Final episode: freedom at last!
Carolien anno 2005: (Column published in university newspaper)
Girls, it’s over. Wipe away your tears now, it’s over and done with and you’ll never get it back. Sex and the City’s final episode came and went. And personally, I won’t be missing it. Our chains have finally been removed!
It was with shock and surprise that I took note of SATC goodbye cocktail parties and collectively encouraged chocolate binges. They should have been celebrations! We had lives before Carrie and her girlfriends invaded them and started telling us how mandatory casual sex really is in the grown-up world of 30-something singles.
With SATC, all of a sudden we had to measure up. Carrie and her friends were not so much a reflection of single women, they represented the idealized version. I didn’t even know about the existence of Manolo Blahnik shoes before Carrie brainwashed me into thinking that the modern single woman derives her dignity from them. Miranda apparently had no problems having one night stands while pregnant with another man’s child and Charlotte proved to us that you can turn into a Jew virtually overnight. And the cherry on top (in more ways than one) was when Samantha turned from straight to lesbian and back within the time span of 5 episodes. If you’re a single woman, you should do away with boring things like self-respect and values.
And how much you are enjoying your life is measured by the number of men you sleep with, according to the SATC girls. Not to mention the fact that all these girls were mostly free of all financial worries. I came to the conclusion that Carrie the newspaper columnist apparently had some secret trust fund to pay for all her fashionable clothes, bags and shoes. How else is it possible for a person to live in Manhattan with its high rents, eat at exclusive restaurants every night and still buy a completely new designer outfit at least twice a month? And as far as rest of the glamour girls were concerned, Miranda landed a dream job as partner of a law firm, while still having oceans of free time for shopping, being a mommy, dating and elaborate lunches.
And then there is still the mystery of when the girls did their work-outs and what diets they were on, since all of them just happened to have been blessed with perfect bodies to show off the latest DKNY dress. What Carrie Bradshaw and co. probably didn’t realize is that men watch these shows as well. My ex boyfriend told me that if they all had jobs and busy lives and could still look great, there was really no excuse why I shouldn’t. They set high standards for single women, and I personally haven’t met one single woman who can measure up.
What’s so sad about the show is that it had the great potential of revealing the pain and insecurities that most women deal with. But then rejection apparently isn’t as interesting as the newest club or cocktail party. If there was a break-up that was somewhat emotional, Carrie didn’t spend hours in bed crying and eating chocolate, no sir. After a nice lunch with her girlfriends, she went on a shopping spree, and literally lived the motto: on to the next one.
I won’t miss Sex and the City, oh no. I am a free woman now, no longer pressured into looking great or having a shallow emotional life. And I intend to enjoy it. Go Bridget Jones!
