes a highly politicized issue in the society.

In connection with this, the term “dress code” plays an important role to define the meaning of fashion to one’s self. In one sense, code means a set of rules prescribing how to act or what to do, and in another, a key (or set of instructions) for translating a message. In these cases, a code becomes a mechanism by which 26

types of behavior can be restricted and regulated into acceptable norms, a set of injunctions prescribing ways to dress, act, or conduct oneself, as in a dress code.

Nowadays, women in the work field are restricted in this terms of dress code to show their identity as real career women through their fashion choices. They call this as a “dress for success”. Women’s fashion choices can be considered as a sign of women’s success in the work place. Many media expose this phenomenon and make sure their consumers, especially women to believe in this message.

One of the media which describes this phenomenon is movie. The emergence of fashion movie is spread out all over the world to show the great influence of fashion. The Devil Wears Prada, one of the box office movie, is an

Academy Award-nominated 2006 comedy drama film. The movie is a loose screen adaptation of Lauren Weisberger’s 2003 novel of the same name. The writer used to work as an assistant at Vogue and had the experience to depict fashion magazines as management style and self-enchantment of the society. The

Devil Wears Prada has brought many issues of women’s life through the characterization of women in the work place and their fashion choices since it is a fashion movie background. Ginia Bellafante in MSN movie review stated that the movie “has successfully gained valuable experience in depicting women at work and play in a glamorous and exciting New York”

(http://www.slate.com/id/2144787). In addition, the characters in the movie also bring some ideological implications of contemporary issue of women’s value in

American culture through feminism framework. The Devil Wears Prada’s engagement with feminism and fashion is not simple. However, the movie also 27

reflects the ideological image of women’s body trough fashion style and female

“empowernment” by the characterization of American career women.

The Devil Wears Prada tells about the struggle of Andrea Sach to get a job as an assistant of Miranda Priestly, editor of Runaway magazine, in which many girls are willing to die for this job. At first, she fits in poorly among gossip of fashion that makes up the magazine’s staff. It seems very difficult for her to do the job competently with her lack of style. Sometimes, she feels underpressure to work with Miranda because of Miranda’s hard grading toward her assistant. As

Andrea doesn’t want just to be defeated, she tries to do many things including learning her job better and changing her appearance through the new fashion style. Gradually, with the help of the art editor, Nigel, Andrea starts to dress more stylishly and can do her job competently. By her new appearance, it seems that she has got her success in career. Even, she replaces Emily, Miranda’s first assistant, to attend Paris Fashion Week with Miranda. In Paris, Andrea realizes that she has sacrificed many things especially her personal life to get ahead toward her career. She decides to quit from her previous job since she doesn’t want to stand in something which doesn’t fit her. However, for Andrea, Miranda’s hard grading has unconsiously made her to be a better person and led her to get the opportunity as a journalist, her dream job.

The Devil Wears Prada in its speech and visual narrative contains many signs and codes that are worth considering for a deep analysis to understand despite of its comical surface. Watching TDWP is watching a series of conflict around American values. In deeper understanding TDWP represents some 28

women’s issues especially in the work place. It is also a story about life choice, individual freedom, Cinderella love story and the pursuit of happiness, in the highly issue of feminism idea. By analyzing The Devil Wears Prada, it opens our understanding on how fashion and women have closely relationship to construct the image of women especially in the work place. The movie clearly depicts the social condition of American career women through fashion industry background that has influenced their way of thinking. It is interesting to analyze The Devil

Wears Prada since it presents a great issue of fashion industry which closely related to the women’s problem that emerge in American society nowadays.

B. Scope of Study

Fashion has given great contribution in translating the cultural message through its products. Most people in the fashion world consider that being fashionable is actually being comfortable with one’s self and also being successful. However, female body is often trapped with the concept of being fashionable and comfortable. In fact, women can not be free to treat their own body because it seems owned by culture and value in the society. Thus, this research is focused on some phenomena as a result of the great influence of fashion industry toward women, particularly in the work place. Later, in its development, it constructs the fashion identity of American career women as represented in The Devil Wears Prada movie.

C. Problem Statements

This research is aimed to answer two questions:

1. How does the movie construct the image of successful career

women through its primary heroines, Andrea Sach and Miranda

Priestly in the great influence of fashion industry?

2. How is the female body objectified and exploited by fashion style

in The Devil Wears Prada movie?

D. Objective of the Study

The Objectives of the study are:

1. To explain how the movie constructs the image of successful

career women through its primary heroines, Andrea Sach and

Miranda Priestly in the great influence of fashion industry.

2. To explain how female body is objectified and exploited by fashion

style in The Devil Wears Prada movie.

E. Benefits of the Study

In accordance with the explanation above, the purpose of the study is to describe the great influence of fashion toward American society especially women in the work place represented in The Devil Wears Prada movie. This research is expected not only to describe the great influence of fashion industry toward women and female body, but also the social construction of American career women especially in New York City through their fashion identity. Moreover, this 30

research is expected to give a bigger contribution to American studies, because instead of giving description, this research tries to reveal the case of American experience that shapes American women, particularly New York career women.

Hopefully, it gives many benefits in understanding American culture and New

York career women. This research is also intended to:

1. Give contribution in understanding American society, its culture

and its experience especially American women to American

studies students in Sebelas Maret University.

2. Give additional information to the other researchers especially in

American Studies Program, Sebelas Maret University.

F. Method of the Study

This research is a descriptive qualitative research which applies library or referential study. It means that the research uses all possibilities by reading many references to collect data and to gather more information in supporting data.

The source of data for this research is the movie entitled The Devil Wears

Prada as the main data, criticism about the film, film reviews, comments and columns or article about fashion industry and career women in America especially

New York city available in several media.

1. The Data 31

a. Main data: the main data are the images of fashion industry, costume, behavior of the characters as career women and also from the cinematographic elements of the movie entitled The Devil Wears Prada directed by David Frankel, released in 2006 by 20th Century Fox, New York.

b. Supporting data: the supporting data are collected from other sources, such as criticism of the film and film reviews, comments and columns or article about American career women and its dress code and also some feminist articles about female body and fashion available in several media.

2. Technique of Collecting Data

The data are collected by a close activity of watching the movie as the source of main data and also by a close reading of the supporting data.

Afterwards, this research put some necessary dialogues, the cinematographic expression from the main data and some important facts from the supporting data, then compiles them into one thesis organization.

3. Technique of Analyzing the Data

In this step, the data are analyzed based on the problem statements by applying some theories. This research also applies the theories in accordance with the images of fashion and career women represented in the film. Through its cinematographic elements and some additional data, the images shown in the film are observed in order to answer the problem statements in which female body is often objectified by fashion and to find out the construction of successful women in the term of fashion style or their dress code. The conclusion finally is drawn based on the result of the analysis. 32

G. Theoretical Approach

American studies is an interdisciplinary study which explores American experience and its process attached in each product of American culture.

Campbell and Kean in American Cultural Studies: An Introduction of American

Culture have stated that,

American studies from the beginning has been concerned to explore the possibilities of cooperation between practitioners from different disciplines and even to develop an interdisclipinary methodology with its own distinctive working practices (Campbell and Kean, 1978: 2).

In addition, Linda Kerber has also described American studies as, “an impatience with disciplinary boundaries and an opennes to experimentation in academic inquiry”. In this vein, American studies suggests one to be at the boundary of the individual disciplines where they want to “merge and intermingle” the condition of American culture in academic research. At the boundaries of American culture, there are multicultural and multiperspective critical way of seeing to grasp the possibility of cultural difference. Being at this boundaries can provide a new way of seeing culture because one is pushed beyond the centre where the world is defined in the mainstream of American culture (Campbell and Kean, 1978: 3). For its cultural complexities, the research of American studies can not be conducted in just a discpline or perspective. It has provided multiperspectives and possibilities in its academic inquiry which can incorporate the study of economics, history, sociology, popular culture, women’s studies, and also media. 33

One of the essential field of American studies is the study of popular culture. Popular culture emerges from the urbanisation of the industrial revolution, which identifies the term with the usual definitions of 'mass culture'. It is seen as a commercial culture, mass produced for mass consumption

(http://www.aim.edu.au/verve/_resources/PCA_Mod_1_1.pdf). Popular culture in

American society is contradictory to its core of mass consumption. On the one hand it is industrialized – its commodities are produced and distributed by a profit motivated industry that follows only its own economic interest. But, on the other hand it is about the people and the people’s interest – as is evidenced by the number of popular products including film. Here, to be made into popular culture, the commodity must also bear the interest of people (Fiske, 1990: 20-21). Film as a product of popular culture is not only a mass consumption but it is merely translating the active process of American culture within its social system. The correlation between film and American culture has also elaborated by Jonathan

Auerbach through his article entitled American Studies and Film, Blindness and

Insight. He has stated that fiilm can be a resource for understanding U.S culture.

His examination on The Seven Lively Arts by Seldes, shows that,

The Seven Lively Arts sought to collapse the gulf between high and low culture, and in particular made film available for serious analysis by seeing it as an expression of a country’s ideals and values. Movies and the other lively arts were characteristically American in their democratizing potential. ( Auerbach, 2006: 34-35).

Furthermore, he argues that film reflects the national mentality than any other form of expression which must conform to existing mass desires. Film has combined aesthetic with social analysis to emphasize the power of collective 34

beliefs and desires in the society (ibid: 31-39). Therefore, it is clear that film as one of American popular culture products, reveals the contextual meaning of the society’s beliefs and values. Since, this research is mainly about film, semiotic film theory is needed to understand the contextual meaning brought by the movie.

The semiotic film theory used in this movie research is the semiotic principal on categories of signs and codes by some semiotic film theorists prominent.

As film consists of many sign and codes, it covertly reveals meaning and polemic. Semiotic film theory is needed to interpret not only the words or sentence but also the social meaning beneath those signs and codes in connection with the problem statements. Before analyzing the principal categories of sign and code in the film, a brief sketch on Saussure theory on general linguistic as the basic knowledge of semiotic film theory is also needed. Saussure’s Course of

General Linguistic (1916) provides the most influential account in language studies on how a language works at a given moment as a rule-governed system.

He introduced the distinction between signifier and signified. Signifier is produced from the sounds used by a particular language which is arranged in a temporal order. While signified consists of the concept or meaning assigned to any organization of signifier. Thus, a sign is formed when signifier and signified are joined together (Stam, Burgoyne and Lewis, 1992: 6).

In the theory of codes, Christian Metz with his book, Film Language : A

Semiotics of Cinema, came to treat cinema and the cinematic text as fields of signification. Here, the heterogenity of codes interacts with one another in ways that are specific and systematic. It determinates at certain specific level of 35

cinematic discourse and at certain specified level of analysis. Among specifically cinematic codes, he has distinguished codes of editing and framing of lighting, of color verses black and white, of articulation of sound and movement, of composition and so on. While in non cinematic codes, he includes costume, gesture, dialog, characterization, and facial expression. All of these movie elements are the sign and codes which reveal the contextual meaning of the movie

(Metz, 1990: 4).

Beside semiotic film theory, socio-cultural approach is needed in conducting this research since the main theme of the movie is about fashion.

Fashion is one of American culture products in which it is considered as playing important role to define someone’s personality in the society through their images.

Fashion has a close relationship with socio-culture approach since the approach mainly explores the way people act and develop based on their surroundings. It is stated that,

The socio-culture approach are the roles of different ethnic groups, gender and the culture, with all these elements combination, it forms a personality. Socio culture is based upon peoples beliefs and what they stand for. It is the actions that the society choose to do and to become who they are (http://socio-culture1.0.tripod.com/).

Here, fashion as a part of American culture has a great influence toward

American society, especially women. Fashion has shaped the way of thinking about women’s image and its influence toward women’s life based upon the society beliefs and values. The socio cultural approach is needed to explore the great influence of American fashion industry toward its society. 36

As the research of the film is mainly focused on the correlation between women and fashion, feminism approach is applied since it provides many issues of women’s life particularly in American society.

Feminism has given many contributions to the life process of women. By the history women were considered as inferior rather than men. It has closely related to the distinction between men and women as different sex and gender. It is stated that the conflation between sex and gender is used not only to naturalize the differences between men and women but also to substantiate a moral judgement about “women’s proper place”. Hence, the difference between men and women is not mainly about biological distinction but also the roles in the society.

The sociological insistence on a distinction between sex and gender is important for feminists and other researchers in political terms because it has signalled the possibility of social and political change.

Gender was developed as a sociological concept in order to emphasize that not only are traits and characteristics at psychological level socially shaped and produced, but also the social, economic and political inequalities that can be observed between women and men are an extension not of biological difference but of particular social relation and context (http://www.iub.edu/~gender/html/classes-spring-graduate.html).

Thomas Laqueur has stated that, as political and social changes increasingly raised, questions about women’s place in the world has been interpreted with the existing of the body. Anatomists have focused on body parts that differenciate the female body from the male body. In turn, this body parts come to stand for difference and to be used as the basis on which to make claims about female inferiority. The “giveness” of the female body as naturally weaker, more inferior, less stable than the male body, shapes the idea of female body as 37

deviant and “troubled body”. It is often perceived as a spectacle or fantasy and fetishized within popular culture. In addition, Simone de Beauvoir observed that the female body is considered as an object that is looked into and examined. Thus, it is encouraged to be on show and women are obliged to produce their bodies as adequate and acceptable spectacle (http://www.iub.edu/~gender/html/classes- spring-graduate.html). In this case, fashion industry has supported the idea of women’s inferiority toward their body. Fashion, as a commercial industry, shapes female body as an object of spectacle by its products to bear the demands of

American patriarchal socitey.

Since the research is focused on women and female body through fashion, feminism approach that provides many issues about the women’s problem is used as point of view. This point of view is the framework of the research in the context of women’s problem available in TDWP.

