"Sex and the City"

For the "Sex and the City" presentation, I was responsible for generating Chapter 12 Barker questions and Samantha archetype/character trait questions. We decided as a group to all read and discuss Chapter 10 and Butler's piece as well, and incorporated all three subject matters together. My Samantha questions focused on her fierce personality and pointed out how she is also dedicated to her friends. I also took the Samantha group (although they were really characterized by our quiz as Carrie) and tried to facilitate their mini-discussions. I bought the cups and umbrellas for our apple-tinis and Cosmopolitans.

My questions were:

Barker defines postmodernism as: (a) cultural style marked by intertextuality, irony, pastiche, genre blurring and bricolage (the rearrangement and juxtaposition of previously unconnected signifying objects to produce new meanings in fresh contexts); in what ways does "Sex and the City" fit this definition? How does it differ?

Barker discusses place and space. Place is the socially constructed site marked by emotional investment, whereas space is dynamic and based on social constructions constituted in and through social relations of power. Consider this: "Attempts by some women to 'reclaim the night' are essentially spatial practices" (Barker, 377). What do you think this means? How do the women of "Sex and the City" fit into this?

How does the culture of "Sex and the City" influence the show? If it were set in another city, would the show have been as much of a success? Why or why not? (See Barker, 386) How does this TV setting affect its fans?

Samantha is s a sexual tigress, with a nonchalant attitude toward love and relationships, but who eventually falls in love and commits to a relationship. Is her symbolism of powerful feminine sexuality portrayed well throughout the show? How has this influenced women in our modern culture?

Samantha has been quoted saying, “I will wear whatever and blow whomever I want as long as I can breathe and kneel.” But she is also loyal to her friends, outspoken, confident, a survivor of breast cancer, and quite successful in business. How would you define her character archetype?

Carrie Bradshaw Falls in Dior

Barker identifies cultural economics as a branding for a city, associating it with desirable 'goods' (386). This includes the culture industries, including film, tv, ad agencies, and the music business. The fashion industry, an ever-present figure in "Sex and the City," is a character in an of itself throughout the entire show's run. From Jimmy Choos to Dior to Manolos, the four girls wore name-brand only and never wore off the rack. With the show set in New York City, a hub for theater, fashion, Wall Street, US history, international commerce, etc., the girls are at a cultural center. Each of the girls has a well-paying job, so they are able to afford high fashion. That being said, fans of the show and followers of the characters' fashion believe that the couture is easily accessible, or at least aspire to have the taste in fashion that Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda each possess. There are four aspects of the feminine represented in the show, and so the fashion presented can appeal to different views of femininity throughout the nation and globe.

Carrie's fall in Dior is not only funny, it makes the idea of the store more tangible. The general public who may live paycheck to paycheck in the suburbs may trip and fall in their local Wal-Mart; for Carrie Bradshaw, a published writer, to fall in the middle of "high-class" Dior in New York City, well that makes the store seem almost normal and attainable for those who don't make six figures.

The culture of New York City and that of the girls is transmitted through the show, across the globe, into our living room television sets, and influences our own economics. With this show came a rebirth in high-class couture and design, cultivating a generation of modern women who (want or) have the high-paying job, family and/or friends, and the matching handbag and high heels.