My mother once said you can tell a lot about a person’s personality based on the shoes he or she wears. That’s not far from the truth. I am a sneakers type of gal (I like oxford shoes as well but only when I am indoors). Rain or shine, I love to walk. I walked everywhere, including getting groceries. It’s a great form of exercise and obtaining mental clarity. Unfortunately, as much as I like my beaten-up sneakers, not everyone finds my shoes adorable, especially my mother who often scolded me for my unkempt appearance because we all know that beauty is a woman’s pride! Mine speaks to a lack of self-respect (ouch!). You only get one chance to make an impression. People might even associate me with a lack of funds in the bank account after seeing me wear the same shoes every day, but why should that matter? We all know who are real friends are in times of need.
After watching a chic Netflix show called Atelier, the concept can’t be truer. Women often choose clothes to express their inner beauty. In this case, the show uses lingerie and not shoes to illustrate this point. A lingerie is a metaphor for beauty. After all, lingerie is not meant to be displayed out in the open because real beauty, according to the show, is hidden and each woman defines it differently.
You are probably thinking it’s just a show about women and their obsession with inner beauty. Not entirely true. It’s about creators who wish to express themselves a bit more freely apart from doing business. Making money and creating art are two different things. The show points that out. If you are an artist or a creative person, I think you can empathize with the characters very well. We often struggle with creating things we don’t always want to make, but we do it anyway because there is a market for them. For instance, there is a scene that shows the protagonist doing heavy research to find inspiration for her lingerie collection but later is reminded that her approach to finding inspiration is incorrect: Creativity comes within the creator and not the other way around.
Another thing I liked about the show was watching the main character (Mayuko Tokita) and the side character (Mayumi Nanjo) interact like mother and daughter. They don’t always agree with each other. The mother-like character was always scolding the unruly daughter. It was nice to see the characters’ development in the show. They all grew and as a result, I learned something very valuable along with them. It’s time to upgrade my sneakers to high heels because I’m done running away like a little girl. It’s time I stood my ground like a real woman.
I am surprised how much I enjoyed the show. I didn’t expect much from it. I recommend this show, especially to the female audience or if you are one of those people who are in tune with your creative side.
Note: Originally posted on Mar. 29, 2019, revised May. 12, 2022
Fishing for Metaphors 