H. Thesis Organization

The thesis consists of four chapters and each chapter is divided into several subchapters. There are Chapter I Introduction, Chapter II Literature

Review, Chapter III Analysis, and Chapter IV Conclusion and Recommendation.

The first chapter, Introduction, consist of eight subchapters. There are

Research Background, Scope of the Study, Problem Statement, Objective of the 38

Study, Benefits of the Study, Method of the Study, Theoretical Approach and

Thesis Organization.

The second chapter, Literature Review, discusses about working women and feminism in America, the correlation between fashion and female body, and some of the film theories and basic elements of cinematography.

The third chapter, Analysis, consists of two main subchapters. They are, the significance of the title: “ Who is the Devil wears Prada” and The

Construction of Successful Career Women through Fashion Style. The second main subchapter is divided into three points: Andrea Sach and the Significance of

Fashion Transformation, Miranda “The Dress for Success”, and The ambivalence of Gender Roles and Politic of Life Choice through the main characters, Miranda

Priestly and Andrea Sach. This subchaper provides the answer of the research questions.

The last chapter, Conclusion and Recommendation, presents the brief explanation of the research result and the recommendation for the next research.

CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

As mentioned in chapter I, this research is aimed to answer how the construction of successful career women in the great influence of fashion industry and how female body is exploited and objectified by fashion style. Some theories are needed to answer those research questions. Thus, this chapter provides some appropriate theories which are divided into four sub chapters. The first subchapter is a Brief Skecth of Working Women and Feminism in America. It provides the history of working women in America and the influence of feminism toward working women in American’s society today. The second subchapter explains about the correlation between fashion and female body. Since this research study 40

is film, the third and the fourth subchapter give some explanations on the semiotic film theory and basic terminology in cinematography which appropriate to support the research study

A. A Brief Sketch of Working Women and Feminism in America

The history of working women in America can be traced back from the

American experience. The Great Depression in 1930 had given big impact toward

American people. Mass unemployment was the common phenomenon and it became the biggest problem. The family income declined, many of them lost their job and become homeless. They should have strategies to survive in that kind of condition. Not only men, women also went to work to support their family needs.

As Eshleman said that,

Many upper class women received an education and some works in the profession. Poor women who worked were usually employed as servants. The vast majority women, however were married and worked in the home to meet the needs of their families (Eshleman, Cushion and Basilico, 2007: 260).

In 1941, America went to war and the number of mass unemployment was decreased. During the war many job fields required more employees, including women. “Men were sent overseas, and women were told that it was now their patriotic duty to help out in the war effort by going to work” (ibid: 261). It was their opportunity to earn money in order to fulfill their family needs. They worked in many sectors such as in factories and in some offices.

After World War II, there were many changes in American society, men return to their job and women had to go home to take care of the family. Because 41

the low birth rates during the depression and war period, the population should be built. Thus began the “baby boom” program, that women should return home and give birth to build up the population. In this period of time, the social status of

American people had been changed by the increase of their income. Most

American mothers also want to work outside their home. This phenomenon could not be separated from their duty of taking care of the family. Betty Friedan with her influential book at the time entitled “The Feminine Mystique” had successfully brought married women entering labor force, having the right to have their own properties and having the equal opportunity in working, childcare and housework. Sarah M. Evans in her book “Born for Liberty, The History of

Women” has also stated that “The feminine mystique which defined women almost exclusively in terms of wife and mother, functioned smoothly both to shape changes in women’s role and deny their disruptive power” (Evans, 1997:

246). The both position in family and society made the number of single mother, unmarried couples, and women who became head of family increased.

As the community mobilized, the American people including women began to think how to increase the family prosperity. They started to live and look for a job in the cities because the growth of jobs was sifted from agricultural into industrial sectors. By the development of modern technology and industry, various work fields were opened including fashion industry. Women were more attracted to work in fashion industry rather than men. Women had worked in fashion world since the early twentieth century. They worked in garment industry which had grown large and employed women to cut the cloth and operate sewing 42

machines. Nowadays, fashion has become a large industry in America and mostly affect both men and women’s culture (Eshleman, Cushion and Basilico, 2007:

261-262).

The opportunity of getting a job for women can not be separated from the history of women struggle in America to have the equal position in some ways. In the beginning of America where most of American women did not get education as male did. They used to experience different treatment from male. The different treatments based on sexes are the effects of patriarchal system held by the society.

Male has larger chances to develop themselves in many sectors such as social and economics, while women were given less opportunity to reach the better condition. Although there were a little amount of women who had worked, they seemed could not be as equal as men. Jaffe said that “Women have less authority and less autonomy in their work than do men” (quoted in ibid: 263).

Feminism is the root of women struggle in America. Feminism is an idealism and movement as the effect of women’s oppression in a male-centered society/patriarchal society. It is the idea that women should have political, social, sexual, intellectual and economic rights equal to men. It involves various movements, theories, and philosophies, all concerned with issues of gender differences, that advocate equality for women and that campaign for women’s rights and interests. According to Maggie Humm and Rebeca Walker, the history of feminism can be divided into three waves. The first wave was in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the second was in the 1960s and 1970s, and the third extends from the 1990s to the present 43

(www.pbs.org/newshour/infocus/historycostumes/fashion_history.html).

The first wave was focused on the women’s political rights. The term first wave was used after the term second-wave feminism began to be used to describe a new feminist movement. Second wave feminism was more focused on social fighting and cultural inequalities to be political equalities. Second-wave feminists saw women's cultural and political inequalities were closely linked and encouraged women to understand aspects of their personal life as political equality and reflecting sexist power structures. Third-wave feminism began in the early 1990s, it was the movement as a response to “perceived failures” of the second wave and also as a response to the backlash against initiatives and movements created by the second wave

(http://feminism.eserver.org/theory/feminist/Womens-Movement.html). With the emerge of feminism, the condition of American women gradually changed.

Nowadays, they have more opportunity to be equal with men in some areas such as social and economics sectors, even some of them feel that feminism is no longer needed because the goal of feminism has been reached. The group that consider feminism is no longer relevant in today’s society is called postfeminist.

Post-feminism describes a range of viewpoints reacting to feminism. The term was firstly used in the 1980s to describe a backlash against second-wave feminism. Post-feminists believe that women have achieved second wave goals, although it is still being critical by third wave feminists. Lisa Yaszek in Alison

Pepmier examination of the postfeminism and third wave feminism differences notes that postfeminism is a moment “to describe the contemporary moment as 44

one in which the goals of feminism have been achieved”. While Eliyce Helford identifies postfeminism as “the belief that personal choice and bootstrap efforts can bring women empowerment and equality, when the third wave says...We’ve got a hell of a lot of work to do!...postfeminism says...Go buy some Manolo

Blahniks and stop your whining.” It means that third wave and postfeminism are two different terms. Postfeminist tends to rely on competitive individualism and

“eschews” collective action. It obscures or makes invisible of women’s oppression such as subjected of violence, and underprivileged both politically and economically. On the other hand, the third wave more focuses on intersectional identities and demands an end to all forms of oppression that keep women from achieving their full humanity. In addition, Susan Faludi in her book “Backlash:

The Undeclared War Against American Women” (1991) argues that 1980s backlash against feminism has successfully re-defined feminism through its term.

According to her, this type of backlash is a historical trend, recurring when it appears that women have made substantial gains in their efforts to obtain equal rights ((http://www.charleston.edu/riposte_to_joyce/01.x.html).

Postfeminism seems to be the right terms to describe how American women today look likes. Angela McRobbie argues that feminism has successfully made everyone, including women in achieving equality. Postfeminism gives the impression that equality has been achieved. Postfeminism can be clearly seen in such media products such as women’s magazine and some movies. Ally McBeal,

Bridget Jones’s Diary and The Devil Wears Prada are the examples of post feminism idea. The characters, mostly women claim to be liberated to choose their 45

life choice ignoring the gender difference between male and female. Some of them get very good position and facilities in their job. Today, many American women work outside their house with their high education and can choose their interests freely without any interfere. However, Diamond and Quinby in American

Feminsm in the Age of Body conclude that the control of patriarchal system is not clear anymore and we can’t blame anyone of invisible oppression. Although patriarchal value still exists in most American culture, now it seems melting with the new concept of women today (Diamond and Quinby, 1984:119).

B. Fashion and Female Body

The term “fashion” usually applies to a prevailing mode of expression, but quite often applies to a personal mode of expression that may or may not adhere to prevailing ideals. Inherent in the term is the idea that the mode will change more quickly than the culture as whole. The term “fashionable and unfashionable” are employed to describe whether someone fits in with the current popular mode of expression. The term “fashion” is frequently used in a positive sense, as a synonym of glamour and style. In this sense, fashion is a short of communal art, in which the culture examines its notion of beauty and goodness. On the other hand, the term “fashion” is sometimes used in negative sense, as a synonym of fads, trends and materialism.

Fashion has changed from time to time as market demand. It can support 46

someone’s physical appearance in daily life or special events. It is also believed that fashion show someone’s social status and personality. Fashion may vary considerably within a society according to age, social class, generation, occupation, sexual orientation, and geography as well as overtime.

In the beginning of 1950s, fashion has developed into trendsetters for both women and men. Many actress and actors such Marilyn Monroe, Audrey

Hepburn, Elvis Presley, James Dean and Martin Brando set fashion trends with their own style. It could be seen from their clothing and hairstyles. The strongest fashion innovator of the 60s was the first Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. It was known as the pop or nod decade. The simple style was accepted by women of all economic levels. In 1966, a French designer, Yves Saint Laurent, introduced the women’s tailored pantsuits but women were not allowed to wear them in some restaurant. In 1969 women were offered some choice such mini, midi and maxi size so fashion would be suit them. Women in the early 70s wore hot pants, a collaboration of miniskirt and pantsuit.

The 1980 was a complicated fashion period because it was greatly influenced by the media and stars. Teenagers sought to look exactly like their idols. When the flash dance came out, tank tops, torn jeans and tight-fitting pants took centre stage. The Adidas sport label was also popular in giving the sporty style for the fashion world. Manolo Blahnik, French shoe designer introduced his fantastical high heels and majestic boots. Dona Karan, an American designer set up her own label for casual look that dominated American ready-to-wear fashion.

Fashion tended to new standard of minimalism in the 1990s. The designer label 47

Prada became more popular in the fashion industry. The Milanese Company was first established in 1923 by Prada when it was only a firm that sold high quality shoes and leather. In the development, Miuccia Prada, the niece of company’s founder, began to produce ready to wear fashion that become popular brand in

America until now

(www.pbs.org/newshour/infocus/historycostumes/fashion_history.html).

During the late of twentieth century, fashion began to cross international boundaries. Popular western styles were adopted all over the world. Many designers from outside America had brought big impact on fashion. For fashion, mass media has given great contribution to inform the trendsetter of certain period of time. People are exposed much fashion information and advertisement from any kind of media such as billboard advertising, fashion magazines, newspaper, novel, music and movies. One of the most influential mass media in giving contribution toward fashion development in America was fashion magazine.

Through fashion magazine, people could follow the trend of fashion and life style.

It brought an idea of culture, beauty, luxurious life style, and fashion trends. The fashion photographs were set in every page of the magazine. Supermodels were in beautiful make up and dress to promote the products or fashion. Fashion show was also covered by fashion magazine and transfigured into detail article.

Appearance and performance became important things to a whole generation of urban people. Some influential fashion magazines and newspaper in America such as Vogue, New York Times, USA Today, Seventeen, Cosmopolitan, etc play important role in the development of great American fashion industry. 48

…What began as a small society magazine at the end of the 19th century became one of the most influential periodicals of the 20th century and a driving force in fashion and culture…(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/vogue_%28magazine%29).

Women are more attracted to fashion rather than man. This condition tends to make women trapped in the great fashion industry that always surround them.

As fashion is closely associated with costume, it can not be separated from the existing of the body. In this case, is female body.

As the patriarchal value influence in most society in the world, female body have been controlled and restricted across civilization to conform to prevailing aesthetic based on the value. Physical appearance within slender body becomes the most important things for women regarding to the male gaze to conform with the prevailing aesthetic. Slenderness is identified with refinement, willpower, and chick, while success for dieting becomes an important form of competition among women within a context where women were encouraged to compete in physical appearance. Brownmiller (1993) in “Women and Body

Image” stated that,

“striving for physical perfection (a physical vulnerability that is reassuring to men) was a constant distraction for women, causing them to be self- conscious, and constantly self-monitor and [We are] never quite satisfied and never secure, for desperate unending absorption in the drive for a perfect appearance-call it feminine vanity-is the ultimate restriction on freedom of mine”(quoted in Grogan, 1999: 77).

While Wendy Chapkis argued that women are oppressed by a “global culture machine” made up of the advertising industry, communication media, and the cosmetic industry. Women are entrapped in the beauty system, but that there are opportunities for change if women are willing to accept themselves and their 49

bodies as they really are. This would involve close examination of the terms

“beauty secrets” (the ritual that most women undertake to try to conform to the cultural ideal) and rejection of these in favor of the “natural” body celebration

(ibid: 77-78).

In addition, Bordo’s analysis shows that women can not help the beauty system but collude in the system because they are submerged in the culture in which slenderness in women is associated with a specific (positive) set of cultural meaning,

In my work they have been extremely helpful both to my analysis of the contemporary disciplines of diet and exercise and to my understanding of eating disorders as arising out of and reproducing normative feminine practices in our culture, practices which train female body in docility and obedience to cultural demands while at the same time being experienced in terms of power and control (quoted in ibid: 78).

In contrast, Dorothy Smith saw women in an active role in interpreting cultural messages. She argued that women “do feminity” in an active way as a skilled activity. One of the sources to learn the skill of “being feminine” is women magazine especially fashion magazines because it provides many information that actively presented on how to be more attracted. By presenting the women with the perfect model body and telling what women need to do to attain the ideal (diet, exercise and cosmetics), magazine has created the women’s opinion of “being feminine”(ibid: 78-79).

