Representation - 500 words

In the trailer of devil wears Prada the female protagonist (Miranda) is represented as a dominant portrayal as it reinforces the stereotype that women are portrayed as powerful and dominant in the media. They are also seen with high jobs which in this case the female is seen to be the boss of the business.

However, another woman (Andy) is presented in the trailer too. This female character is in New York and wants to become a fashion designer but she has been told that the Boss of the company is quite spiteful bossy and rude. As she spends increasing amounts of time at Miranda's beck and call, problems arise in her relationships with her college friends and boyfriend. In my opinion, I think Miranda is represented as an alternative portrayal as she is seen as the strong powerful one. This is because; she is the main owner of the company and is shown to be very rude and controlling. The representation theory that can be applied to the females would be Richard Dyer as he suggested that those with power stereotype those with less power. This occurs in the middle of the trailer where the second female (Andy) character shows the audiences, discretely, that she is beginning to change and become like the Boss so then she starts going to a person stylist and transforms herself into a more fashionable and wealthy lady. Therefore the female character is represented a a dominant portrayal in the trailer as working class people are performed to be more weaker than higher class. Higher class women being dominant in society tell us that women in the working class are seen as less powerful than them and that women who are high classed have the authority to give orders from people below them. In addition, you can instantly tell that the female immediately wants to become a good fashion designer and wants to be treated like everyone else is treated because they are shown to be different than Andy is which is the reason to why Miranda treats Andy unfairly and gives all orders to her. Towards the middle end Andy starts to be liked by Miranda when she starts to change and become like the others. Also, from this you can tell that she is a confident and outgoing person due to her bashful personality. You can also tell that Miranda starts to like and respects Andy as she accepts her the way she is and realises that she is dedicated and hard working within the job. In the beginning/middle scene in the trailer the representation theory that can be applied to the female character is Laura Mulvey. She came up with the idea of 'female gaze'. This is where females gaze upon men due to their attractiveness. In the trailer, this occurs in the scene where Andy wants to change and become like the others but her boyfriend doesn't like that she has changed, and he liked the way she was before and the clothes she wore. This means that men can be attracted to women who aren't dressed in fancy designer clothes and falls in love with girls for who they are not who they want to be, also to their natural beauty. Furthermore, another theory that can be applied to the trailer is Tessa Perkins. Her theory is that some stereotypes can be positive or partly true. This occurs in the trailer as the female protagonist (Miranda) is seen as powerful and dominant as she is the boss of the company. This is a positive stereotype and is partly true. In addition, this is intentionally what the director has given us to create a character in our minds of what we think the characters in the trailer are like.