📙 Part 2: Describe a character from a movie or film that you like

This episode's vocabulary

Abrasive (adj.) - rude and unfriendly.

To cut someone down to size (idiom) - to show someone that they are not as clever or important as they think.

Underling (noun) - a person of low rank and little authority who works for someone more important.

Caustic (adj.) - a caustic remark or way of speaking is hurtful, critical, or intentionally unkind.

Flight of fantasy (idiom) - an idea that shows a lot of imagination but is not practical.

Schadenfreude (noun) - a feeling of pleasure or satisfaction when something bad happens to someone else.

To reenact (verb) - to repeat the actions of an event that happened in the past as a hobby or as a performance.

Dressing down (noun) - an act of speaking angrily to someone because they have done something wrong.

Flippant (noun) - not serious about a serious subject, in an attempt to be funny or to appear clever.

Incisive (adj.) - expressing an idea or opinion in a clear and direct way that shows good understanding of what is important.

Dismissive (adj.) - showing that you do not think something is worth considering.

To exemplify (verb) - to be or give a typical example of something.

Aspire to something (phrasal verb) - to have a strong wish or hope to do or have something.

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Questions and Answers

M: So, Rory, are you ready with your story?

R: I'm very ready with my story. I love this character.

M: Off you go.

R: I absolutely loved Miranda Priestly in "The Devil Wears Prada", which is a movie based on the book of the same name. I think the film came out in 2005. But I didn't watch it until around about 2011 with my best friend who I just met at the time. She's allegedly based on Anna Wintour, the famous editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine, and has a very abrasive direct manner. She's also incredibly well dressed as her position in the movie demands since Miranda is also the editor of a fashion magazine. She's got a special place in my heart since while I do believe in treating people well until they fail to return the favour. It's extremely entertaining to watch her cut down her underlings with her caustic remarks, and ridiculously high and unrealistic expectations. It's quite the flight of fantasy. It's not quite what she does, but the way that she does it, as if what she was saying is totally normal and natural. There's a nice little bit of Schadenfreude that goes with the whole thing that makes it hilarious to watch and reenact with people who are also in the know. There's one particular scene in the movie where she gives her assistant a good dressing-down for being flippant about the role, the fashion industry and the decisions in it play. She's obviously very incisive, well-informed, and of course, completely correct. It's not just something casual, it really does represent uncountable jobs that people rely on to make a living and to be so casually dismissive of it, it's not only rude, but quite ignorant as well, I would say. Of course, if it were me in that position, I'd have explained it a bit more nicely. But sometimes cutting someone down to size is exactly what they need. And, well, it's movie, it's not real. If I hadn't seen this movie, I doubt I'd have picked this kind of character because she doesn't exemplify the sort of behaviour that I aspire to. But at the same time, it's like I said, she's quite a flight of fantasy about misbehaviour. And who doesn't like that from time to time?

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Discussion

M: So you spoke about Miranda Priestly. "The Devil Wears Prada" Oh, I love this film. This is a great film. Miranda is just amazing. Yeah. And it's not the actor that Rory talked about. It's the character.

R: The actress was Meryl Streep that played her.

M: Amazing actress. But Rory talked about the character, Miranda. And this movie is based on the book with the same name, "The Devil Wears Prada". A nice book. Have you read the book?

R: I did. I, although, funnily I read the book, after I watched the film, because I only found the book in my first apartment in Moscow, and that was the chance that I had to read it. It's very different to the movie.

M: Oh, right. The film came out in 2005. So it came out, it appeared in 2005. And then Rory said, she's allegedly based on Anna Wintour. So the character is based on a real person. So this character is based on the famous editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine. Hey!

R: I suppose I should have said she's infamous because of the attitude that's portrayed in the film. But apparently, in real life, she's much more demure, and a lot less in your face.

M: And this person, this real person has a very abrasive and direct manner.

R: Yeah. So if your manner is abrasive, then it makes people... And it's like, it's not a pleasant experience. It's like having a cold shower.

M: And then the character in the film, Miranda, is also the editor of a fashion magazine.

R: Yes. Well, I mean, to be honest, in hindsight, that should have been obvious because if she's based on the editor of a fashion magazine, then of course, she would be the fashion magazine as well. But I just wanted to say that she was incredibly well-dressed. So that's like adverb and adjective together for describing how she looks.

M: And then Rory says that she's got a special place in my heart. So this character has got a special place in my heart. Hmm, that's nice. And then you explain why. Since. Since means why, and then blah, blah, blah. It is extremely entertaining. To watch this character, to watch her cut down her underlings. So underlings, people who work under her. So she's a big boss, so she has underlings.

R: I suppose I really should have said subordinates because that's the more polite version. Underlings is like, people who are beneath me.

M: Yeah. subordinates. Yeah, they also, actually, I've heard that subordinates even is a little bit... So you should say like colleagues or people you work with. So you give more details about the character and Rory used this strange word, which looks German. There's a nice little bit of...