Media, especially fashion magazines become an influential media to conform to the cultural messages (still in the reassuring of men). Slimness or slenderness become the indicator of prevailing aesthetic value for women. This phenomenon is closely related with the myth of beauty in American society today 50

that requires women to be thin and blonde if she want to be called as beautiful.

Media, such magazines brings this myth to be changed time after time. In 1600s until 1800s the myth of beautiful women is different from the myth of twentieth beautiful women. Women were used to be fleshy, full figured, plump and make their waist tiny or hourglass shaped to be called as beautiful as shown in the paintings and photographs made at the time. While in the twentieth century, women started to pay attention to their body and make up when slenderness and make up became fashion covered by the media. They start to compete in physical appearance, exercise in sport and dieting become popular activities of women to fit with the ideal of beauty. The more extreme treatment like liposuction or mesotheraphy is also used to shape the body so that it will look slimmer and more toned without so much treatment. Those facts show that actually female body is controlled by some invisible things that they couldn’t see as a part of culture and controlled by style that affect them (Diamond and Quinby, 1984: 119-122).

Fashion, supermodels and celebrities are new subjects for women to obsess over their body. As female’s bodies recede in spring fashions and celebrities obsession, slender body is also claimed to be a barometer whether a woman is at a healthy weight. Many diet producers always campaign that thin is healthy and promote their products by using some popular artists to influence women’s point of view toward healthy body. By getting a healthy body, women will be campaigned more about getting pleasure and success in their life. They believe that being beautiful and slim can bring them into pleasure and success.

This region also has been emphasized by some models and celebrities including 51

Rachel Zoe, Nicole Richie and Keira Knightley.

(a) (b)

(a) Keira Knigthley to star in The Beautiful and Damned represents the image of “beautiful” woman taken from http://images.google.co.id/imgres?imgurl=http://www.enjoyfrance.com/images/stories/w orld/entertainment/Keira-Knightley-bikini- photo.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.enjoyfrance.com/content/view/1684/31/&usg=__2aA WuZLefqEaTmt1Qqf4kfM8F20=&h=400&w=300&sz=27&hl=id&start=9&tbnid=hz2g4 e_cGJPRkM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=93&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dkeira%2Bknightley%26gb v%3D2%26hl%3Did%26sa%3DG.

(b) The image of American model that being obsessed by most American women taken from http://images.google.co.id/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fanderberzander.com/imgs/americ an1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://. 27

They also have influenced many women to obsess over their products which mostly exploit the female body as an expressive display. Even supermodels and celebrities actually become the mannequin of money machine for the popular products producers by using the media.

C. Semiotic Film Theory

Semiotic film theory is a branch of film theory. According to Allen and

Gomery, semiotic film has sought to explain how meaning is embodied in a film and how film is communicated to an audience. The audience can truly understand the story by the hidden meaning in films:

….we must learn to read before we can attempt to enjoy or understand literature, but we tend to believe, mistakenly, that anyone can read a film. Anyone can see film, its true. But some people have learned to comprehend visual images-physiologically, ethnographically and psychologically with far more sophistication than have others (Monaco, 2000: 157).

The word “semiotics” or “semiology” is derived from the Greek “semeion” means “sign”. It is the study of symbol, sign and signification. Ferdinand de

Saussure and Charles Sanders Peirce were the contemporary semiotics’ thinkers.

The definition of “semiology” can be found in Saussure’s book, Course of

General Linguistic that compiled by his students.

15 2816

A science that studies the life of signs within society is conceivable…I shall call it semiology (from the Greek semeion’ sign). Semiology would show what constitutes signs, what law governs them. Since the science does not yet exist, no one can say what it would be; but it has right to existence, a place staked out in advance (Saussure in Stam, Burgoyne, and Lewis, 1992: 4).

According to Saussure, semiology is the study of how meaning is created not what it is. He argued that meaning derives from the system within which particular utterances are articulated. Saussure distinguished language, parole, and signifier as they are made up from the sounds that is used by particular language and signified by the concept or meaning, then assigned to any organization of signifiers. Signifier and signified comprises the linguistic sign (ibid: 8).

Peirce, in Stam, Burgoyne and Lewis “New Vocabularies in Film Semiotics” has involved a triad of three entities in the process of semiotics. He considered the sign as something which stands to somebody in some respect or capacity. The object for which the sign stands is generated by the relation between sign and object. Thus, the relation between sign and object can cause “mental effect” for the interpretant. According to Stam, Burgoyne, and Lewis, Pierce also contributes his tripartite classifications of the kinds of sign which are available to human consciousness into icons, index and symbols. He has defined the iconic sign as a sign which is determined by its dynamic object by virtue of its internal nature. It represents its object by means of similarity or resemblance. He has interpreted indexical sign as a sign which is determined by its dynamic object by virtue of being a real to it. While a symbolic sign involves an entirely conventional link between sign and interpretant (ibid: 29-30).

29 17

Furthermore, Christian Metz, a pioneer of film semiotic has a conclusion that the cinema was not a language system but it was a language. In Monaco,

Metz has pointed out that we understand a film not because we have knowledge of its system but we achieve an understanding of its system because we understand the meaning of the film. In another way, we understand a film not because the cinema is language but because it can tell such fine stories (Monaco, 2000: 157).

According to Monaco, film manages to communicate meaning. In film, there are two different manners to communicate the meaning. They are denotatively and connotatively meaning. Those meaning can be found in some parts of the film.

Denotatively meaning can be found in the form of written language such dialogue, while to connotatively meaning exist in almost all part in the film if the interpretant or audience understands the substantial meaning of the film. A film image or sound also has a denotative meaning like written language but there is a particular difference between a description in word (or even in photographs) of a person or event, and cinematic record of the same (ibid: 161-162).

By borrowing a “trichotomy” from Peirce, Peter Wollen in Monaco

suggested that cinematic signs are of three orders.

1. The icon : it is a sign in which the signifiers represents the signified

mainly by its similarity, its likeness.

2. The index : it measures a quality not because it is identical to it but

because it has an inherent relationship to it.

3. The symbol is an arbitrary sign which the signifier has neither a

direct nor an idexical relationship to the signified, but rather represents it 30 18

through convention.

Besides sign revealed by Peirce and Petter Wollen, Monaco also has included the codes and Mise-en-scene as some idioms of film theories. Codes form the specific syntax of film by sharing the artistic codes in cinema with other arts. While Mise-en-scene, a French term that means “placing on stage”, refers to all the visual elements of the set, set dressing, costumes, make up, lighting and even physical body posture that are arranged and placed by the camera lens (ibid:

175-183).

D. Basic Terminology in Cinematography

McAnany and William have stated that film is “a series of motionless images projected onto screen so fast to create in the mind of anyone watching the screen an impression of continuous motion, such image being projected by a light shining through to a corresponding series of images arranged on continuous band of flexible materials” (www.iprfinc.com/images/tecnique/cinema.html). Since a film is constructed of visual, audio, and linguistic components that are manipulated in particular ways, it is necessary to understand the components because the object of the study in this research is film. A film has its own particular language as an audio-visual media.

The language of film can be analyzed by the technique and terminology in film cinematography. In the movie there are many elements that give great contribution to understand its language. Basic elements of film include title, plot, characterization, character’s motivation and point of view. Title is the opening 31 19

credits which establish a tone and it is often used to foreshadow events, themes or metaphors. It becomes a starting point of audience interpretation toward the content of film. Plot is the basic building blocks of the story, conveying specific and sequence events through all the cinematic means. While characterization consists of central characters and minor characters who represent values which sometimes change during the film. They might be thinly or fully drawn.

Characterization is an important part of the movie as a reflection function toward the society. Other part of characterization is character’s motivation , it is personal motivation as a reason for character’s action. Point of view can be considered as what the character sees that the audience also has the same point of view as the characters. It comes from the screenplays which sometimes note that a show will be seen from the point of view of particular character. In accordance with this point of view, the term “subjective shot” indicates that the audience (camera) will what see the character sees. Often it indicates a handheld camera shot that moves in a walking or running motion while following the character. Beside the basic elements which are important in analyzing the movie, themes (tropes), message

(intent) and symbolism (metaphor) are also useful to reveal the meaning of the movie. They are established by the repetition of technical and linguistic means throughout the film. Meaning is also considered alongside with the filmmakers and audience interpretation

(http://homepages.wmich.edu/~lipkin/pathscinematography/index.htm).

Mise-en scene is often regarded as static montage as dynamic. According to Monaco, it is usually used to denote the part of the cinematic process, such as 32 20

the lenses, etc. The shot is a large unit of meanings that consist of frame image, lighting and diachronic shot. Frame image is specific readings which are produced depend on the way to frame the subjects and objects. It can be used to show the character’s power and position, face expression, and so on (Monaco, 2000: 183-

184).

The lighting also plays an important role in every scene. It is the way frames look, the pattern of light and dark in a scene by camera and film projector.

It is used to determine the mood of the movie. The example is dark lighting for horror film to show the gloomy expression and the bright lighting that usually used in comedy film. The two kinds of light in the frame image are key light and fill light. Key light is the main light that differentiates into two. First, high key lighting provides all or most light in the scene that is predominantly lighter than medium gray (used in comedy, musical, lighthearted drama). Second is low key lighting which provides less light or darker than medium gray (used in some action, mystery, horror and serious drama). Fill light is an auxiliary light from the subject light which is soften the shadows and illuminate areas which are not covered by the key lightness of the total illumination (ibid: 208).

The shot is an important technique in analyzing the movie. Louis Giannetti in his book “Understanding Movies” says that “shots are determined on the basis of how much of the human figure is in view” (Giannetti, 1972: 6). It usually covers the condition which is happened to the characters and their surroundings.

The diachronic shot is that camera shot in which cover all the film subjects and objects in the different way. There five types of shots which are commonly used 21 33

as basic categories shot in the cinema:

1.Close up/extreme close up (CU/ECU)

Close up/extreme close up shows a part of the objects or subjects. For example is the character’s face. It shows the expression of the characters upon a certain scene or the condition on it.

2. Medium close up (MCU)

It only shows a half of the character’s body. The character’s part is generally taken from shoulders to head or from waist up or down.

3. Medium shot (MS)

Medium shot frames the character from the hips, waist, and knees up or knees down. During the shot, the camera is sufficiently distanced from the body of the character to show the relation between character and its surroundings.

4. Long shot (LS)

The shot is taken with camera placed in a distance to show the full body of the character and the surrounding environment.

5. Extreme Long shot (ELS)

In this shot, the camera moves further away from the main subject or character and shows it in a very far distance with the large environment surround it (ibid: 6-

10).

Other kind of film elements which is also related with the camera movement is called angle or camera angle. Angle refers to how far and how high, and the way to place the camera in relation to the subject. There are three kinds of camera angles. 34 22

· Normal angle or usually called eye-level angle is the angle technique that

places the camera in the same position which shows the equal authority

and status of objects or subjects.

· Low angle is the camera angle technique that places camera below

the eye level, usually around the chin or chest or even slightly lower. This

angle shows the obvious “high” position of objects or subjects compared

to the opposite character (when the scene shows a dialogue between one or

more characters). The word “high” is not only mean real position but also

the objects or subjects authority and status.

· High angle is the camera angle technique that places camera above the

subject or character’s eye level. It shows the lower position and authority

of the objects or subjects (ibid: 11-13).

Since film is constructed of visual, audio, and linguistic components, sounds play important role in defining the language of film. Sound can come from character’s dialogue and sound effects created by filmmakers. According to

Monaco (2000) sound is used to underscore emotions, to alert the audience to an upcoming event, as an ironic counterpoint, etc. Sounds, including the use of silences create a rich aural image as the same way that mise-en scene, diachronic shot and montage create visual images. Sounds in the movie can be divided into three parts to create the image and manipulate the theme.

· Dialogue from the characters can create an aural image when the dialogue

of the characters is overlapping, mumbled, very soft or loud.

· Sound effects which include both natural effects themselves (ex. doorbell 23 35

ringing) and the manipulation of the sound (stereo effects which move

sounds across the sound spectrum, or balance sounds on one side or the

other, filtering and manipulating sound) help the audience to give film

interpretation.

· Score is the background music throughout the film. It often maintains and

manipulates a similar theme at various times.

The term “montage“ was used in Europe for editing or cutting. Editing

(“cuts”) within scene in the film is important in creating continuities, discontinuities, juxtaposition, and narrative structure. Montage consists of shots, syntagma, scenes and sequences. Shot is standard device used during dialogue between or among characters, then move back which is combined by camera angle, shot distance, and pace to establish point of view. The editing of shot is needed to make easier to understand the condition and atmosphere in the movie without overlapping frames (op.cit: 216).

Metz in Monaco has divided syntagma into three kinds. First, parallel syntagma, it is the well-known phenomenon of parallel editing. It offers two sequences that do not have a narrative connection. Second, bracket syntagma, it is a series of very brief scenes representing occurrences that the film gives as typical example of a same order or reality, without in anyway chronologically locating them in relation to each other. The third is alternative syntagma that actually the same as parallel syntagma but it offers more on alternating elements, for example a shot inserted in a scene to show action happening elsewhere (Monaco, 2000: 221-

222). 24 36

The scene is the transition of the film picture or image. In the end of the scene is usually marked by a number of possible devices including, fade out and fade in which often implies significance of preceding scene. Fade out consists of a two or three second transition from a picture to black and silence while fade in is the opposite transition. Both may include a quick cut or a fade to black. The function of the scene transition is to lead the audience into different setting or atmosphere. In the scene part, we also often see a line moves across the screen that is called “wipe”, it is usually used in old film. Scene is a transition from one to another frame image. Sequence is a continuity of the scene so that the story of the movie can be running well and understandable by the audience (ibid: 223-224).

CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

A. A Brief Sketch of Working Women and Feminism in America

The history of working women in America can be traced back from the

American experience. The Great Depression in 1930 had given big impact toward

As Eshleman said that,

After World War II, there were many changes in American society, men return to their job and women had to go home to take care of the family. Because the low birth rates during the depression and war period, the population should be built. Thus began the “baby boom” program, that women should return home and give birth to build up the population. In this period of time, the social status of

American people had been changed by the increase of their income. Most 27

246). The both position in family and society made the number of single mother, unmarried couples, and women who became head of family increased.

261-262).

The opportunity of getting a job for women can not be separated from the 28

history of women struggle in America to have the equal position in some ways. In the beginning of America where most of American women did not get education as male did. They used to experience different treatment from male. The different treatments based on sexes are the effects of patriarchal system held by the society.

(www.pbs.org/newshour/infocus/historycostumes/fashion_history.html).

fighting and cultural inequalities to be political equalities. Second-wave feminists saw women's cultural and political inequalities were closely linked and encouraged women to understand aspects of their personal life as political equality and reflecting sexist power structures. Third-wave feminism began in the early 1990s, it was the movement as a response to “perceived failures” of the second wave and also as a response to the backlash against initiatives and movements created by the second wave

(http://feminism.eserver.org/theory/feminist/Womens-Movement.html). With the emerge of feminism, the condition of American women gradually changed.

Pepmier examination of the postfeminism and third wave feminism differences notes that postfeminism is a moment “to describe the contemporary moment as one in which the goals of feminism have been achieved”. While Eliyce Helford identifies postfeminism as “the belief that personal choice and bootstrap efforts can bring women empowerment and equality, when the third wave says...We’ve got a hell of a lot of work to do!...postfeminism says...Go buy some Manolo 30

Blahniks and stop your whining.” It means that third wave and postfeminism are two different terms. Postfeminist tends to rely on competitive individualism and

The Undeclared War Against American Women” (1991) argues that 1980s backlash against feminism has successfully re-defined feminism through its term.

Bridget Jones’s Diary and The Devil Wears Prada are the examples of post feminism idea. The characters, mostly women claim to be liberated to choose their life choice ignoring the gender difference between male and female. Some of them get very good position and facilities in their job. Today, many American women work outside their house with their high education and can choose their interests freely without any interfere. However, Diamond and Quinby in American 31

B. Fashion and Female Body

Fashion has changed from time to time as market demand. It can support someone’s physical appearance in daily life or special events. It is also believed that fashion show someone’s social status and personality. Fashion may vary considerably within a society according to age, social class, generation, occupation, sexual orientation, and geography as well as overtime. 32

In the beginning of 1950s, fashion has developed into trendsetters for both women and men. Many actress and actors such Marilyn Monroe, Audrey

Fashion tended to new standard of minimalism in the 1990s. The designer label

America until now

(www.pbs.org/newshour/infocus/historycostumes/fashion_history.html).

Through fashion magazine, people could follow the trend of fashion and life style.

Women are more attracted to fashion rather than man. This condition tends to make women trapped in the great fashion industry that always surround them. 34

As fashion is closely associated with costume, it can not be separated from the existing of the body. In this case, is female body.

Image” stated that,

“beauty secrets” (the ritual that most women undertake to try to conform to the cultural ideal) and rejection of these in favor of the “natural” body celebration

(ibid: 77-78).

In addition, Bordo’s analysis shows that women can not help the beauty 35

system but collude in the system because they are submerged in the culture in which slenderness in women is associated with a specific (positive) set of cultural meaning,

paintings and photographs made at the time. While in the twentieth century, women started to pay attention to their body and make up when slenderness and make up became fashion covered by the media. They start to compete in physical appearance, exercise in sport and dieting become popular activities of women to fit with the ideal of beauty. The more extreme treatment like liposuction or mesotheraphy is also used to shape the body so that it will look slimmer and more toned without so much treatment. Those facts show that actually female body is controlled by some invisible things that they couldn’t see as a part of culture and controlled by style that affect them (Diamond and Quinby, 1984: 119-122).

This region also has been emphasized by some models and celebrities including

Rachel Zoe, Nicole Richie and Keira Knightley. 15

(a) (b)

(c) Keira Knigthley to star in The Beautiful and Damned represents the image of “beautiful” woman taken from http://images.google.co.id/imgres?imgurl=http://www.enjoyfrance.com/images/stories/w orld/entertainment/Keira-Knightley-bikini- photo.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.enjoyfrance.com/content/view/1684/31/&usg=__2aA WuZLefqEaTmt1Qqf4kfM8F20=&h=400&w=300&sz=27&hl=id&start=9&tbnid=hz2g4 e_cGJPRkM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=93&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dkeira%2Bknightley%26gb v%3D2%26hl%3Did%26sa%3DG.

(d) The image of American model that being obsessed by most American women taken from http://images.google.co.id/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fanderberzander.com/imgs/americ an1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://. 27

From the picture above, there is an idea that beautiful is mostly identified with the slenderness, sometimes too skinny and the prominence of clavicles. It influences many women to have the same ideal cultural message through media representation of the ideal feminine perfection. Media, especially fashion magazines and internet have successfully brought the idea of being true feminine. They also have influenced many women to obsess over their products which mostly exploit the female body as an expressive display. Even supermodels and celebrities actually become the mannequin of money machine for the popular products producers by using the media.

C. Semiotic Film Theory

Semiotic film theory is a branch of film theory. According to Allen and

Gomery, semiotic film has sought to explain how meaning is embodied in a film and how film is communicated to an audience. The audience can truly understand the story by the hidden meaning in films:

The word “semiotics” or “semiology” is derived from the Greek “semeion” means “sign”. It is the study of symbol, sign and signification. Ferdinand de Saussure and Charles Sanders Peirce were the contemporary semiotics’ thinkers. The definition of “semiology” can be found in Saussure’s book, Course of General Linguistic that compiled by his students.

37 28 38

According to Stam, Burgoyne, and Lewis, Pierce also contributes his tripartite classifications of the kinds of sign which are available to human consciousness into icons, index and symbols. He has defined the iconic sign as a sign which is determined by its dynamic object by virtue of its internal nature. It represents its object by means of similarity or resemblance. He has interpreted indexical sign as a sign which is determined by its dynamic object by virtue of being a real to it. While a symbolic sign involves an entirely conventional link between sign and interpretant

(ibid: 29-30). 39

Furthermore, Christian Metz, a pioneer of film semiotic has a conclusion that the cinema was not a language system but it was a language. In Monaco, Metz has pointed out that we understand a film not because we have knowledge of its system but we achieve an understanding of its system because we understand the meaning of the film. In another way, we understand a film not because the cinema is language but because it can tell such fine stories (Monaco, 2000: 157).

By borrowing a “trichotomy” from Peirce, Peter Wollen in Monaco suggested

that cinematic signs are of three orders.

4. The icon : it is a sign in which the signifiers represents the signified

mainly by its similarity, its likeness.

5. The index : it measures a quality not because it is identical to it but

because it has an inherent relationship to it. 40

30 6. The symbol is an arbitrary sign which the signifier has neither a direct

nor an idexical relationship to the signified, but rather represents it through

convention.

Besides sign revealed by Peirce and Petter Wollen, Monaco also has included the codes and Mise-en-scene as some idioms of film theories. Codes form the specific syntax of film by sharing the artistic codes in cinema with other arts. While Mise-en- scene, a French term that means “placing on stage”, refers to all the visual elements of the set, set dressing, costumes, make up, lighting and even physical body posture that are arranged and placed by the camera lens (ibid: 175-183).

D. Basic Terminology in Cinematography

The language of film can be analyzed by the technique and terminology in film cinematography. In the movie there are many elements that give great 41

contribution to understand its language. Basic elements of film include title, plot, characterization, character’s motivation and point of view. Title is the opening credits which establish a tone and it is often used to foreshadow events, themes or metaphors. It becomes a starting point of audience interpretation toward the content of film. Plot is the basic building blocks of the story, conveying specific and sequence events through all the cinematic means. While characterization consists of central characters and minor characters who represent values which sometimes change during the film. They might be thinly or fully drawn. Characterization is an important part of the movie as a reflection function toward the society. Other part of characterization is character’s motivation , it is personal motivation as a reason for character’s action. Point of view can be considered as what the character sees that the audience also has the same point of view as the characters. It comes from the screenplays which sometimes note that a show will be seen from the point of view of particular character. In accordance with this point of view, the term “subjective shot” indicates that the audience (camera) will what see the character sees. Often it indicates a handheld camera shot that moves in a walking or running motion while following the character. Beside the basic elements which are important in analyzing the movie, themes (tropes), message (intent) and symbolism (metaphor) are also useful to reveal the meaning of the movie. They are established by the repetition of technical and linguistic means throughout the film. Meaning is also considered alongside with the filmmakers and audience interpretation

(http://homepages.wmich.edu/~lipkin/pathscinematography/index.htm). 42

Mise-en scene is often regarded as static montage as dynamic. According to

Monaco, it is usually used to denote the part of the cinematic process, such as the lenses, etc. The shot is a large unit of meanings that consist of frame image, lighting and diachronic shot. Frame image is specific readings which are produced depend on the way to frame the subjects and objects. It can be used to show the character’s power and position, face expression, and so on (Monaco, 2000: 183-184).

The lighting also plays an important role in every scene. It is the way frames look, the pattern of light and dark in a scene by camera and film projector. It is used to determine the mood of the movie. The example is dark lighting for horror film to show the gloomy expression and the bright lighting that usually used in comedy film.

The two kinds of light in the frame image are key light and fill light. Key light is the main light that differentiates into two. First, high key lighting provides all or most light in the scene that is predominantly lighter than medium gray (used in comedy, musical, lighthearted drama). Second is low key lighting which provides less light or darker than medium gray (used in some action, mystery, horror and serious drama).

Fill light is an auxiliary light from the subject light which is soften the shadows and illuminate areas which are not covered by the key lightness of the total illumination

(ibid: 208).

33 shot is that camera shot in which cover all the film subjects and objects in the different way. There five types of shots which are commonly used as basic categories shot in the cinema:

1.Close up/extreme close up (CU/ECU)

Close up/extreme close up shows a part of the objects or subjects. For example is the character’s face. It shows the expression of the characters upon a certain scene or the condition on it.

2. Medium close up (MCU)

It only shows a half of the character’s body. The character’s part is generally taken from shoulders to head or from waist up or down.

3. Medium shot (MS)

Medium shot frames the character from the hips, waist, and knees up or knees down.

During the shot, the camera is sufficiently distanced from the body of the character to show the relation between character and its surroundings.

4. Long shot (LS)

The shot is taken with camera placed in a distance to show the full body of the character and the surrounding environment.

5. Extreme Long shot (ELS)

In this shot, the camera moves further away from the main subject or character and shows it in a very far distance with the large environment surround it (ibid: 6-10).

Other kind of film elements which is also related with the camera movement is called angle or camera angle. Angle refers to how far and how high, and the way to 44

34 place the camera in relation to the subject. There are three kinds of camera angles.

· Normal angle or usually called eye-level angle is the angle technique that

places the camera in the same position which shows the equal authority and

status of objects or subjects.

· Low angle is the camera angle technique that places camera below the

eye level, usually around the chin or chest or even slightly lower. This angle

shows the obvious “high” position of objects or subjects compared to the

opposite character (when the scene shows a dialogue between one or more

characters). The word “high” is not only mean real position but also the

objects or subjects authority and status.

· High angle is the camera angle technique that places camera above the subject

or character’s eye level. It shows the lower position and authority of the

objects or subjects (ibid: 11-13).

(2000) sound is used to underscore emotions, to alert the audience to an upcoming event, as an ironic counterpoint, etc. Sounds, including the use of silences create a rich aural image as the same way that mise-en scene, diachronic shot and montage create visual images. Sounds in the movie can be divided into three parts to create the image and manipulate the theme. 45

· Dialogue from the characters can create an aural image when the dialogue of 35 the characters is overlapping, mumbled, very soft or loud.

· Sound effects which include both natural effects themselves (ex. doorbell

ringing) and the manipulation of the sound (stereo effects which move sounds

across the sound spectrum, or balance sounds on one side or the other,

filtering and manipulating sound) help the audience to give film

interpretation.

· Score is the background music throughout the film. It often maintains and

manipulates a similar theme at various times.

The term “montage“ was used in Europe for editing or cutting. Editing

(“cuts”) within scene in the film is important in creating continuities, discontinuities,

juxtaposition, and narrative structure. Montage consists of shots, syntagma, scenes

and sequences. Shot is standard device used during dialogue between or among

characters, then move back which is combined by camera angle, shot distance, and

pace to establish point of view. The editing of shot is needed to make easier to

understand the condition and atmosphere in the movie without overlapping frames

(op.cit: 216).

order or reality, without in anyway chronologically locating them in relation to each other. The third is alternative syntagma that actually the same as parallel syntagma but 36 it offers more on alternating elements, for example a shot inserted in a scene to show action happening elsewhere (Monaco, 2000: 221-222).

CHAPTER III

ANALYSIS

To answer the research questions, this chapter is divided into two subchapters.

The first subchapter gives an explanation of the meaning of the title, since the title of

The Devil Wears Prada has deep meaning due to the theme of the movie. The first subchapter analyzes the word “devil” in the movie and defines who actually the devil is. It also includes the importance of “Prada” label. The second subchapter explains the construction of successful career women through the main characters of the 48

movie: Miranda Priestly and Andrea Sach. These characters are the representation of career women today especially in fashion industry. This subchapter also provides the answers of the research questions on how the image of successful women in the great influence of fashion industry and how female body is exploited and objectified by fashion choices related to the movie.

A. Who is the “Devil” wears “Prada”?

This is an interesting question due to the title of the movie. The two words in quotation have deep meaning that leads the audiences to understand the theme of the movie. Why does the title use “devil” and “prada”?

