Let me just say this first:
I really like(d) Sex and The City.
I probably even love(d) it.
I have seen every episode (several times even), I own that godforsaken pink velvet box WITH ALL THE SEASONS IN IT and am definitely going to see the movie at some point this week(end).
I mean, yes, Carrie is horribly annoying, and they are all a bunch of whiniest, most immature adults to ever walk the TV screen under pretense of urban enlightenment and there are episodes I want to throw knives at while watching, but HEY-we grew up on it, and you know, even (Best) friends can get a little wearing after a while, let alone imaginary ones
But, I will admit….
The first time I saw the trailer, I did get a little giddy and grabbed Alexandra’s hand (who was, in my defense, equally giddy)
Having said that, THE SHIT IS GETTING A LITTLE OUT OF CONTROL PEOPLE.
Gossip girl, schmossip girl, SJP and friends have taken over the newsstands in a way that I formerly thought unimaginable.
On my recent pilgrimage to the news place on Connecticut and Florida (Best newspaper store in the city, FYI) there they were: On the cover of Vogue, a whole issue of Entertainment Weekly (which I love, against all better judgement) dedicated to recapping EVERY SINGLE EPISODE, my inbox FILLED to brim with “pink and cosmopolitan” pre-parties (DOES ANYONE EVEN DRINK COSMOS ANYMORE?), and the trailer itself becoming so ubiquitous that I am sort of hiding from it now, and looking forward to seeing “Don’t mess with Zojan” more.
It is all going to prove more counterproductive than anything.
Example:
Their own city is renouncing it at this point.
(I would too considering that they picked LONDON (!) at the World Premiere location. Sacriligeous as can be, really.)
At least they made SJP wear this hat as a punishment:
I understand that HBO is kind of a niche market and you are trying to pimp out a big summer blockbuster (with the likes of Indiana Jones and Iron Man as competition) and so you need to expand your horizons and appeal to masses (while already receiving middling reviews) BUT…
The whoring out of the “urban female” stereotype is so over-the-top, no self respecting (and actually city dwelling) female will admit to identifying with it AT THIS POINT.
(I’m not even going to go into the inevitably male reactions)
The oversaturating of the existent (cool, early adopter) fan base is going to lead to the inevitable:
those provincial (AM I REALLY USING THIS WORD?) women with scrunchies, SATC ladies made fun of on the show are going to be the ones, who now, 10 years later, will cruise out flower pins on their jackets (which while premiered at the show have filtered down to the Gap 2 or 3 years a go) and then make their husbands watch the kids for one extra hour so they could go and “have a cosmo with the girls”.
As Becca said:
I want to see the movie but I am really afraid of the crowds. ESPECIALLY crowds of WOMEN WHO WANT TO SEE SEX AND THE CITY”.
Maybe we can all just wait for the DVD and enjoy the girls in our living room, like we did and loved before.
But then, who am I kidding?
See you at the movies this weekend (though probably at a 10 am matinee, as my happy hours start nice and early), and in the meantime, enjoy this:
Svetlana, what is SATC?
May 29, 2008 at 2:32 pmSex
And
The
City
we are all too lazy, I know.
May 29, 2008 at 2:36 pmOh boy…now I’m embarrassed. I really should have figured that one out at least.
May 29, 2008 at 2:42 pmAs I never seem to get tired of saying: I have a special, simmering disgust for the self-absorbed women of SATC.
May 29, 2008 at 3:03 pmsome fun facts about the movie.
There are multiple midnight showings of the film tonight.
The AMC tysons corner showtimes of 730, 830, and 940 on Friday are already sold out.
The movie is 150 minutes long, which is almost as long as the entirety of Season 5.
May 29, 2008 at 3:21 pmsome fun facts about Lord Jason.
He knows a lot about SATC.
May 29, 2008 at 3:28 pmit’s actually true.
I have seen every episode.
I know who Skipper is.
I know how many times Carrie was engaged to Aiden.
I know who Big cheated on.
I also know that this makes me just a little bit of a big homo.
May 29, 2008 at 3:36 pmman oh man. i too was giddy about this.
also, someecards has released like 8347935 cards inspired by this movie… mostly backlash. tis fantastic
That Time Out cover is the most counterproductive thing I h ave ever seen. Let’s denounce the publicity by putting SATC on the cover! Brilliant.
So anyway I’ll be at a morning showing on Saturday. But seriously…150 minutes long?
May 29, 2008 at 4:48 pmI’ll be at this movie. I’ve already gotten my tickets for Sunday. I’m not missing out on this little piece of history. And, to support a movie, series, and cultural influence that is incredibly vilified.
I’m not saying I think the show is the best thing ever made; far from it. I watch the reruns and am amazed at the stupid fucking puns and occasionally, what a narcissist Carrie is. (Note I said Carrie, not all the chix; more on that in a second.) But I have this sickening feeling (I think it’s called “my feminist consciousness”, which often leaves me ill) that a lot of the vitriol aimed at the show/movie is misogynistic in nature - however subtle. The cover of the New York Press has stilletoed feet and legs sticking out of trash cans. Clever way of “trashing” the movie, or a violent image of women a la the Esquire and Hustler covers? Time Out has the ladies with duct tape on their mouths: shut up, BITCHES! Am I reading too much into it? Perhaps, but can you imagine a movie/show about 4 male friends that would incite such hatred and violent imagery? I kind of doubt it.