R: Schadenfreude. That just means taking pleasure in the misery of others, which sounds really cruel. But it is so funny to watch on the film. If you haven't seen that film, then you should definitely watch it. It's very entertaining, but do not behave like that in real life. I mean, clearly, that is not how the world should work, you should be nicer to people.

M: And then you can mention a specific scene from the movie. So a scene like a moment, right? It's not a stage, it's a scene. There's one particular scene in the movie where she, so the character that you love, and does something. So you described when Miranda gives her assistant a good dressing down.

R: So a dressing down is just when you, well, explain to somebody why they've made a complete mess of things. And very, very indiscreetly, very directly, telling them exactly what they've done wrong.

M: And here, dear listener, we do use a lot of adjectives to describe this character, right? So descriptive adjectives. So she's well informed. She is correct. She's direct.

R: But she's not just direct. She's incisive, which just means to, like, sees things very clearly, and well-informed, which means she understands things very well. And of course, completely correct, which just means she's right.

M: And then Rory uses a strategy, he imagines that like, what if I were in that position? If it were me in that position, in the position of the main character, Miranda. If it were me, or if it was me, you can say both versions, I'd have explained it a bit more nicely, because Miranda in that scene, she wasn't really nice. She was a little bit rude, but correct, but a bit rude. So if it were me, I'd have done this. Yeah? So I'd have explained it a bit more nicely. The third conditional here, I would have explained, because we're referring to the past, and this is an imaginary situation. And also the third conditional in the last sentences. If I hadn't seen this movie. Remember our favourite strategy? So if I hadn't seen this movie, but Rory did see the movie. So if we're imagining the kind of things in the past. If I hadn't seen this movie, I'd have picked another character, for example. I'd have chosen another character, but I did choose this character.

R: That's such a cheat, though. It's like, if I hadn't chosen this character, I would have chosen someone else. Like, well, duh.

M: Yeah.

R: But it's true. Like, it's a fact. Um, so if you're running out of things to say, and time is still there, why not talk, why not say like, I would, if I hadn't chosen this character, well, I would have chosen someone else I suppose. But I did actually explain, if I hadn't seen this movie, then I doubt I'd have picked this kind of character. So it was like the introduction to an explanation of why I picked this person. But it's still a bit cheap. So that's why it's at the end, because I was running out of ideas. And we still had something like 10 seconds to go probably.

M: And then you said that it's not the sort of behaviour that I aspire to. Aspire to something. So like, what did you mean by that? Aspire to the behaviour?

R: Oh, it's not the kind of behaviour that I would want to see in myself. I'd like to be a nicer person.

M: Hmm. What helped you organize the answer?

R: Well, as always, the card did. Because I had to say who it was. And when I first saw the film, and what their character is like, and then say why I like them. The only big departure from all of those points, because I ran out of things to say, was when I talked about the particular scene, but that was only to describe the character in more details. So I started off saying, there's one particular scene in the movie where and then explaining what happens, and then talking about what my reaction would have been, but I'd covered all of the points that I needed to cover so it doesn't hurt. And of course, I still had to explain about the character was like, and I've just added in a bit more information that way. So it's like an example of what she's like really. But again, I didn't start by saying, I want to talk about a character in a movie that I saw. It's like, it's not like robot, it was like I absolutely loved and then this person, and then talking about when I first saw it, well, I came to that later. This film came out in 2005, I didn't watch it until 2011. Mostly because in 2005, I was still in high school, and not terribly fashion-conscious. So that's why I didn't do it. And then like we talked about, we're running out of things to say again, and still have time on the clock. So if I hadn't seen this movie, I doubt I'd have picked this character because she's not like the kind of person I would like to be. It's just it was funny to watch. Although I did have a poster of Miranda Priestly above my office at work, I don't know if you remember.

M: Oh, wow. No, I don't remember.

R: Do you not remember? She was above my desk. Maybe I was much more like her than I cared to think.

M: Right, dear listener, please make a choice now what character you're going to talk about. You can talk about a person. Also, if it is a cartoon, you can talk about... I like this tiger in this cartoon or maybe you talk about Nemo and you like Nemo or Madagascar? And like, I don't know, the lion.

R: Is that how you would have talked about?

M: I think... What would I talk about? Maybe I'd talk about "Fight Club".

R: What?

M: "Fight Club".

R: I know the film but why?

M: I like Brad Pitt.

R: Really?

M: No, but Brad Pitt is an actor... But the character...

R: Who was the character?

M: Oh, I'd talk about Marla. There we go. Marla in the "Fight Club".

R: Oh, my God, Marla in "Fight Club" is really funny.

M: Just for the fun of it. Yeah, she's funny. She's kind of like...

R: Prepare to evacuate soul.

M: Nice, Yeah, yeah, yeah. Prepare to evacuate soul.

R: It's like so off the wall.

M: Yeah. So, there you go, dear listener, you see. Yeah, but you should know adjectives to describe this character, okay? And some bits above the plot.

R: So you don't lose the plot.

M: Thank you very much for listening! And we're gonna get back to you with speaking part three, where we talk about actors and acting in general, okay?

R: Bye!

M: Bye!

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