I preface this post by saying that when I write about Sex and the City, I am only talking about the series and the two films for the purposes of this post. I just can't talk about "And Just Like That".
I remember when Sex and the City came across my screen in the 1999.
Many people did (and still do) say that the show was purely about sex and shoes. Fluff content. True enough there is a lot of sex and shoes in SATC. But there is also something much more in the characters of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda that represent many women.
I saw something in each of those women that represented myself. Things I was and things that I wanted to be but also, I saw my imperfections in them too. That was the important part. They were not perfect. Far from it. But I could identify with each of them in different ways.
I saw four completely different people, four friends, that were soulmates. The four of them combined made one beautiful whole. A friendship that would last forever and through anything. A constant in each other's lives, forever.
First there was Carrie with her writing, her distinct sense of style and the men in her life. Several men throughout the series, but she knew as did we, the one that would always have her heart. Mr Big. The One. Carrie could also be self centred and more than a little self absorbed at times.
I wanted to write like her, I lived vicariously through her sense of style that I would never come close to and I understood completely that once your heart is taken, you never really get it back. I was lucky with that last one.
But also, I am also a little self centred and a little self absorbed. I recognise it and try to work on it. But it was nice to see a lead character portrayed as less than perfect.
I also saw myself in Charlotte. Charlotte who wanted nothing more than to fall in love and marry. Charlotte was also a little spoiled and thought nothing of giving up her successful career to be a stay at home wife, although with Trey, she had not thought this through. The typical rich bitch, except Charlotte was not a bitch. I’m not sure she would ever say the word, except in whisper. But she believed in true love, real love, and the right “one”. That definitely is me.
Then we have Miranda, I could see so much of myself in Miranda too. Despite her successful career, she had so many insecurities. She pushed men away, especially Steve, until she realised, almost when it was too late, he was the one. (Actively ignoring the new Miranda in the new series. That is not Miranda).
She was never without an opinion, even through her insecurities, which was brought out more in her by her friends. She blossomed in those friendships. She learned from them and with them and also learned to trust and love with Steve. Miranda's journey to let down her walls, trust and love was something that I understand and have lived.
Finally, Samantha. I never wanted to be Samantha or aspire to her love for bed hopping. But I appreciated her. I loved her.
Samantha was the best friend of all of them. The better friend. I feel she loved the rest of them the most.
I loved how unapologetic Samantha was. She was beautiful and acknowledged it, but in a manner of fact way rather than boastful. She had a great career and she knew what she wanted (and nearly always got it). Her life may not be one that many of us would choose in the relationship department, but the thing about Samantha was that she was never anything but completely herself, making up her own rules. I admired that.
“I love you, but I love me more”. While those are not words you would hear from me, it is important that we love ourselves too.
Over the 6 seasons (was it really only 6?) you got to know these women inside and out. You knew their characters, their strengths, their flaws and their weaknesses. You got to know them so well that you could anticipate what each of them would do.
Carrie, that she would always and forever, belong to Big. Wherever her path led her, it would always find its way back to him.
Charlotte, that she would do anything for love, even convert to another religion.
Miranda, that she was clever enough (eventually) to realise and tell Steve that she loved him. That she didn’t have to be alone. That she could rely on another person.
Samantha, that she would move heaven and earth for a friend, maybe not for a man.
What they have done to Sex and the City with the reboot of And Just Like That is ruin it. Because they changed the people that they were. Miranda most of all. I watched the first season and I did not recognise the woman that I knew and had resonated with. It was, quite simply, a betrayal.
I understood what the Star Wars fans were talking about with the reboots killing what they have grown up with and loved. I went into and through my adulthood with those four women and the changes they made to their characters and the choices that they made, was wrong. For what? Money.
At least Kim Cattrell had the integrity not to join in, although I also cannot blame her for the apparent phone call they had I believe in the second season. That must have been some pay off.
So I will keep my heart with the original series and not watch any of the new series. The women I knew are no longer there.
