New York, New York III - Sex and the City (1998-2004)

3/28/2012

New York, New York III - Sex and the City (1998-2004)

And last, but not least in the New York, New York posts... As I write these lines, the opening tune of the epic series, Sex and the City, is echoing in my ears. Who doesn't remember the infamous quartet? Four women in their thirties, sometimes going single, sometimes attached to someone, while again, sometimes, their relationship status rather undecided. If they had Facebook profiles back then, theirs would scream: it's complicated.

The series was created by Darren Star in 1998. The show, adapted from a book by the same name (written by Candace Bushnell) had a very successful 6 year run on HBO. The intricate story-line was narrated by the main protagonist, journalist Carrie Bradshaw, and it explored her and her friends love- and sex-lives- or their lack thereof.

A sensuous and ironic sitcom about four young, desirable, virtually inseparable New York bachelorettes who lead and confide in each-other their ever changing and confusing sex lives, as different as their natures. Carrie Bradshaw is a charming petite columnist, and often the narrator of the story, either writing her copy or off screen, constantly tossing up and rejecting different views on just about anything that does or might impact modern women's sex lives; she tries almost everything, is constantly disappointed, but always seems to return to a certain Mr. Big. Miranda Hobbes is a red-hair lawyer determined to score professionally and to be tough in love to, yet her only faithful lover is an insecure nerd. Charlotte York is a gallery-managing wasp from a prestigious, super-rich family, with high old-fashioned moral standards for her lovable but insecure self but unfortunately almost impossible to live up to for any lover... imdb.com

Surprisingly, the show is not only (more or less) accurate about the relationship between men and women, single life, and dating, but on American, more specifically, on New Yorkian culture as well.  The show starts off  in the 90s with its horrendous dresses and hairstyles, and it gradually leads the audience into the21th century.

The diversity of New York's culture is beautifully depicted in the series. From museums, through restaurants, till nightclubs, the portrayal of New York is on the spot. It also doesn't fail to criticize the craziness of the traffic and the hectic lives of the people living there and it also disillusions the non-New-Yorkers about the city's, shall we say, darker aspects, such as the dirt, the summer heat, and the muggers. And men in various age groups, of course. While in the series the Big Apple is every bit as glamorous as its supposed to be, no one and nothing can be perfect. The series is clear about it, although, it is clearly pro-New York. And anyway, why wouldn't it be?

The only culturally shady part is how someone like Carrie Bradshaw can afford all those highly expensive shoes and dresses. Well, nothing can be perfect. This mistake can be forgiven, if I say so myself., if for nothing else, but for our aesthetic sentiments.

To those, who are interested in seeing the sights our four heroins had frequented, here is a little help. While the show has been finished for nearly a decade - although, it still airs frequently on many channels in and outside of the US - one can still enjoy the fun Sex and the City has to offer.