by Kate Hsieh
There is something you should know about Sex and the City: it is not what it seems. The title says sex but it’s not just about sex. Indeed, the show includes a lot of unblushing descriptions of nudity, sexual acts, and jaw-dropping conversations. However, Sex and the City is just as much about friendship among the women as it is about dating or sex. The four main characters, Carrie Bradshaw, Miranda Hobbes, Samantha Jones, and Charlotte York have successful careers, fabulous outfits, and nice apartments. They also have more freedom and more choices than any previous generation of women. Like most of their contemporaries, they are trying to figure out how to prioritize these choices. What is more important, sex or love? Career or motherhood? Independence or intimacy? Though the show gives no direct answer, Sex and the City shows us single women who are anything but desperate. Each episode opens with Carrie typing a question concerning the nature of love or life that many in the audience are already asking themselves. Can women have sex like men? Do we need distance to get close? Do women really want marriage and children or are we just programmed? The question is often inspired by a problem Carrie or one of her friends is experiencing, and it frames the episode’s content. The storyline concentrates on these four women. Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) is a famous columnist. She always remains open to the possibility of finding true love. Her best friend, Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), is a corporate lawyer who has accustomed herself to listening to her head rather than her heart. Then there is spicy Samantha (Kim Cattrall), a successful PR consult who knows what she wants. She radiates confidence in everything she does and never feels shy about her sexuality. The last would be Charlotte (Kristin Davis), former art dealer and a helpless romantic. Saying that she is an optimist would be an understatement. She sincerely believes that one day she will find her prince charming. The four women represent various personalities, but we can all find ourselves in them and easily feel connected with their lives. Any single career woman no doubt would see Miranda in herself. And who can say that she never secretly dreamed of a knight in shining armor? The first episode begins with Carrie’s words “Welcome to the age of uninnocence!” This “uninnocence” is best represented by the exciting and unapologetic life styles of these women. They’ve tried threesomes, SM, lesbianism, phone sex, and Viagra. They’ve dated modelizers, shoe-fetishists, movie stars, control freaks, alcoholics, exhibitionists, and bisexuals. These women have done everything you can think of. Embracing their sexuality wholeheartedly, they enjoy every minute of their lives. In each episode, they would exchange NC-17-rated conversations about the latest developments of their lives while having brunch or striding down the streets of New York. Despite these appetizing topics, the show reveals to us a detailed depiction of female bonding. The four confidantes stick together and support each other not only through moments of heartbreak, but other economic or physical crises as well. They put one another’s needs before their own and do not hesitate to leave work or men aside. This warm and endearing friendship both comforts and strengthens them. The storyline is, after all, about four girlfriends and their friendship. The sex is just the cherry on top. As Carrie says, “Boyfriends come and go, but girlfriends are forever.” Girlfriends are forever all right, but Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha are saying goodbye. Sex and the City aired its final episode on Feb 23, 2004, signaling the end of an era. For those who have been charmed by this amazing six-year comedy and four lovely New Yorkers, this is quite a disappointment. In the finale, the four characters all find their own vision of true love. The guys they end up with are nothing like they expected, but they are perfect for our heroines. That’s reality, perhaps, that there is more than one way to be happy, and life doesn’t come as a perfect package. So is that it? Do we wave our hands goodbye to our beloved NY gals, and go back to our televisions and start channel-surfing? Well, not so fast. The final episode may not be so final after all. The show’s cast is in discussion with HBO about a movie that would continue the saga of the four girlfriends and the Big Apple. And I wouldn’t miss it for the world. a
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May 2024
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