Behind the glitz and glam of the tinsel town, there’s a harsh reality that no one really talks about. ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2‘ does precisely that, except its larger focus is on print media. It is a critique of fashion magazines and their caricaturing, but that’s not all.
Above all, the movie is a tragic eulogy for modern journalism. The trends, the catchiness, and the exclusivity, as well as the advancements, all play into real-life scenarios. It is a refreshing take on reportage and its process, and here’s what makes it so brilliant.
The Insufferable Exclusivity Of Trendiness
The thing with trends is that they’re ever-changing, be it fashion or, here, content. Runway, as a magazine, is down in the dumps, especially with its decreasing traffic. Nigel precisely points out the catchiness and hook that has taken away the magazine’s charm.
It is quite the contrast considering they used to write long, lengthy, articulate features. The print media is something that is slowly fading away with the advent of digital publications. It represents everything human in society: the emotions, the physical sensation and smell of a written text, and, most importantly, the labor.
The switch is what eventually shifts Runway’s fate as a result of everyone trying to adhere to the new framework. Writers, social media managers, and the staff align with a more clickbait system that is eye-catching.
This also seems synonymous with their audience as well. While print media earlier had innumerable readers, Runway is now tilting towards a more niche-based approach.
This brings with it a more exclusive and elitist perspective that caters to a particular section. It is also done to maintain and sustain their relationship with sponsors and advertisers such as Dior. While Runway succeeds in holding its reins, there’s one thing that still threatens its stance and stature.
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Social Commentary On The Advent Of AI
The AI takeover of the creative industry and its eventual ‘influence’ isn’t too surprising now, is it? We all know how the advent of artificial intelligence and the tools are replacing jobs gradually.
Be it writers, filmmakers, producers, designers, artists, or even singers, no one is exempt from this. This discourse made its way to the fashion industry, especially through David Frankel’s movie.
It is a final wake-up call for Miranda Priestly, which also serves as an important moment. The scene itself solidifies Miranda’s, Andy’s, and Nigel’s work relationship. But as they say, too little, too late.
In retrospect, Benji’s vision for the Runway thus becomes a threat not to the livelihood but to the creative identity. The idea of AI visuals replacing carefully curated cover photos is baffling.
To make it even more interesting, the movie does an AI slop take by reducing Miranda Priestly to a meme in one of the scenes. It is yet another take on how present-day journalistic pages practice paparazzi flair instead of actual reportage. When sensationalism takes over, it adds to the chaos and the noise, but here’s where things get interesting.
The movie itself didn’t use AI for Miranda’s slop photo. They instead hired Alexis Franklin, an illustrator who specializes in recreating images that look like AI.
It is an entire gag on the industry that conveniently steals from artists and yet deprives them of their true worth. It all comes full circle with the original characters reuniting and making a fresh start, but there’s a catch to that as well.
While it may all look happy and cheery, indeed, publications and journalism aren’t too far from their eventual collapse in the coming years.
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