Lessons learned from Sex & The City

[Radical Activist]

I decided I don't need cable so the only thing half decent on TV at a certain hour is the edited version of Sex & The City on Fox. A female friend of mine even suggested I could learn something about women by watching the show. So far I have had two strong observations. First, Carrie had a great line when she said, "I thought all honest politicians lived in lofts and ate beans." A very funny and true statement.

My second principle impression from the show is that these women are freaking nuts. Carrie acts like the stereotype of every woman who keeps chasing after the man who treats her like crap (Big) and then treats a decent guy who is good to her like garbage and cheats on him. But lets not blame Big for being a total jerk because Carrie screws it up herself by being a neurotic nut-job who goes after "chemistry" because she has no idea what she really wants.

Seriously, most women can't really be this messed up, right? I thought it was just the women I date. It makes me think staying single a while longer is a good idea. :rant: Now I'll wait for someone to call me sexist.

[LynneSin]

1. It's just Big or as we all know him as - Mr Big

:D

I love SATC!

[Radical Activist]

2. mistake corrected

I have to admit the show has some entertainment value. As much as it annoys me, I still watch it.

[Orangepeel]

3. a TV show about well adjusted people would be pretty boring

All people have problems, but most women are not that messed up. Characters on TV tend to be exaggerated for dramatic/comedic purposes.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

14. Exaggerated characters--

Seinfeld, anyone?

:D

Love that show! (Seinfeld, not SatC).

[undeterred]

4. I don't have cable and they just started airing it on a local station

so I have watched about 6 shows.

I am single and have dated a lot, but I can't relate to these women.

They have lots of money, and all the men they meet have lots of money.

They spend lots of money on clothes and shoes, and don't really seem to care about a lot of things beyond themselves and their social lives. They don't know what it is to be financially stressed, lonely, unemployed, or on a diet!

They are invited to zillions of parties, and meet eligible men at every single one of them.

They don't think twice about walking around NY alone in heels in the middle of the night. I'd be carrying mace and wearing tennis shoes.

They have sex, lots of sex, with lots of different men. They don't worry about getting pregnant, catching a STD, or what anyone thinks about that.

So its a dream world more or less. My life is nothing like this and I don't know any single women who have a life like this.

And so far, I can't see what it really is that holds these friendships together other than having the same status in life- of being single professionals in their 30s or 40s living in NY.

Its entertaining, but I don't really get it.

Dating is like a shopping trip that never ends because you keep on returning the last one you bought.

[Radical Activist]

5. hmmmm

good points.

[CBHagman]

6. Actually, you should watch more of the series. (SPOILERS)

Do not read another line if you want to avoid SPOILERS.

Did you hear me? SPOILERS.

Last chance to avoid spoilers.

Sexually transmitted diseases make their appearance in SATC. So do one unplanned pregnancy, at least one miscarriage, chronic infertility, at least two cases of cancer (one with chemo, hair loss, and early menopause), heart disease, divorce, an accidental death, various questions about faith and conversion, one off-screen parent who dies of a heart attack, one on-screen parent who suffers from dementia, and so forth.

Yes, the bulk of the series is devoted to an upscale lifestyle and seemingly endless social life (Where do they get all the free time?). Yes, I also don't know anyone who lives the way the characters do (well, except for maybe Steve, the bartender).

Let's face it. Like the Depression era audiences who flocked to escapist fare at the movie house each week, current TV audiences enjoy the escapism of Sex and the City.

Also, to be fair, some of the behavior does ring true. I have one friend who doesn't share Charlotte's posh lifestyle or sexual history, but she certainly has a lot of Charlotte's personality down pat.

And I have to say I find the wisecracks entertaining.

And when you make a series about people who can't afford to buy a condo, almost never go on dates, and wouldn't drop $400 on a pair of shoes, call me! I can help you with research. :-)

[undeterred]

7. Come to think of it

Carrie did think she was pregnant last week, but she wasn't.

My series will be about women who are thrilled when they have a month where all the bills get paid; schedule an ob/gyn appt to ensure annual intimate contact with a man; buy shoes at PayLess, and buy pants that are half price or come from the Good Will! :)

[CBHagman]

8. You obviously travel in the same circles as I do.

;-)

Actually, the real themes of SATC are that A) disappointment lurks everywhere, regardless of the job, the outfit, the relationship, and B) good friends matter above all else.

[Darth_Kitten]

11. On the few times I've seen the show....

I wanted to smack the lot of them upside the head.

Sure women like shoes, but our lives aren't so easy and rosy. I would like to have their kinds of problems, but have my own real ones to contend with.