Figure.1 The cover of The Devil Wears Prada Figure. 2 The image of “devil” in movie in VCD which use the image of Devil modern way, taken from sign in its shoes taken from http://bocbles.files.wordpress.com/2009 http://images.google.co.id/imglanding?q=the%2 /01/devilmainae807a87-e081-227f- 0devil%20wears%20prada&imgurl=http://www. dad367ce15cb7297large2.jpg. mrosen.com/public.assets/movies/The%2520De vil%2520Wears%2520Prada.jpg&imgrefurl=htt p://www.mrosen.com/DVD-Collection.jpg.

The word “devil” derives from the Greek word “diabolos” which means slanderer or accuser. It usually refers to an evil creature with ugly face and has 49

destroying power. Sometimes people also describe it with tail and horn, and burns with fire and brimstone. Some religions believe that it is powerful and the tempter of human kind. In mainstream Christianity, devil is portrayed as fighting over the soul of humankind and opposing God. Other Christians consider the devil in the bible to refer figuratively to human sin and temptation to any human system in opposition to

God. While in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English devil means the spirit of evil, wicked spirit, cruel or mischievous person. Modern conception of the Devil include the concept that it symbolizes human’s lower nature or sinfulness. It is also used to explain why others hold beliefs that are considered to be false and ungodly (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9030155).

Drawing from the explanation above, the “devil” is characterization. Thus, we have to look at the characters in the movie which refers to the devil. The main characters of this movie are Miranda and Andrea. Both of them are women. As we know, women have also closely related to the concept of “devil” since they are considered as tempters and source of sin. Through the story of Adam and Eve “Fall of

Man” , women are constructed to be tempters of men to disobey God. It causes them to be thrown away from the paradise. This “devil” concept of women is also shown in the story of Greek Mythology that one woman named Pandora opens a forbidden box which contains sins and violence. Since the box is opened, those sins and violence spread out all over the world. Thus, women are considered as “devil” for being men tempters and open sins toward humankind. It makes women to be subordinate rather than men. 50

The belief of women as subordinate gender also happens in American society.

By its history, women did not have chance to be equal with men. Since it is influenced by patriarchal value and Christianity, women are placed as second sex. By its nature, women are considered as nurturing creature of the family, having soft behavior and being under male protection. Women who break this value are considered as rebel against the society norms. It will make them to be labeled as

“bad” women because they do not fulfill the society values and norms. In the development, women movement rises and tries to solve women’s problem in getting the equality toward men. This movement is called feminism.

Many feminists believe that God creates men and women to be equal. For years, this movement tries to seek the true concept of women with its potential intelligence and ability as an individual. By this movement, most women nowadays have got their rights and opportunity to be equal with men in some ways. On the other hand, there is another movement which reject the idea of feminism. The movement is called antifeminism. Its purpose are to bring back women to its nature based on bible and Christianity mainstream. Many antifeminist proponents say the feminist movement has achieved its aims and now seek higher status for women than men. Other considers feminism as a destructive force that endangers the family.

Indeed, some conservative scholars like Allan Carson and F. Carolyn Graglia have stated that “the change of women’s role, from being primarily mothers to self-defined professionals, has been a social disaster that continues to take its toll on the family.

Rather than being the culminating point of Western Christian gentility, the movement 51

of women into commerce and politics may be seen as exactly the opposite, the descent by increasingly disconnected individuals into social chaos”

(http://science.jrank.org/pages/7494/Antifeminism.html). By this statement, we can conclude that women who do not follow the Christianity values are considered as rebel against righteousness. Antifeminist sees feminism as “devil” for its opposing way toward the nature of women based on society norms and value.

We feminists often get the ’strong devil’ label because we are perceived to be fighting against righteousness, when really we are wrestling with God (not the same thing), seeking understanding where we see confusion and hurt. But even if we are completely on the wrong track (which I doubt) or we occasionally wander into forbidden paths as we seek, I think this is preferable to being a ‘flabby, pretending, weak devil’ who never questions her faith, and therefore doesn’t get the chance to use it (http://www.feministmormonhousewives.org/?p=398).

Thus, women who do not follow the values and norms in the society can be considered as “devil”. Based on the conception of the devil above, we can determine which character is considered as the “devil”. To determine who the devil in this movie is, we have to take a look back to the characters mentioned.

Miranda Priestly is the chief editor of influential fashion magazine, while

Andrea is a recent graduate young woman who looks for a job to be a journalist. Both of them work in the same fashion magazine publisher company. Andrea is second assistant of Miranda. In this movie, Miranda is portrayed as a powerful fashion editor.

It is her job to be judge, jury and executioner with regards to current fashion. If she doesn’t like it, that means not good. She runs through assistants like Kleenex because her demands on her assistants are as strong as her demands for good fashion. Her 52

latest assistant is sort of the anti-Runway girl, Andrea Sach. Andy (Andrea) is a smart

Northwestern graduate who doesn’t want to be in fashion industry as so much as she want to be a great journalist. Runway magazine is not her first choice, but being just out of college she will take what she can get and Miranda gives it to her. Miranda always gives short orders and never likes to repeat herself, let the assistant elaborate it alone. Sometimes even the demands are unbelievable. At one point she asks her assistant to find a flight in hurricane to fly her out from Miami and to get a copy of

Harry Potter book which has not published yet. Andy, her second assistant always say

“I have no choice” to fulfill the demands of her boss. The thread of being fired keeps

Andy at the office more than at home as she bends to all of Miranda’s demands. She knows that Miranda’s word carries a lot of weight in the magazine industry, so if she want to get a head toward her career, she has to sacrifice her present in order to learn everything better.

By the characterization, it is clear that the society might see Miranda as a boss from hell. If we take a correlation between the title and the characters, Miranda can be considered as “devil” in this movie. She is considered as devil because of her cruel attitude toward her assistant. Here, the devil does not burn with fire and brimstone, but it burns with sadistic acts. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, “devil” is usually powerful and has destroying power. These characters belong to Miranda.

Without ever raising her voice, Miranda uses her poisonous tongue to lash out at her subordinates, all of whom are eager to do whatever the boss wants because she wields the power of life and death over the denizens of the fashion world. Her personal life 53

of the family also makes her to be labeled as “devil” for its opposing social norms and value in patriarchal and Christianity mainstream. The movie has situated Miranda to be the victim of patriarchal society in which woman who enters job outside the house can not maintain her family as well as woman who tends to work in domestic sphere. It is also emphasized by Miranda’s second divorce with her husband because there’s no understanding from Miranda’s husband toward her job priority. Here,

Miranda is situated to get high honor in her job but seems getting fail to maintain her family. Somehow, Miranda also can be considered as feminist. She tries to bring women in a high level with their intelligence and hard work. But her failure situation to maintain her family because of her business makes her to be considered as “devil” in the society. Drawing from antifeminist idea, we know that feminism is considered to be “devil” for its idea to seek higher status for women than men. Feminism also endangers the family, because it brings many women to get more opportunity to work outside the domestic sphere and break the traditional feminine value in patriarchal society. The society thinks that because of feminism, many mothers and wives tend to choose their business outside the house rather than nurturing their family. Thus, it can endangers or destroys the family value in the society. 54

Figure.3 The image of “a strong resemblance” of Miranda Priestly. Source. David Frankel. The Devil Wears Prada. New York: 20thCentury Fox, 2006 Figure.4 Miranda’s power toward her assistant portrayed in giving her coat impolitelySource. David Frankel. The Devil Wears Prada. New York: 20thCentury Fox, 2006

The movie always portrays Miranda

through her power. Miranda’s expression and gesture in medium close up show her power that can not be defeated by anything. Her hair cut also supports this idea (see figure 3, left). Miranda’s hair style is more masculine rather than feminine hair style. As we know, feminine is often associated with inferiority. Here, Miranda’s characterization is not feminine and inferio, instead of powerful as well as men. Miranda’s power can be compared with other female character, Andrea (see figure 3, right). They look very different, both in their expression and their style. The image is captured by medium shot frame to show the relation between characters and its surrounding. From the frame can be seen that

Miranda’s style is totally different from Andrea. Miranda’s style brings a powerful image by imitating men’s gesture and their outfit, while Andrea’s style looks very feminine with her outfit design either the hair style. Andrea’s femininity results the 55

image of Andrea’s inferiority. By her power, Miranda also often treats her assistant like Kleneex. She could do what she want toward her assistant. One of the movie’s scnenes shows that when she wants her assistant to keep her coat, she often gives it in impolite way by throwing it directly to the assistant (see figure 4).

For its powerfulness and opposing society value, Miranda is considered as

“devil”. Does “Prada” here also play important role to support the concept or it also has some other importance toward the movie?

The word “Prada” refers to a popular label of fashion industry. As mentioned in chapter II, Prada is a fashion industry label from The Milanese company. The company was established in 1923 by Mario Prada when it was only a firm that sold high quality shoes and leather. Mario Prada traveled throughout Europe to find exquisite materials which would build his essential concept of style and luxury. In the development, Miuccia Prada, the granddaughter of company’s founder, began to produce ready to wear fashion that become popular brand in all over the world. The company’s first ready to wear collection was launched in 1989 and was admired for its clean lines and “elegant minimalism”. In 1990’s, Prada’s originality made it became one of the most influential fashion houses and the brand became a premium status symbol. The signature Prada look “encompassed” luxurious fabrics in mostly black, browns, grays, green, and creams to create simple, yet provocative style

(http://www.answers.com/topic/prada).

Prada design in its luxurious and provocative style mostly appear in the

“working-class” theme. Prada’s collection successfully bring the concept of working 56

class people especially women in its luxurious style. Times magazine describes the apparel of Prada design as “unassertive, combining traditional good manners and an ultramodern sleekness”. The magazine also states that the design come out from the

House of Prada reflects the feminine aesthetic, which made it quite unique in contrast to other high fashion brands. It is mostly identified with affluent working women who held demanding jobs. Thus, Miuccia call her design as women’s outfit “uniforms”. In a magazine article, she was also quoted as saying that her designs had freedom of movement, freedom from definition, and freedom from constriction

(http://www.eluxuryblog.com/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=12).

At first people hear the word “Prada”, they will relate it with fashion and something which is expensive for its luxurious style and design. Only people who own money can afford to buy this fashion product. By having this product, people are also considered to be high class. American myth states that someone has money because they are successful. Now the realization of success is placed on material achievement. Marsden has said that “Making a lot of money has been the main objective of most American since the seventeenth century, and making a lot of money has been seen as a sign of intelligence and goodness for almost 400 years” (Marsden in Nachbar and Lause, 1992: 134). Here, money becomes the standard of someone’s goodness. However it is not only a sign of success but also a concept of power. As we know, in capitalist country like America, power mostly comes from money and success. People will respect to those who own this kind of power. 57

Since fashion began to cross international boundaries, Prada also has successfully brought its impact on fashion in America. Prada continues its success by appearing collections in working class theme. It has represented working class people with its luxurious style and mostly appear in working women outfit. The designer,

Miuccia Prada has said that Prada is women’s outfit “uniform”. This “uniform” is claimed to be in provocative style and in a feminine way. As mentioned in previous explanation, Prada’s collections are acknowledged to be simple in colour yet provocative. Unlike other popular brand that is used brighter colour, Prada tends to use simple colour such black, browns, grays, green, and creams (see figure 5). Those colour merely do not show female colour in femininity rather than masculinity. As we know, feminine colour is often described with brighter colour such pink, yellow, or red. While to show masculinity, it is often represented by simple colour like black or grey. Fred Davis in “Fashion, Cultural and

Identity”, has said that male or masculinity has a cultural linkage of “male = work, career, skill mastery, and authority” (Davis, 1994: 48). Thus, the colour brings a concept of male’s power though it appears in feminine way. Prada design with its colour combination is used to differentiate women from feminine powerlessness. 58

Figure. 5 The example of “Professional suits design” of Prada within simple colour yet in feminine style taken from http://images.google.co.id/imgres?imgurl=http://content.nordstrom.com/imagegallery/store/pr oduct/large/13/_5911773.jpg&imgrefurl=http://corporette.com/2009/11/04/suit-of-the-week- 34/&usg=__bIGIgMpMttk5gLGpnXsrkVnsZR8=&h=537&w=350&sz=34&hl=id&start=171 &tbnid=dccUjEG3NuYXGM:&tbnh=132&tbnw=86&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dprada%2Bdres s%2Bprofessional%2Bsuit%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Did%26client%3Dfirefox -a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN%26start%3D160).

Prada tries to combine the female’s power and feminity in its every design.

There are many varieties of design that can be choosen by the women to show up their true character in work place through professional suit design (see figure 5).

Prada has provided a professional suit within more simple color and design to express simplicity that brings masculine sense of power yet in feminine style (see figure 5, right). It also provides a design for professional woman who wants to show more of her feminine character through the design which covers female body to be more feminine yet in powerful color (see figure 5, left).

Since America is still acknowledged as patriarchal country, the different concept of gender between male and female are clearly exsist in the society. Male is claimed to be more powerful rather than female. While female is associated with its subordinate and weakness. In my opinion, Prada has brought a balance between 59

femininity and masculinity, although the apparel is mostly identified in women’s femininity, it still bring a spirit of men’s power in contrast with women’s subordinate and powerless.

By the concept of power brought by Prada, it is not surprising that Prada actually plays important role to support the concept of “devil” in the movie. The

“devil” is often described as a poweful creature. Here, Prada gives a contribution in defining the power. In real world this power comes from money ownership and the spirit of men’s power. As we know, the “devil wears “Prada” is the representation of a character who own the “evil” characterization and wears “Prada”. Thus, I argue that the “devil” here is more powerful with Prada. It is supported by the existence of

“Prada” which brings a concept of power today in capitalist country such America.

