It's fairly safe to say that just about everyone of the female gender has heard of Sex and the City. Whether just the movies, or a die-hard fan of the series, Sex and The City has become so synonymous with pop culture, specifically female pop culture, that in 2009 The Guardian named Bradshaw as an icon of the decade, stating that "Carrie Bradshaw did as much to shift the culture around certain women's issues as real-life female groundbreakers."
And this is certainly true. The show addressed sexual boundaries, women's roles in the professional world, and whether or not four, single, flesh and blood women in their thirties could truly "have it all." Plus, there were always the shoes.
Yet despite the show's ability to break new ground in the world of the modern woman in terms of content, none of the four main characters themselves are particularly groundbreaking. Carrie Bradshaw may have asked the question "If it is instantly clear that a person, a place, or even a profession is not for you, is it better to ignore your better judgment and read between the lines, or should you judge a book by its cover?", yet she never really seemed to learn from the answers she got. The four main characters, Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha, generally conform to one female stereotype or another.
The most obviously "typical" woman is Charlotte.
"Everyone needs a man. That's why I rent. If you own and he still rents, then the power structure is all off. It's emasculating. Men don't want a woman who's too self-sufficient."
If this was coming from a housewife-to-be in the 1950s in the suburbs, this wouldn't exactly be too out of the blue of a statement. But considering the show is set in the 90s, in New York City, I find it a little surprising (and personally insulting) that Charlotte, who is the most stereotypical gender role fulfilling character, is the only one of the foursome to end up happily married without a single hiccup by the end of the second movie. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting married and having kids, the fact that the show is marketing the idea that that is the only way to get through middle age without a hitch is more than a little bothersome. For a show that was so focused on the idea of women "having it all", none of the four women were made happy at the end of the series by each other or their jobs. They all ended up, as all Hollywood women do, settling down. Carrie was rescued from Paris by Mr. Big, Samantha gave up a life of sex for a life of monogamy, Miranda chose 'married with kids' over her job, and Charlotte got married and moved to the Upper East Side.
Not that there is anything wrong with any of these choices. I'm all for doing whatever makes you happy as a woman. But again, this show, while about love, was not just about love. I wholeheartedly believe that doing a job you really love can make you just as happy as being married. And for a while, the show seemed to have that idea too. Samantha had sex, not relationships. Miranda had a job, not relationships.
For a show that was so innovative in so many other ways, it's a shame that at the end of the day, typical gender roles still peeked through. Has the idea that the only way a woman should be is married penetrated so far into our society that even a show entitled Sex and The City still ends up being Married with Kids?
pop culture item: Sex and the City
ReplyDeleteRhetorical Awareness: Even for an audience who has never watched Sex and the City, the author helps me understand the basic idea of the movie very well.
Stance and Support: The main point is that Sex and the City started out well by breaking the grounds of traditional gender rolls but ended up actually supporting the traditional gender rolls. The author provided appropriate examples and analysis from the films.
Organization: Quite well organized. However, it'd be better if the introduction briefly introduces the essay and the conclusion sums up the main points.
Conventions: It fits the audience and sounded professional.
Design for medium: Great positioning appropriate images to appropriate places.
pop culture item: The Sex and the City movies
ReplyDeleteRhetorical Awareness: The blog is interesting and makes a good argument. There are a few sentences that run on for a while (second sentence for example) but other then that it is very well written, interesting, and makes good use of comparison. I particularly like the last sentence.
Stance and Support: The author takes the stance that the movies are a step in the right direction but with the wrong foot. The style and ideas are new, but the cast and the moral of the story are still mired in the old times. Support for this is thought with quotes from the movies and comparative synapses.
Organization: I didn't notice any real shift in meaning from the third paragraph to the fifth. The author nails their point on the head but does not divide the paragraphs by argument. Not necessarily a bad thing, but the prompt asks for it. Good ending paragraph, the into has a run on sentence in the middle you may want to correct.
Conventions: Use of language is appropriate and the tone lively. Authors voice comes through well. Perhaps a bit too personal when the author says things like "I'm all for..." but that's a matter of style.
Design for medium: The media seem to support the idea though I don't know how much one can learn about Charlotte from a picture (other then the typically fake Hollywood smile and retro-esque way of dressing). I've never actually watched these movies so I can't argue about how accurate the assumptions are
pop culture item: Sex and the City
ReplyDeleteRhetorical Awareness: As a female who has never watched, or heard of this movie, I known about it quite clear after the reading. Easy to understand and persuasive.
Stance and Support: This movie seems to break the traditional gender rule, but in fact it ends with the traditional idea that women's most important thing to do in her life is to get married and have children.
Organization: Well-organized, leading the audiences' thoughts.
Conventions: Persuasive language makes reader think.
Design for medium: Appropriate medium use.