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Why I Love...Sex and the City

The cast of Sex and the City
  • Posted at 12:05pm
  • 09 June 2008
  • by JacquelineWheeler-RT
  • 3 comments

Whenever Sex and the City comes under attack for being silly and shallow, there's a female columnist ready to leap to its defence and list its feminist credentials. But the whole point of SATC is its shameless fascination with the things that make so many women tick - fashion, relationships and gossip - delivered with brilliant comic irony. SATC fans don't need a lecture in female morality and the evils of consumerism. Virtually every joke in the show points up the absurdity of lusting after designer shoes or dating totally inappropriate men. But in doing so it's also mischievously hinting "who cares?".

The alleged raison d'être of the series is to portray the relationship between four women and their search for true love in the ruthless, superficial world of Manhattan's rich and fashionable. But the happy fact is, by the time we're into season four - one of the best - the average female viewer would give her eyeteeth to be questing through that world.

SATC isn't interested in reality, and that's its strength. Who cares if Carrie Bradshaw's weekly column earns her a salary that provides her with an investment banker's clothing allowance and pays for all the endless bar, brunch and café outings to boot? This is city life for city-loving women, presented in terms of what you would do if you had the cash, the time and the total freedom from responsibility to live it to the full.

Importantly, all the stars are over 30 and, with the possible exception of Charlotte, none are typically Hollywood gorgeous. Not that they don't look ravishing on screen. After all, they never leave their apartments in anything less than a catwalk look. But their charisma lies as much in their witty take on life and the energy with which they apply themselves to living it than in any pre-shoot powdering.

This is one of the show's most seductive myths - that women with vibrant characters and plenty to say never fail to seduce the men they are attracted to. If SATC were to be believed, merely to walk into a cocktail bar is to meet a rich, handsome bachelor ready to lavish time and money on you. The sad truth is that most men would be terrified by this quartet of superconfident, supersexy females.

Anyway, the male characters are essentially bit parts - even the ones who spend a lot of time in the series. Steve is a tiresome leech, Harry is funny but most would struggle with his personal habits, Smith is a model (what else can one say?) and Aidan is fine if you like dull and controlling. Unfortunately for these men, there's just no competition - even my husband thinks Big is great. In a sense he's a personification of the city they live in: expansive, seductive, charming, dazzling and fun. Why does Carrie never give up on him? This is probably one of the few truly realistic elements in the show and requires no explanation.

For Carrie is at the heart of this glamorous romp through the bright lights. She is the eternal party girl with the dazzling smile and an unerring conviction - secretly shared by us devoted followers - that a new dress, a pair of strappy sandals and cocktails with your best friends is pretty much all it takes to make a woman really happy. And that, in a nutshell, is the delicious fantasy that keeps us coming back for more.

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Comments

  • Posted on 30 April 2009
  • at 7:57am
  • by null

I think that Sex and the City was created as entertainment for those women who feel not quite good in bed with men. In general, it is a movie for relaxation and not a teaching book.

  • Posted on 09 January 2009
  • at 8:02pm
  • by Chanel

I could give two hoots less about what anyone says about the series or the movie. I LOVE Sex And The City. The entire concept may not be based on saving the world or the essentials of neuroscience, but it is very relevant to world of inner city women who balance life, friends and relationships all while trying to be sexy and hip. No, all of the "themes" of the show aren't the the best to hammer into a young girls mind. But when every young girl grows up, none of us make the best decisions, stress over the best issues or fall for the best guy anyway, and that is what the show is about. Showing women how to live life and make mistakes on that quest for love and not get down and out on yourself about it. People seem quick to forget the fact that all four of these women are professional, career-minded, college educated women who make their own money, pay their own bills and still have time to nurture friendships. That is something that every young girl does indeed need to learn.

  • Posted on 01 January 2009
  • at 5:59pm
  • by S

Disgraceful.

What about the utterly farcical 'lesson' taught at the end, that life is about so much more than shoes, when the film itself is nothing more than a string of adverts.

jacqueline, you should be ashamed to back such a vacuous film.

what does it say to young teenage girls who watch? spend lots of money on fashion and make sure you're thin.

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