Drawing from the previous explanation, I have determined that the “devil” character in this movie refers to Miranda Priestly, an influential fashion magazine editor. While “Prada” is a supporting tool in defining the power of “devil” characterization. As an American people, Miranda has got her goodness in achieving success and material comfort. Though Miranda has got what American people seek as a sign of goodness, the “devil” concept is still attached to her. All that she has done in the movie breaks the concept of femininity value in the society. Feminine is often associated with subordinate, softness and powerlessness. In contrast, Miranda is neither subordinate nor powerless. She is powerful by her success. She has power to lead the company and to influence the running of fashion industry by its magazine. 60

By this power, she can also do whatever she wants. She can send her demands to her assistants anytime and threat her employees to be fired if they can not work well.

Despite its contribution in defining the concept of power today, Prada, however, still be the best known fashion label for its elegant and fresh minimalism design. In the movie, we will find not only “Prada” label that is used as its costumes but also some other popular labels in America. Some of them are Dolce Gabbana,

Manolo Blahnik, Mark Jacobs, Hermes, and Guess. Thus, “Prada” in this movie can be considered as the representation of fashion world which becomes the background of the movie’s theme. In addition, it is not only tributed for the glamorous world of fashion but also the reflection of working women’s today, at least in a publishing world.

Therefore, the “devil” wears “prada” is the reflection of a powerful editor of

Runway Magazine, Miranda Priestly. The title uses the word “devil” to take the similiarity of “devil” concept to the characterization of Miranda Priestly. The title also reflects the theme of the movie which set in fashion industry background.

“Prada” is a popular fashion industry label, so by using this word, the audiences can easily determine the theme of the movie. However, “Prada” is also used as a tool to make the “devil” more powerful. It is the symbol of capitalism or money. As we know, money comes from success. Both of them bring power for those who own it.

The Devil Wears Prada is a picture of successful women who posses the power. This concept of successful women do not stop in this subchapter. It leads us to the second 61

subchapter that analyzes the construction of sucessful career women in the movie through the main characters: Miranda and Andrea.

B. The Construction of Successful Career Women in The Great Influence of

Fashion Industry

The Devil Wears Prada has gained its success by the actual portrayal of women in work place particularly in fashion industry. At glance, the movie looks like to cover the glamorous fashion world in New York society. Among other things

TDWP has also exposed capitalism, commercialism and consumerism through fashion industry. However, since almost all the main characters are women, the movie successfully brings women’s issues which emerge in American society.

The Devil Wears Prada’s engagement with contemporary issues of working women and fashion reflects the construction of 21st American women especially women in the fashion industry work place.

As stated in chapter II, fashion not only support someone’s physical appearance but also delivered someone’s social status and personality. Nora Ephron, the guest editor of Elle Magazine also stated that “Fashion is used to express individual identity and the way we dress communicate messages about our identity”

(http://searchingtheinnerme.blogspot.com/2009/10/to-1030-reflecting-our-identity- through.html). Dressing seems playing a very important role in delivering our identity. In addition, Carolyn Moynihan stated that “ Fashion (Dress) creates a first impression of a person that either hides or reveals their true character, not only in 62

general but also in particular setting. Appropriateness is needed”

(http://www.mercatornet.com/backgrounders/view/womens_fashion/). Here, fashion can be a mean to reveal someone’s personality, while the appropriateness of dressing in particular setting has closely related to the term of “Dress Code”. Dress code means clothing that is fit and suitable as apparel in particular situation including work place.

Women in the work place have been long accosiated with simply question of

“power dressing”. In the 1980s “power dressing” was a sense of a masculine, corporate look as a commitment to true workplace equality. Nowadays, this “power dressing” change into the term of “dress for success”. Neil Young flatly stated that

“dressing for success is a guiding principle in every career a woman may embrace”

(http://searchingtheinnerme.blogspot.com/2007/12/career-woman-and-fashion.html).

The explanation above clearly shows that “dressing” is important thing in defining the power or suceess of career women in the work place.

This analysis especially explores the construction of working women in

America through glamorous fashion world on “feminisim”1. In the movie, fashion and feminism idea have played important role in reflecting women’s issue in the 21st century. There are the concept of “dress for success” and the ambivalences of gender roles. However, TDWP’s engagement with feminism is not simple. The movie has

1 ” A theoretical confusion arises in part of terms in use today, such as feminism, anti-feminism, second- wave feminism, third-wave feminsm, and post-feminism. I do not engage the debates over terminology rather modify them to illustrate different perspective”.

brought feminism sensibility which reflects the ideological preoccupations of the culture which are invariably complex, for example is the varied articulations of female “empowernment”. As a result of the real changes in women’s lives, many women’s lives today are marked by ambivalence and ambiguity, complexity and contradiction. The ambivalence and contradiction of women are related to the idea about how they ought to be and how they want to be. In addition, Katha Pollit flatly states that “{an} ambivalence marks even the attempt to evaluate how powerful women are” (Pollit in Henry, 2007: 274). Here, the movie reflects feminism sensibility toward some women’s issue whic is reflected by its character.

In addition, there is also an idea of postfeminism as the dominant ideology which constructs female characters in the movie. Postfeminism believes that women have achieved what they seek for during this time (equality) and do not realize anymore patriarchal value which still exists in the society. The idea successfully brings women tend to rely on the competitive individualism and get their individual freedom to choose in their life. Therefore, the construction of successful carrer women in TDWP includes the fashion image brought by the characters, the influence of postfeminism idea and also the ambivalencies of gender roles. A full analysis of the issues attendant on this problem concentrate specifically on the two main characters in the movie: Andrea Sach and Miranda Priestly.

Andrea and Miranda are the main characters in the movie. Both of them bring some women’s issue in today’s American society in which it is highly influenced by fashion industry. Andrea is a recent graduate young women who is accepted to be an 64

assistant of chief editor of Runway fashion magazine, Miranda Priestly. By the hard grading of Miranda, finally Andrea learns to find a “politic of life choice”. While

Miranda is characterized as a powerful chief editor and considered as the “devil” in the movie. Importantly, Miranda’s characterization has also provided an issue of gender roles ambivalence in feminism framework.

Andrea Sach and The Significance of Fashion Transformation

The first character is Andrea Sach, a recent graduate young woman who looks

for a job in the high competition of New York city. Like the other recent graduate

young women, she applies a job to some companies dealing with their interest and

ability. Though Andrea is not interested in fashion, she applies an opportunity as

second assistant of Miranda Priestly. In her first interview with Miranda, Andy’s

lack of style makes the editor underestimate her capability in doing the job.

Miranda’s facial expression in close up shot shows that she observes Andrea’s

appearance sharply by her eyes (see figure 6). The camera then jumps into medium

long shot to cover Andrea appearance in Miranda’s point of view. Here, Andrea is

portrayed in untidy hair and less interests in fashion by her unfashionable outfit (see

figure 7). From this camera system, the movie tries to compare between Miranda and

Andrea’s characterization in the beginning of the story. In the close up shot,

Miranda’s expression and gesture simply give the image of powerful woman with

the masculine hair style and emphasized with the ability to observe another person

by her sharp eyes. She also dresses in fashionable outfit yet in simple design and 65

color. The accessories such big earings and bright ring on her finger are kind of

supporting tool to show her high interest of fashion. In another shot, there is Andrea

in black trousers and brown coat within white shirt beneath her purple knit. In my

opinion, Andrea’s oufit is quite appropriate for a person who applied for job. But

since she applies in one of fashion industry company, it seems that her style doesn’t

suit with the “dressing code” in fashion industry which requires fashion interest and

up to date style. She is also portrayed within untidy hair do to support her lack of

appearance in contrast to Miranda. Thus, it make Andrea looks like a nerd girl. At

first, it is difficult for Andrea to be acceptable in fashion industry work place,

because she can’t fit her apparel as fashion industry “dressing code”.

Figure. 7 Andrea’s first interview with Miranda. Figure. 6 Miranda’s expression when she Source. David Frankel. The Devil Wears Prada. underestimated Andrea because of Andrea’s lack New York: 20thCentury Fox, 2006. of style. Source. David Frankel. The Devil Wears Prada. New York: 20thCentury Fox, 2006. However, as the movie just begins, Andrea tries to give a good resume to

Miranda about her capability and achievement in doing the job as a journalist. She states that she is a hard working and a fast learning person. Although she is neither skinny nor fashionable like such Runway girls, she is sure that she can still do the job competently. It successfully impress Miranda to give Andrea the opportunity as her second assistant. Here, it could be seen that Miranda does not only see people by her 66

appearance but she also valued a good work ethic from other people. Through these scenes, the movie actually tried to deepen the characterization of the characters.

Andrea’s lack of style at the film makes her colleagues reaction to it. At first, she fit in poorly among gossip of fashion that made up by the magazine’s staff. Her first day on the job, she wears a white oxford blouse beneath an electric blue cable- knit sweater with a matching blue and grey argyle skirt (see figure.9). Although she tries to do the best for her dressing, her senior assistant, Emily, is still condenscending to her. Andrea’s dress is considered as out of date style because she wears an old design style in which the color used to be famous in 2002.

Figure. 9 Andy’s first appearance in the office, that made her colleagues reaction to it. The scenes were taken almost in close up shot in order to emphasize Andy’s lack of style from top to toe. Source. David Frankel. The Devil Wears Prada. New York: 20thCentury Fox, 2006.

From the pictures, Andrea’s appearance is observed almost in close up shot camera to show off her lack of style. The dress seems old and in an out of date fashion style. Indeed, it also makes Andrea’s body shapeless and looks fat. The flat shoes also shows Andrea’s lack of fashion interest. As we know fashion requires us to be always in up to date style and most of women’s shoes produced by fashion industry are in high heel. This high heel product actually goes along with the belief that considers women as submissive, weaker and soft creature rather than men. The high heel will built the image of beautiful woman when she walks away in soft 67

motion. By wearing high heel shoes, women will not be able to move in the fast motion. Thus, the use of high heel can restrict women’s movement and keep them to be submissive and in soft image. Here, fashion industry has played important role to fulfill the demand of American patriarchal society which reflects the traditional feminine value with woman’ softness and submissive characters.

In the deeper analysis of the movie, fashion industry does not only bring the image of women by its products but also translating the contextual meaning of being successful through fashion choices. Lurie has stated that woman in the work place is still valued by her apparel in dressing. She explores the image of working women through “the way they dress” as follow,

The woman in the sensible gray wool suit and the frilly pink blouse is a serious hard-working mouse with a frivolous and feminine soul. If, on the other hand, she wears a curvy pink silk dressmaker suit over a plain mouse- gray sweater, we suspect her of being privately preoccupied or depressed no matter how charming and social her manner (Lurie in Davis, 1994: 46).

Therefore, dressing is important to build the image of career women in the work place. In the movie, this phenomenon is also experienced by Andrea Sach’s characterization.

Andrea’s opinion that she can do the job competently without following the

“dress code” in her new work place is broken up by the fact that she is unable to do her job competently with her old style. Here, the costumes have brought the image of women’s professionalism in the work place. The movie portrays this phenomenon in some scenes which compare Emily and Andrea’s competence in doing their job through their fashion choices. In contrast scenes, Emily looks more professional in 68

her fashionable outfit rather than Andrea who appears in out of date style. (see figure

10).

Figure 10. Emily and Andrea to handle the phone call. Source. David Frankel. The Devil Wears Prada. New York: 20thCentury Fox, 2006.

The image of medium close shot simply shows that Emily in her fashionable style is more modern and professional to handle the phone call. She notes the message directly to her computer. She only needs one hand to type the message through the computer keyboard. It looks more efficient rather than Andrea who writes the message on a piece of paper which needs all of her hands to work with it. The characters’ gesture reflect the sense of career women’s professionalism in the work place which requires efficiency and practical way to do the job.

In addition, the costumes have also brought the image of women’s power in their job. Andrea’s lack of style is portrayed to be powerless rather than her co worker or her boss. She is often portrayed in some quite bright color design of outfits which is considered as unfashionable style. In contrast, the other co workers are mostly in fashionable style within simple color outfit such black or brown. It made them look more professional and powerful than Andrea (see figure 11). As we know, bright color such blue tends to be women’s color which reveals the sense of 69

femininity and inferiority while black is more in masculine sense with its powerful image.

Figure 11. Source. David Frankel. The Devil Wears Prada. New York: 20thCentury Fox, 2006.

From the scenes, the movie clearly shows Andrea’s powerless toward her co worker through her fashion choices. Her lack of fashion interest makes her to be condemned by her co worker even her boss. Emily and her friend’s expression give the indication that Andrea is powerless than them. They look at Andrea as she was in ridiculous fashion style. Thus, Andrea is deserved to do such low job like providing the coffee for her boss rather than arranging the boss’ schedule as an assistant.

Meanwhile, Andrea is also experienced the hard grading of Miranda. Miranda asks her to fulfil an impossible demand to find a flight in a hurricane. When andrea can’t find it, Miranda tells Andea that she isn’t even better than all Runway girls. At first,

Miranda thought that Andrea is a smart and a hard working girl through her work ethic resume and appearance. Thus, she tries to accept Andrea and hopes that Andrea with her good resume of work ethic can work better rather than her former fashionable assistant who are mostly good looking but having less intellegence.

Andrea’s lack of style somehow shows that she is smart girl in which she values herself by her intellegence rather than her appearance. As in the society, there was a 70

stereotype of smart nerd girl which lack in apperance and pretty dumb girl who always keep in good looking style. Nerd girl is usually stereotyped with lack of style but full of achievement. While, pretty girls are stereotyped to be lack of skill and intellegence because they only think about their appearance and style without developing their intellegence. For starters, Andrea is characterized to be such a nerd girl with her lack of appearance but in full of achievement. Andrea’s resume shows that she used to be a chief editor in her former college magazine and she also wins the young national journalist competition. For Miranda, it seems that she has accepted the right girl who is smart and having a good resume about her work ethic. Miranda also thinks than Andrea is different from all Runway girls who only can maintain their appearance but lack of intellegence. But, since Andrea can’t fulfil her demand,

Miranda feels disappointed and starts to think that Andrea isn’t better than Runway girls in doing the job. In fact, Andrea’s lack of style doesn’t reflect her competence in doing the job as a smart and hard working girl. Miranda considers that the Runway girls may be are not good enough to do their job, but they still have capability to maintain their appearance, while Andrea neither has sense of fashion nor competence to do her job. Since TDWP was fashion movie, it merely challenges the stereotype of smart nerd girl through fashion image. Here, a nerd girl can not get her success without balancing her intellegence with her appearance especially in fashion interest.