And, yeah, meeting men is SO easy. :eyes:

[GalleryGod]

29. Sorry. They mirror the lives of at least 4 women I know

who live and work in Manhattan...:applause:

[Blue-Jay]

9. The lesson I learned from that show?

TV is over-rated.

[Darth_Kitten]

10. that show is not realistic.......

:(

[LisaL]

12. Well, it would be kind of boring to watch a show that

was very realistic-after all, to watch real life, one doesn't need to watch a show.

[Darth_Kitten]

15. Are you kidding, real life is much more funny.....

Sex and the City, bad acting, and BORING. ;)

[LisaL]

20. Trying to make a living is not very funny to me.

:-(
It would be nice to not worry about money for a change, like those freaks on a show.

[robbedvoter]

23. Correct!

[WritingIsMyReligion]

13. YOU SEXIST JERK!!

Haha, no, just joshing you. :P :P

Some members of my sex are QUITE batty, I'll admit that right now. Just as some men are absolutely ridiculous, as well.

It's a human thing, I guess. :shrug:

:D :D

[Radical Activist]

27. Thanks!

Someone had to say it. :)

Of course, your point that craziness is a unisex attribute is completely correct.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

28. Of course it is.

I said it. Now go do my laundry for me!!!

:evilgrin:

;) ;)

[Vektor]

16. It's just for entertainment.

Of course, the characters are going to be totally over the top. It's not just the women that are nuts. There are a lot of asshole guys on that show, too.

It's just a funny show about a bunch of "out there" people who do bizarre things...

I wouldn't tie myself in knots trying to make sense of any of it. It's just fiction.

I personally love the show for a few reasons. Love the clothes, it's beautifully shot cinematography-wise, and it showcases women who are beautiful, sexy, desirable, and are actually adults! Their characters are in their 30's and forties...and still quite hot. Most shows feature teen-aged girls as the only acceptable standard of beauty. While there are many attractive young women, there are many different types of beauty and it occurs at all different ages...

The fact that Sex And The City is not afraid to suggest this, makes it a kick-ass show in my book.

[CBHagman]

17. Guys of a certain age, too.

And guys without hair (except on their back, har, har), guys without promising jobs, etc.

[Vektor]

19. Very true!

The guy I liked best of all was the one Charlotte married toward the end of the series.

He was cue-bald, a little pudgy, and Jewish.

I happen to love a bald cranium, and he was the cutest one on the show, I thought.

[latebloomer]

18. It's a confection!

A delicious tangy-sweet lemon sorbet that melts on the tongue.

My husband stopped watching it because he got so pissed off that Carrie seemed to spend about 10 minutes a day working on her laptop and somehow had enough money to live an extravagant lifestyle, complete wit $400 Manolos.

I say, Chill, don't take it so seriously, it's just escapist entertainment! I thought it was great.

And you're right, sexy women on TV who are not pubescent are a GOOD thing!

[Vektor]

21. Carrie is the one who inspires me to stay on the treadmill and pick up

the weights. Whenever I feel like I just want to lay around and eat cheeseburgers, I put in a SATC DVD and remind myself that she is fit as all get out at FORTY and most women half her age don't look that good, and that I want to look that good.

Sure, she has personal trainers, and all sorts of other perks, but she STILL has to do the physical work herself.

She's awesome, I think. And she keeps me exercising. :-)

[robbedvoter]

22. The author of the book used for the series is a Bush lover

So, that counts for SOME of Carrie's bad habits (shoes&status obsessions )
The entire story is a mess - and I know women are better than this - even in NYC!
Those women ARE FREAKING NUTS - but judging all women by their standard makes you sexist - and in danger of becoming a mysogynist.
been watching this on HBO as the show we loved to hate....

[YellowRubberDuckie]

24. Most women are that nuts...

Most of them just hide it quite well.
Mel

[Missy Vixen]

25. Okay, here's what I learned from "SATC"

I am in my mid-40's. Even if I could afford Manolo Blahniks and Jimmy Choos, I am too old to wear them. I could never drink as much as they do. I'm not into clubbing. I'm also not into the sheer numbers of guys these women (even fictionally,) are doing the horizontal mambo with. The show's fun, though.

I still know single women who insist on going back to their personal "Big".

Julie

[Radical Activist]

26. Epilogue

Against my best judgment I admitted to my hot date last night that I've been watching SATC because she asked what TV shows I watch. We had a good laugh over certain aspects, like the male v. female perspective of Carrie's blow ups over completely innocuous, inconsequential things that she has assigned huge symbolic importance to. I have to laugh over how often I've been taken by surprise when someone I'm dating does that. I guess the ability to relate at some level is what makes the show entertaining. I'll see if I get a second date with her.