The Devil Wears Prada : A Non-Verbal Perspective

The Devil Wears Prada : A Non-Verbal Perspective

Presented By : Malay Shah

1. Background :

The movie “ The Devil Wears Prada “, as subtly suggested by the title, is set in the backdrop of the myriad world of top notch haute couture houses – an ostensibly uber world where pretensions and facades rule the roost, where interpersonal dynamics change as frequently as the clothes, and where sartorial prowess is the inviolable barometer of one’s finesse, or the lack of it. The intricacies of such a world are delectably intertwined with the story of a simple, ambitious girl, Andrea, who happens to cajole Miranda, the fastidious and stern head honcho of a prominent fashion magazine, Runway, into employing her. Employed she is, and her initial period is anything but smooth. An exacting boss, coupled with sneering colleagues, makes it dawn upon Andrea that in this fashion bubble of a world, the way to anyone’s heart, or good books atleast, is to toe the sartorial line. A dramatic image overhaul transpires, aided by Miranda’s Man Friday, Nigel, and Andrea then experiences a smorgasbord of novel reactions from others , both explicit and otherwise.

She starts brimming with confidence & ebullience, and despite her bosses’ rigorous idiosyncrasies, never shows signs of crumbling. In short, the image makeover affects both her professional and personal lives in varying degrees, and even though she momentarily feels that the world is her oyster, she is not prepared for what she eventually would encounter in life.

This movie, replete with dialogues, is actually also choc-a-bloc with a plethora of portents of non-verbal communication, and this paper attempts to analyse the same.

2. Non-verbal Communication :

We are acquainted with the following types of non-verbal communication :

• Kinesics : facial expression, posture, and gesture

• Oculesics : eye contact

• Haptics : the communication of touch

• Proxemics : the communication of space and proximity

• Appearance : the physical characteristics, the attire and the accessories

• Paralinguistics / Vocalics : variations in pitch, speed, volume, and pauses that convey

meaning

• Chronemics : the effects of time on communication

We will briefly discuss some of them, and correlate them with non-verbal dynamics observable in the movie .

A. Kinesics :

Facial Expressions & Posture :

• Miranda, the boss, perpetually has a neutral expression writ on her visage, and this neutrality comes across as superciliousness, mainly to conceal some deep-seated arrogance when dealing with her subordinates – Andrea & Emily. Occasionally, her neutral expression shows shades of emotions, like during a party when she dons a pleasantly relaxed expression, as well as in the end, when she secretly smiles seeing Andrea’s carefree and confident demeanour. Her erect posture throughout the movie smacks of immense self-confidence.

• Prior to her makeover, Andrea goes around vacillating from a tense expression to an uplifted expression, expressing anxiety & naivete. She rarely sports a relaxed expression, which she does frequently once her image makeover is through, although there a numerous instances when Andrea deftly uses her facial expressions to convey her emotions. A prominent scene which springs to mind is when she is trying to appease her boyfriend Nate, and dons an uplifted expression