Fashion has conditioned to be an important thing for woman and has a correlation in defining woman’s job competence. From this phenomenon, it is cleary seen that the 71

movie has explored the relationship between Andrea’s lack of style and her incompetence in doing the job.

As the movie fashion, the culminationg point of the issue is Andrea’s transformation to be a fashionable women which led her to gain job competence and success. By the hard grading that she found in her new work place, Andrea does not want just to be defeated. Her lack of style seems to be her first obstacle to obtain the job competence. By the help of Nigel, Runway art director, she changes into a fashionable woman. With her new appearance, she looks very confident and suddenly becomes more professional to handle her job. At her first appearance to be fashionable woman, she dressed in black coat and leather trousers within high heel boots (see figure 12). This new appearance simply gives different image from her previous style. At first, she chooses to wear bright shapeless outfit and flat shoes because she feels quite comfortable with those outfits. Now, She dresses in fashionable outfit and more simple in black color. By wearing such fashionable clothing design, Andrea looks more powerful in black color design and more professional to do the job. She feels confident to walk away in the office by straight her head up within her big smile. Her gesture somehow implies that she is more powerful in her new style than in her previous appearance. This power is also added by her capablity to handle the job in practical way within her computer rather than in a piece of paper. 72

Figure 12. Andrea’s new appearance. Source. David Frankel. The Devil Wears Prada. New York: 20thCentury Fox, 2006.

Andrea’s changing style has made her to get a power through her fashion choices. It also leads her to gain job competence. Miranda and her other co worker even start to look at her not in such silly eyes anymore but seem more impressed. The new appearance is also balanced with Andrea’s ability to fulfil all of Miranda’s perfect job demand. All of Andrea’s good job to fulfil what Miranda’s demand is considered as gaining the competence in her job. Within her new fashion choices and her job competence, Andrea is able to get ahead toward her career and gain her success. The movie covers Andrea’s success by portraying her to be the assistant who attends Runway Charity Night and join Miranda to Paris Fashion Week. Andrea’s achievement after being fashionable woman doesn’t just stop in here. She also gets a chance to own many popular fashionable things such a beautiful coat by Guess, shoes by Jimmy Choe, Donna Karan’s sunglasses and even she gives Lily (her bestfriend) a bag by Marc Jacobs which is very expensive and sold out everywhere. 73

From this phenomenon, Andy’s transformation of style delivered a message that in every work place, there is a “dress code” which gives a contribution to support the worker’s success. It brings the concept of successful for most career women. As we know, the term “successful” is closely associated with the “material achievement”. With her changing appearance, Andrea becomes a successful person within her material achievement. In the case, being fashionable means being successful, while being unfashionable means unsuccessful.

Although now Andrea can be considered as a successful woman, there is

Andrea’s point that as woman, she can not be escaped from patriarchal value that still exists in the society which considers women as dependent and submissive. The story begins when Miranda asks her to find the unpublished Harry Potter book for her twin daughter. Andrea just can do it by the help of a handsome journalist, Christian

Thompson whom she meets at Runway Charity’s Night. Christian is impressed with

Andrea’s appearance and capability to be Miranda’s assistant. As we know, working with Miranda is a very hard work to do and Andrea can still hold up with her job. In this case, although the movie mostly portrays women’s power, unconsiously there is still emerge the existence of patriarchal value by providing Christian as a man who become Andrea’s saviour from the hard grading of Miranda. On the other hand, I think the story will be different if Andrea does not change her appearance, Christian will not notice and help her. Here, women still seem to be valued by her appearance by patriarchal value. They also are not able to release themselves from men’s power. 74

They’re still considered as dependent creature in which they

couldn’t thrive themselves without men.

The patriarcal value in American society is also

emphasized by the emerge of fashion industry for women.

Since women are considered as submissive and powerless,

they easily become an object of spectacle for male gaze through the image of fashion

toward women’s body. Here, fashion industry has given a great contribution in

translating the idea of women to be an expressive display by its design and products.

Figure. 13 Parfume advertisement which often associated with fashion industry. The advertisement covers woman as its model. Here, the media exposes woman’s body part through displaying them in attractive way taken from http://images.google.co.id/imglanding?q=j%27adore%20dior&imgurl=hp://temptingperfume.com/ima ges/J%2527adore%2520by%2520Dior.jpg&imgrefurl=http://edenpearl.blogspot.com/&usg=__ZHGqP JsXbw68sWdIcAj7ffB1ymI=&h=290&w=290&sz=49&hl=id&itbs=1&tbnid=sD57ppxpnzfJxM:&tbn h=115&tbnw=115&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dj%2527adore%2Bdior%26hl%3Did%26client%3Dfirefox -a%26sa%3DG%26rls%3Dorg.jpg.

By the phenomenon of displaying women in some products of fashion industry, fashion has great contribution in women’s body objectification. Regan

Gurung and Carly J. Chrouser have elaborated the theory of objectification.

Objectification theory states that women from western culture are target of male gaze.

When objectification occurs the body is no longer seen as part of a person, rather it is seen as an object which is emphasized by the media (see figue 13). In addition they 75

also questioned about the objectification of physical appearance by dressing. It said that “People overuse nonverbal cues when creating impression and frequently rely most heavily in physical appearance when formulating immediate judgement”

(http://resources.metapress.com/pdfpreview.axd?code=h5344p278033448p&size=lar gest). The statement simply explains that most people are still judged by their physical appearance. Thus, women’s physical appearance are often objectified in the term of fashion choices especially by the media.

In this case, Andrea’s fashion choices also explore the issue of female body objectification by male gaze in patriarchal society. At first, she is characterized to be a modest girl who ignores her body appearance, but after she works in fashion industry she seems to melt with capitalism and patriarchal society by wearing such fashionable products. By the products, she has let her body become an object of spectacle by male gaze.

After changing the appearance, almost all of Andrea’s oufit are in fashionable style. The character seems can not be escaped from this kind objectification since it was the product of fashion industry which usually explores female body as an expressive display. In some of her fashion choices, there are clearly seen this kind of female body objectification. Her outfit seems to show an image beautiful woman in slender body. Her fashion choices sometimes also exploit some parts of female body which was often objectified by the media such slim legs and tonned breast.

Figure 15. Source: David Frankel. The Devil Wears Figure 14. Source: David Frankel. The Devil Wears Prada. New York: 20thCentury Fox, 2006 Prada. New York: 20thCentury Fox, 2006

The examples of Andrea’s fashion above simply give an image of fashion industry objectification toward female body. The left pictures are taken in long shot camera system to cover Andrea’s full body. Although she chooses shapeless outfit for her upper part body, the slim legs were still show off by the outfit design. It translates the idea of beautiful women in slim body through fashion industry products. While the right picture were taken in medium close up shot to cover Andrea’s upper body part with her outfit design. Her fashion choices at the time merely show off her breast to be looked at. The other outfit also made Andrea’s body looks slim by applying a belt on her waist. All of Andrea fashion design has reflected the myth of beauty in

American patriarchal socitey. Here, fashion industry has glorified the patriarchal value in which woman are considered as weaker and can be an object of spectacle.

Eventhough most of the outfit are in man’s color which translate the concept of power ownership, the design still exploit female body by showing off some parts of the body to be looked at. 77

Andrea’s fashion transformation not only brings the idea of female body’s objectification but also depicts some ideologies which exist in the society that is feminism and capitalism. For starters, Andrea dresses in a modest style and dreamed to be a journalist. By her first appearance in the movie, I argue that actually Andrea used to have feminism idea with her modest style and interest to be a journalist. As we know, most feminists often dress in modest style which mostly cover all of their body parts because they don’t want to be an object of male gaze. They also think ridiculous about fashion since it makes women to be its object and values women more in their appearance rather than intellegence. In addition, feminist always seek the opportunity to be equal to men in some areas including work place. Journalism seems to be men’s field rather than women. In this work place, intellegence is more important to support the ability in doing the job rather than appearance. However, in patriarchal society, women are considered less intellegence rather than men.

Therefore, it seems that journalism field is not woman’s work sphere. As Andrea is having a feminist idea, she tries to challenge the mainstream of patriarchal society.

She has done many hard works to develop her intellegence. By her intellegence and hard work, she is able to obtain some achievement in her life as her interest in journalism. The achievement has become a point to show women’s power to be equal as well as men.

Andrea’s feminism idea seems to be changed as she transforms her appearance. After working in fashion industry, she has melting with capitalism idea which places material achievement as a sign of power ownership. The material 78

achievement in fashion industry especially related to the ownership of fashion products. As we know fashion industry provides its products in a high price. Thus, only people who own money can buy such expensive products. By Andrea’s characterization, the movie tries to contrast between feminism and capitalist idea.

Andrea with her feminist idea has situated to be powerless rather than other Runway girl who become fashion fethish in capitalist society. As she just don’t want to be defeated, she has to be more powerful. Thus, she chooses to change her appearance because she realizes that power does not only come from her intellegence but also through the appearance. By her new appearance, the movie portrays Andrea’s success to fulfil all Miranda’s demand including her impossible request to find unpublished

Harry Potter book. Here, it seems that Andrea has got a power through her fashion.

She is unconsiously melting with capitalist society and getting to reduce her feminism sensibility.

Miranda Priestly “The Dress for Success”

The second character is Miranda Priestly. As American myth of success is placed on material comfort achieving, Miranda can be considered as the representation of today successful career women. The movie covers Miranda with all things that most American people seek for as a result of achieving success. She is provided with some material comfort such as luxurious car and townhouse, some expensive famous fashion collections design, and also hi-tech gadget to support both of her job and her successful image (see figure.10). In addition, her ability in 79

conducting her job leads the magazine into its success. She is a kind of perfectionist person who wants everything ran well and perfect.

Figure. 12 Miranda’s with her luxurious material comfort. A car by Marcedez Benz (left), Prada bag which is known as expensive popular brand (center) and high tech apple lap top to support her activity (right). Source. David Frankel. The Devil Wears Prada. New York: 20thCentury Fox, 2006.

Her perfectness also appears in the way she dresses. Miranda’s fashion gives a contribution to determine her characterization. She is characterized as a successful and powerful career woman in fashion industry. For being a career woman, there are some codes in dress prevailing women’s successfulness. This regime has explored by

John T. Molloy (1996), author of best selling “Dress for Success” book for men and women. He describes the women’s “dress for success” suit imitates the colour and basic design of a man’s suit. However, he also provides the alternatives of “dress for success” in feminine detail that is preferred by most powerful women. These suits send the message that most women are still feminine and powerful. However,

Miranda works in fashion industry. Therefore, fashion plays important role to support

Miranda’s appearance. She is portrayed in fashionable working dress although still conveying what Molloy offers as a “dress for success”. If we look at these pictures bellow, there are some similiarities between what Molloy offers in dress for success 80

and the image of successful career woman through Miranda characterization in

TDWP.

Figure.13 “Dress for Success” for Women adressed by John T. Molloy taken from http://images.google.co.id/imglanding ?q=the%20dress%20for%20success %20women&imgurl=http://www.mo ntevallo.edu/counselingcenter/images /Career/Dress%2520For%2520Succe ss.jpg&imgrefurl=http://hotscarlet.blo gspot.com/2009/12/dress-for- success.html&usg=__2Il5kA-jpg

Figure. 14 The example of Miranda’s outfit to be one of fashionable “dress for success” choices, taken from http://www.artofthesteal.com/wpcontent/uploa ds/2007/10/like-miranda.jpg.

Miranda’s outfit in the working place adressed with what Molloy offers but in more fashionable style with its accessories to show the great influence of fashion as she worked with it (see figure 15). In some scenes Miranda often dresses in a stylish outfit which shows her high influence and power toward fashion world. 81

Figure. 15 Miranda’s appearance in work place that adressed what Molloy offers “Dress for Success” in most simple color design yet in fashionable style within luxurious accessories and jewelries. Source. David Frankel. The Devil Wears Prada. New York: 20thCentury Fox, 2006.

In the picture, Miranda dresses in fashionable oufit design. Her high interest of fashion is described in her matching outfit which supported by some jewelries such long necklace and big earings which look suitable with her outfit. Those jewelries also translate the idea of feminine apparel. Although Miranda dresses in simple color design which implies the sense of “dress for success”, those jewelries still exposed

Miranda’s femininity as a woman.

Figure. 16 Miranda’s style in medium close up (left) and long shot camera (right). Both images show Miranda’s power through her fashion choices. Even in the right image, it is clearly seen that she owns a power over her assistants. Source. David Frankel. The Devil Wears Prada. New York: 20thCentury Fox, 2006.

From the pictures, Miranda’s fashion and gesture merely show that she is a powerful woman. Though she is a woman, she is depicted in masculine expression 82

and gesture. It seems that Miranda tried to challenge traditional feminine value which requires women to behave gently, passive and humble. In the frame, she is pictured in contrast to traditional feimine value. The way she walk and her expression show that she has an authority toward everybody arround her. Her gaze is straight ahead and her head is not bend over which prove that she is undefeatable and doesn’t submit to everybody around her. This fact is alo emphasized when she walks with her assitants, she is in the front line to be followed by the assistant. Moreover, one of the assistant who follows her is male. It explains that Miranda can take control over both men and women.

