A Sex And The City Criticism Backlash Rebuttal....

Well, I mean it IS, sort of, and I'm all for sub-text, but why should what is ostensibly the main theme of the SatC "universe" be so hidden as to be, on occasion, completely overlooked/absent and how hard should I have to dig to find it and why does the surface have to be so superficial? It's not the "credit card lifestyle" that offends me about the film, it's the idea that these women (and men) are mostly caricatures and ones that most people wouldn't be caught dead hanging out with. Plenty of TV shows and movies have deeper meanings below the surface, but at least the surface offers something entertaining.

I did watch the show for a year or two, off and on thereafter and to be honest, there were episodes and story lines that I liked on any number of levels, and on occasion it even touched me, emotionally. I am famous for being a sap at times and any story about babies, getting pregnant, trying to get pregnant or, god forbid, losing a pregnancy make me weepy at a minimum. That said, I can't ascribe any real importance to the show. It's not like it revolutionized the way women were portrayed on television, did it? If it did, it was, IMHO, in a bad way. How many Manolo Blahnik jokes can one culture take? How many times should Big and Carrie get together and break up before "not ready" just becomes a synonym for shallow and apathetic?

There are plenty of strong female characters on TV and in film and I don't begrudge those who say these women are indeed often strong. They hold out for what they want (mostly) and do the right thing (sometimes). That's great. I agree with that format. Even the most committed of us make mistakes and monumentally fuck things up. It's just that most of the time I find the world of SatC to be vacuous, sexist, reactionary and backwards. Was this what the Equal Rights Movement was about? Women's right to be as superficial and consumerist as their male counterparts? To sit around cafes and moan about not getting laid as often as the guys do? Talk about the lowest common denominator.

Hey, I am as big of a consumer as the next guy/gal. I love my big TV, I do like champagne and nice restaurants and (god help me) I am a fan of really nice shoes. I don't begrudge those things but you know what? That doesn't make for good drama. It's not a foundation and as a basis for character development. It's boring.

Just go on over to HBO's character pages and read the condensed tales of these "people" throughout the seasons of the series. Start with Carrie. Then vomit.