If my Twitter stream is to be believed, I was the only female, 20-something writer in New York City who was NOT invited to the Sex and the City premiere last night. (Could it have been because of this? Or this? Or this? Hmmm.) Certainly, each picture Julia Allison staged at the event offers up at least 1,000 word on the matter, but who has time to do all that reading? Jeff Wells‘ take is much more succinct:
The film is another Taliban recruitment film — a grotesque and putrid valentine to the insipid “me, my lifestyle, my accessories and I” chick culture of the early 21st Century. Guys everywhere — if you’re in a brand-new relationship, take her to see this thing. If she even half-likes it, dump her and walk away cold. Save yourself!
Funny side note: I remember the moment when, as a senior in college, I decided that I could no longer in good conscience watch Sex and the City. It was, I think, the premiere of the first season to air after 9/11, and there was a scene where Carrie announced that she was going to help rebuild downtown by going shopping. It was such a direct aping of George W. Bush’s commerce-as-opiate for the troubled masses prescriptive of the time that it seemed like the ultimate sign that the show had cut loose the thread of critique that once seemed to be woven into its pornographic depiction of excessive consumption.
We obviously couldn’t have hoped that the movie would have transcended the worst aspects of the show––at least, not after having heard Fergie’s theme song––but I honestly didn’t think it was going to go as far as this, to become the embodiment of not just what *I* hate, but Why They Hate Us.
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As one fan said, “We waited in line 21/2 hours. I guess we’ll go drink a Cosmo or five now.”
But what’s the real difference between not watching Sex
and the City and watching tons of other movies
(which you have to do for your work) that were made
possible because of the existence
of a wealthy country & filmed entertainment as
commodity/product culture? I have no plans to see
the Sex/City movie either (but I did like some early episodes
of the TV show), but, I don’t see
how skipping the TV show or the movie
is a defiant act against “consumerism”.
On the reverse, you could argue that Sex/City
is a show is a positive thing, one that advances female
freedom & empowerment
in a world where women are killed in shockingly high
numbers for acting on their desire for sex or
what others perceive as
their desire for sex/romance, etc. (this happens in Asia
mostly - Pakistan, India, etc. plus no doubt in many
other ultra-conservative places of the world).
The world depicted in Sex/City is a far better
alternative than the current world in which many
women are killed or at least siginificantly
harrased for trying to have a say in what they
do with their romantic & sexual lives.
- Sujewa
I never said that I was engaged in a “defiant act against consumerism” –– I just stopped buying into a brand when it started to disappoint me. And to say that SatC shows a “better” version of life than what’s available to real women in the 3rd world is sort of silly, considering that most women in the first world acknowledge that it’s basically a fairy tale.
Hmmm, maybe I just know some unusual first world women
I have met real people with similar life elements (incidents, habits) to those depicted in Sex/City. According to the reviews I read of where the four ladies end up (one with an adopted kid & married, one dating a younger man, one living with a rich dude, and one living in Brooklyn, married, with a kid; if I recall correctly) - relationship wise - I don’t think those are fantasy destinations; rather places that probably a lot of American & other women visit at some point during their lives.
Re: first world media influencing third world lives - US media/TV shows definitely have an effect (overall, for the better I think) world wide. So, shows & movies depicting women w/ sexual freedom definitely will support third world people who are interested in some of that freedom.
My view is that there are far worse things than shopping & sleeping with people (or movies that show/celebrate such things). A lot of people in this weary world can use some HBO style comedy-drama for a little bit of an escape from their troubles; and that escapism/dream time might even give them some hope (false or otherwise; maybe inspiration or motivation is a better word than hope) that will help them deal with grim realities that they are otherwise surrounded by.
The above approach; of comedic escapism/realism laced with heavy doses of wish fulfillment helping people/or appealing to people with real problems - has worked well for Hollywood for decades (success of H-wood movies during the Great Depression, for example). And I think it’ll continue to work.
I watched & enjoyed Entourage; and I hear that show was a male version of Sex/City. Entourage was an enjoyable show, I didn’t watch it for a record of downbeat realism.
Also, happy endings are as real as unhappy ones. Sure we all die in the end, but a lot of us have many happy & fulfilling moments before that.
What was that quote from Sullivan’s Travels?
- Sujewa
I can’t find the Sullivan’s Travels quote that I was referring to above (something about escapist entertainment being “not much but that’s all we have in this messed up world…”, something like that). But here’s some dialogue from the pic that relates to this discussion re: the value of Sex/City:
“Sullivan: This picture is an ANSWER to Communists. It shows we’re awake and not dunking our heads in the sand like a bunch of ostriches. I want this picture to be a commentary on modern conditions, stark realism, the problems that confront the average man.
Lebrand: But with a little sex.
Sullivan: A little, but I don’t want to stress it. I want this picture to be a document. I want to hold a mirror up to life. I want this to be a picture of dignity - a true canvas of the suffering of humanity.
Lebrand: But with a little sex.
Sullivan: With a little sex in it.
Hadrian: How about a nice musical?
Sullivan: How can you talk about musicals at a time like this? With the world committing suicide, with corpses piling up in the street, with grim death gargling at you from every corner, with people slaughtered like sheep!
Hadrian: Maybe they’d like to forget that.”
From http://www.filmsite.org/sull.html
Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
- Sujewa
i want to be play in your films…videos
The women in this show/movie are not empowered or sexually liberated; they are desperate, clingy, whiny, selfish, and shallow. Somewhere along the line we mistook high-maintenance for empowerment.
If the life of Carrie Bradshaw is supposed to represent my fantasy life… yikes!
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