As characterized to be a powerful woman, Miranda tended to choose simple color design as she wanted to imitate man. By those Outfit, she wanted to show she was equal to man as a human who own the same power. Many powerful women tend to choose a dress which support their power by imitating man’s colour and design but it’s still in the feminine style. In the movie, Miranda is portrayed more often in wearing simple colour like black or brown yet in feminine and fashionable style. As we know male tends to wear simple colour such black, gray or brown rather than female. Drawing from Fred Davis that women who enter labor force, and pursue careers in business and proffession will seek acceptance, equality, and authority in nearly male preserves. Thus, it produces gender ambivalences in dress from the historic division of sexual roles in the Western culture (Davis, 1994: 46). Here, female tries to show her power by male representation. There’s a gender ambivalences in sexual roles. Since femininity is often regarded with subordinate 83

status,domesticity, and child rearing, essentially equates to masculinity with occupation, breadwinning, authority and the excercise of instrumental capacities. This ambivalence of gender roles was clearly portrayed in Miranda’s characterization in the movie. However, The Devil Wears Prada was not only explored about this ambivalence but also another issue of 21st women with the politic of life choice through its character.

The Ambivalence of Gender Roles and Politics of Life Choice

The initial success of The Devil Wears Prada is due mainly to the image of

Miranda’s characterization. Drawing from previous explanation, this character represents the title of the movie itself. In the deeper analysis, Miranda is one of the example of American baby boomer bosses who tries to have it all: career, children, and couture. Through the portrayal of Miranda, the movie touches on women’s lives with its ambivalence and contradictory of gender roles.

Despite her successfulness, Miranda embodies the ambivalence that still exists regarding her roles in public area and domestic sphere as a mother. More than any other character, Miranda stands between those two different roles. The character has touched a clash of being a woman in both public and domestic area. At one side she adjusts the position of being successful career women, but on the other hand she is depicted as a woman who fails in domestic area as both wife and mother. The movie portrays the conflict of Miranda’s family through her second divorce with her husband and Miranda’s guilty for often disappointing her twin daughters because of 84

her job priorities. The director, David Frankel had also defined Miranda’s character by adding the conflict with her husband. “That’s the part of what’s difficult for

Miranda, finding a partner who understands what her life is about and what her priorities are” (http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/06/15/style/fmlede16.php). Miranda and her husband often have a problem because of Miranda’s priority toward her job rather than family. In one scene the movie covers Miranda and her husband when they are debating about Miranda’s priority (see figure 17).

Figure.17 Miranda’s conversation with her husband. Source. David Frankel. The Devil Wears Prada. New York: 20thCentury Fox, 2006.

Miranda : What should I do? Leave the cover photography? Stephen : I leave for the important meeting and sit waiting for you, almost an hour Miranda : There is no signal in the cell phone.. Stephen : I knew what everyone thinks in that restaurant. Here he is waiting for his wife again..

Miranda and her husband are getting a problem because of Miranda’s priority toward her job. The picture above is taken in medium long shot to show the expression, gesture and also character’s surrounding. In the scene, it can be seen that

Miranda looks more powerful rather than her husband within her gesture and expression. The camera also take it in low angle in order to show the high position of objects or subjects compared to other character. The word “high” here, means the authority of the character in which Miranda is clearly seen in the higher position than her husband with her expression and gesture.

In addition, the dialogue between Miranda and Andrea which is set in Paris also deepens the issue. The problem begins when Miranda tells Andrea that Stephen

(Miranda’s husband) is not coming to join Paris Fashion week. Soon Andrea replies

“...so I don’t need to fetch Stephen from the airport tomorrow?”. As a response

Miranda explains Andrea as follow:

“Well, if you speak to him and he decides to rethink the divorce...then yes, fetch away. You’re very fetching, so go fetch. And then when we get back to New York, we need to contact, um...Leslie to see what she can do to minimize the press...on all this. Another divorce...splashed across Page Six. I can just imagine what they’re gonna write about me. The Dragon Lady, career obsessed. Snow Queen drives away another Mr. Priestly. Rupert Murdoch should cut me a check...for all the papers I sell for him. Anyway, I don’t...I don’t really care what anybody writes about me. But my...my girls. I just...it’s just unfair to the girls. It’s just...another disappointment...another letdown, another father...figure...gone”.

37 ii

Obviously, the dialogue above has touched a clash of being a woman with two different gender roles and how the society faces the issue. This regime has also stated by an antifeminist prominent, Allan Carlson. He stated that the change of women’s role, from being primarily mothers to self-defined professionals, has been a social disaster that continue to take its toll on the family. Thus, he argues that woman, especially mother who involves herself in job professionals is breaking the social norms of woman’s gender roles in the family.

In contrast, Joie Jager Hyman2, who also analyses the movie through working women issue, has delivered different point of view regarding to the conflicting

Miranda’s life as both mother and professional as portrayed in TDWP. She argues that American society, however, failed to give women a world and a workplace in which they could thrive. Men really never took equal responsibility for parenting and domestic sphere. The society has not valued women’s work yet as much as men when they do a high-quality and affordable job. If she is a man, the condition would be different and he won’t be attached to the “term”. Miranda has illustrated working women issue in an ambivalence of gender roles to live in the contradictory of women’s “proper place” between work and family

(http://www.acjournal.org/holdings/vol10/02_Summer/articles/gilpin.php).

Miranda has choosen her priority of life that is her job. By her choice, she must sacrifice many things including her marriage (personal lfe),but she gets a high honor of her job. That politic of “life choice” is also explored by the other main character, Andrea Sach.

2 “Joie Jager Hyman is a teacher at the Woodhull Institute, a nonprofit organization based in New York Citry aimed at supprting professional young women.

iii

At first, Andrea’s personal life is described as a perfect romantic story within a cute boyfriend, a happy family life and having some best friends who always beside her. Since she takes the job as assistant of Miranda Priestly, everything has changed.

She doesn’t have time to spend with her friends and boyfriend as in her previous life.

Even when her father comes to visit her in the weekend, she still has to fulfill the demands of her boss. In the movie, Andrea always says “I have no choice” toward the demand of her boss. The thread of being fired keep Andy at the office and does all of

Miranda’s demands. She knows that Miranda carries a lot of weight in the magazine industry, so if she wants to get a head toward her career, she must do a perfect work which need to sacrifice her personal life .

This regime has also stated before by the movie director, David Frankel, that

The Devil Wears Prada is also mostly about “sacrifice and price of excellence” toward women in their career. Working women should try hard to do all the best for their job. However “sacrifice” often goes along with a hard work. If someone wants to get ahead toward his or her career, often they need to sacrifice some parts of their life, for example their personal life. Kim Cummings in movie review of The Devil

Wears Prada stated that “It is a very sad fact of today’s society that women who want to get ahead in their careers must sacrifice a personal life to do so”( http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/29/fashion/moviereview/thursdaystyles/29PRADA. html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&partner=rssny&emc=rss).

Andrea’s sacrifice toward her personal life can also be seen in her conversation with Nigel. Andrea talks to him about her personal problem between her and her boyfriend. Nigel only responses with a deep sentence that it is what she will

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get when her career has got ahead.

Andy : Sorry. It's a busy day. My personal life is hanging by a thread, that's all. Nigel : Oh, join the club. That's what happens when you start doing well at work, darling. Let me know when your whole life goes up in smoke. That means it's time for a promotion.

Figure 17. Nigel and Andrea are talking about Andrea’s personal life problem. Source. David Frankel. The Devil Wears Prada. New York: 20thCentury Fox, 2006.

From the dialogue between Andrea and Nigel, it is clear that Andrea is still having a problem of her personal life. Nigel says that it is normal that success in career can not be balanced with success in our personal life. The scenes when the dialogue happened are taken in normal angle camera to show the equality of characters that means the equal authority or status between Nigel and Andrea. They are also in medium close up shot to emphasize character’s expression. Here, Andrea looks worried about her personal life.

At the last part, Andrea realized that she has sacrificed many things especially her personal life because of her career. She felt that it wasn’t her choice to do so. In fact, Miranda opens her mind that it is really her choice because she has chosen for herself. The dialogue between Miranda and Andrea which is set in Paris, deepens the problem. The story begins when Miranda says that she sees the similiarity between

her and Andrea. At first, Andrea is reluctant to accept Miranda’s opinion. Andrea points out that she can not do as Miranda does. Miranda has sacrificed many people including Nigel to protect herself. However, Miranda illuminates the truth that

Andrea has done the same things too, stepping over Emily when she agreed to go to

Paris.

Miranda: I see a great deal of myself from you. You can see beyond what other people want. And you can choose for yourself Andrea: I think I’m not like that. I couldn’t do like you did to Nigel. I couldn’t do something like that Miranda: You’re already did. To Emily Andrea: That’s not me....That’s different. I don’t have a choice Miranda: No, no...You choose. You choose to get in. If you want this life. Our choice is really neccessary Andrea: But if...This is not what I want...And if I don’t want to live like your life.... Miranda: No...don’t be ridiculous...Everybody wants this. Everybody wants to be us.

Figure. 18 The private conversation of Miranda and Andrea in Paris.Source. David Frankel. The Devil Wears Prada. New York: 20thCentury Fox, 2006.

From the dialogue above, the movie explains us that Andrea unconsiously follows Miranda’s way of life. Andrea has become a successful career woman by doing a good thing for her job. However, she has also sacrificed her personal life. The scenes which cover Miranda and Andrea’s coversation are mostly taken in a close up shot to explore character’s expression. Here, the scenes look gloomy by presenting the dark atmosphere around the charaters. Andrea and Miranda are also portrayed in

the black color oufit and having a serious conversation. The normal angle of camera and the same costumes color of both characters interpreted that Andrea at the time was in the same position as Miranda. However, Miranda was still looked more powerful in plain make up and hair do while Andrea was more feminine in bright lipstick and still in feminine hair style (see figure 18). It means that Miranda’s power was undefeatable compared to other characters in the movie including Andrea though now they looked the same.

The movie also seems to provide the issue of life choice. Although Andrea

has sacrificed many things in her life, Andrea is unconsiously has learned more

about what actually life is. Life is about “a choice”. Finally, she chooses to quit

working in the magazine because she felt that it does not fit her. It is not her choice

to live like she used to be when she works with Miranda. However, those sacrifices

have broght her into a better person. She doesn’t just quit and says “I’m never going

to do that again”, but takes the valuable knowledge that she learned from the hard

grading Miranda.

After Andrea quit as Miranda’s assistant, she has successfully got a job as a

journalist. Miranda herself sends a fax to the company that if they do not accept

Andrea, they are stupid. It means that Andrea has done a right thing in her previous

job. She has chosen what she wants to do and what she wants to be toward her own

life.

Here, if we look deeper at the movie, Miranda is actually not only “a disaster” or “devil” for her assistant, but she merely gives many contributions and positive

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things to lead her assistant to be a better person. If we look at in the different point of view, Miranda’s hard grading to Andrea, actually raises Andrea’s value as women.

By choosing her career rather than the romance proves that she doesn’t submit to patriarchal sytem. But, Since the movie is the product of popular culture, it tends to take side to what is embraced by the society that is patriarchal value. That’s why

Andrea tends to choose her romance rather than her career. It seems that finally, she still glorifies the patriarchal value as the demands of the society. While Miranda is still labelled by the word “devil” for her career choice. Here, the movie has discouraged women by returning the female character into traditional feminine values rather than positions them in higher status of women.

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CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

A. Conclusion

After analyzing the movie entitled The Devil Wears Prada, it is clear that fashion industry has given great contribution towards American career women today.

Fashion builds the image of successful career women and their power ownership. As the movie is set in fashion industry work place, it constructs the concept of successful career women through women’s fashion image or women’s appearance. To be acceptable and successful, women in the work place should conform their image to the suitable “dress code”. This issue has been brought by Andrea’s characterization.

Andrea’s fashion transformation simply tells us that being fashionable means successful while being unfashionable means unsuccessful.

Women in the work place are not only constructed by the comformity of working “dress code”, but also the ambivalence of gender roles in American patriarchal society. Since they are women, the ambivalence comes from their roles in the society between public and domestic sphere. Through Miranda’s characterization, the movie clearly explores the issue of gender ambivalence which leads the character to be attached to the concept of “devil”. From the analysis, it is found that Miranda is the “devil” in this movie because of her power ownership and hard grading toward her assistant. She also wears “Prada”, the expensive popular brand of fashion products which supports her power. Since Miranda is portrayed as a powerful woman, she seems to challenge the patriarchal value which holds the belief of women

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as inferior and powerless. Miranda has also dedicated herself more in public sphere as in work place rather than in the domestic sphere as the nurturing of family.

Women who break this value are often considered negative by the society mainstream. It makes them stand in the ambivalence of gender roles and women’s proper place.

Despite its contribution in defining the concept of power and success, fashion has also brought the issue of female’s body objectification. It has made women to be an expressive display covered by the media to commerce its products. From the costumes of the characters, it is clearly seen that fashion industry has produced women’s outfit which is embraced to what of the society demand. Since women are considered inferior and can be an expressive display, fashion products mostly explore some parts of female body to be an object of spectacle by the male gaze. In most fashion industry, female body is considered to be an object in which it is obliged to conform with the beliefs and desires of American patriarchal society in order to be acceptable and commercialized. Here, fashion can be considered as a power which is objectified by the mainstream of partiarchal society as it is mostly displaying women’s body to commercialize its products.

B. Recommendation

The Devil Wears Prada is an interesting movie to analyze since it brings many issues of women’s life. The movie has provided us the clear correlation between women and fashion which delivers some contextual meaning and ideology in American society. The study of American women in feminism framework will significantly enriches American studies knowledge through women’s unique issues and experiences. It is hoped that through this research, the students can sharpen their analytical power to see their own patriarchal environment. Thus, it is suggested for other researchers who are interested in women studies to take some other issues of women’s problem as the object of research provided in several media.

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