The show constantly comes under fire for indulging four self-involved, self-obsessed women, as if, I guess, only men sit around discussing things Other Than Themselves, which makes them Better People? Come on, y’all; self-obsession and talking about relationships and all that crap is the stuff of life itself (add or remove shopping-talk as you like). We all do it, regardless of gender. But when women do it, it’s neurotic, it’s annoying, it’s frivolous. And when women in a movie/show do it, forget it. It’s not “real” cinema or art and if it’s a guilty pleasure, it’s one that is without any merit (I guess classic boy guilty pleasures, like shit blowing up and gratiuitous boobies, are immune to that sort of criticism; oh well).
What would be nice if the choices women got for entertainment were a bit deeper than what SATC offers, you know? This is what we get. So we find ways to relate to it, but it’s still considered trite and stupid and the writing isn’t the best and the characters are one-dimenisional and, on top of all that, are supposed to represent ALL women AND feminism (or, really, post-feminism) to boot? It’s tough out there for a bitch, and the media is reminding me of that quite well with all the subtly-gender-based SATC backlash. Hate on it if you want, but I draw the line when the hate turns nasty and becomes about all women rather than these four fake ones, which, unfortunately, it often does.
May 29, 2008 at 5:09 pmkim, you’re SOOO a Miranda.
May 29, 2008 at 6:44 pmAnd I’m so over hearing about bratty behind the scenes fighting on shows with a predominantly female cast: SATC, Desperate Housewives, even the Spice Girls reunion tour supposedly ended because they couldn’t play nice and get along. It’s so fucking stupid and makes us all look bad.
And while the media makes these women rivals we get the total opposite story about the guys. It’s all practical jokes, yacht time, and bromancing for Cloones, Damon, and Pitt. Interesting, no? bleghhhhhhhhh.
May 29, 2008 at 8:19 pmKim - dudes don’t sit around gossiping and discussing relationships. We just don’t. A show about four guys talking about relationships would be about 10 seconds long:
“You still seeing (insert name here).”
“Yeah.”
“Cool. I like her.”
End.
or
“you still seeing (insert name here)?”
“No. We broke up.”
“Oh. Ok. You ok?”
“Yeah.”
End
If women don’t want to be viewed as cheap, tawdry, gossip obsessed morons, then don’t support shows/movies/magazines about cheap, tawdry, gossip obsessed morons.
Because if people don’t know you, and they see you watching and or reading movies and or magazines about cheap, tawdry, gossip obsessed morons then there’s only so many conclusions you can make.
May 29, 2008 at 10:04 pmoh, michael, do you believe it is possible for a woman to read/watch those cheap, tawdry, gossip obsessed morons, without being one? is it possible that there are some women who live vicariously through those characters?
and i don’t believe for a minute that guys aren’t that way at all, everyone has secrets and everyone will eventually be outed.
people may complain about drama, but everyone enjoys it, even if it’s just a little bit.
May 29, 2008 at 10:36 pmTo kim:
“Perhaps, but can you imagine a movie/show about 4 male friends that would incite such hatred and violent imagery? I kind of doubt it.”
Ever heard of “Entourage”?
May 30, 2008 at 6:11 amso you guys are all gun-packing spies because that’s the kind of stuff you all watch? it’s called escapism. some things you relate to, some things you wish you could relate to, and some shit you’re glad has nothing to do with your real life.
May 30, 2008 at 8:42 amAmanda, that’s just it. Guys do have secrets. They don’t sit around and gossip about their love lives and so on - other than the “dude, she can suck a golf ball through a garden hose!” mention from time to time.
“Outing secrets” is something girls get off on.
And no, I am not casting a net over all women. If you fit the bill (LNS) then you fit the bill. If you don’t, then you don’t.
But the reason this stuff is marketed towards women (along with Cosmo and all that other trash) is because women are the ones that buy it.
That’s why they have Guns and Ammo and Racer X for dudes.
May 30, 2008 at 9:43 ami didn’t realize people hated entourage so much. interesting!
to the rest of you: i’m tired and my neck hurts so bad i can only move like i’m wearing a batman suit (BOY STUFF ALERT), so i can’t chime in any further. very interesting debate. now let’s all get drunk this weekend and forget all about anything with deep social meaning!
May 30, 2008 at 9:59 amTake a look at these comments, some folks would have us believe SATC is akin to an action movie for “chicks”. I guess I could agree seeing as though 99.9% of action movies are complete fucking turds that only serve to highlight what is wrong with a particular segment of our society. However, trying to attach any kind of social relevance to nearly anything coming out of the entertainment industry in hollywood, NY or anywhere else would be reading far too deep, even when the argument for relevancy is based on trying to demonstrate a target audience’s complete idiocy. That said, Let’s all get high and/or drunk tonight there is nothing worth fighting for.
May 30, 2008 at 2:36 pmmichael, i appreciate your nod to LNS (hello, ladies!).
I saw the movie today, it was all I hoped it would be. Delicious and trashy. mmm….
May 30, 2008 at 7:41 pmseriously Michael
just had a conversation with my dad about this
because i can’t stand stereotypical Persian immigrant women who can’t stop gossiping
my father pointed it it’s a non gender specific trait
and even proposed it might be related to work ethic/habit
my Uncle Nasser, was never one to gossip, back in Iran when he was working all the time
but when he came to the US and shored up his wealth, spending time at home without a home office to retreat to, he started picking on his wife in the kitchen, questioning how she cooked, who she was talking to, seeing, how, why, which led to gossip
guys can be just as guilty as girls
sometimes it can be all about context
so just stop
May 31, 2008 at 12:36 amLily, I’m glad you and your father are so close and that he’s able to influence the way you think. It’s a shame he didn’t teach you how to write in complete sentences.
May 31, 2008 at 9:02 am
I have never actually seen a full episode of this show.
May 29, 2008 at 2:17 pm