I write in defense of one of the greatest television series of our time.While sitting around last night with my fellow columnist Mr. Meeks, trying to find some topic for our little spar, his comment that "'Sex and the City' is really just HBO's version of porn" suddenly solved all of our brainstorming problems.
I've always been interested in what guys think of the show. Overall, I have found that it does make the majority of them rather uncomfortable. I've watched it with guys -- they either cannot shut up with annoying comments about the outrageousness of Carrie's outfits and the improbability that Miranda would hookup with a decent looking guy in the real world ... or they say nothing at all and promptly leave the room when the credits roll.
Needless to say, it is not a show I enjoy watching with my brother. And I would be horrified if my father walked in the room during any episode when Samantha was a lesbian.
Which only begs the question (since last night I assumed my present company had obviously seen a fair share of pornographic material a la any healthy 20-year-old boy), what makes the show so irritating to the male population?
(I am not saying the show is firmly divided along guy-girl lines but simply that it is generally associated with a female audience because it is about women.)
I have come to the conclusion that "Sex and the City" bothers guys because it is not just about the act of graphic sex. Real porn is impersonal. There is no morning brunch scene after the characters hook up in the copy room.
So however much guys use Samantha's highly charged sexual escapades as "evidence" that women enjoy the show purely for its "porn factor" (I myself cannot watch many of Kim Cattrall's scenes without blushing), I maintain that it bothers them because the women on the show actually talk.
They are protagonists with developed personalities. They could be "real." The show has something called a "plot." The writing and actors have won "awards."
Please show me an Emmy-winning porn video.
And so here I am disparaging the myth that girls like "Sex and the City" purely for the sex. As a personal fan, let me assure you, the show is not only hilarious, it is addicting. There is nothing quite like the vegetative state of watching seasons one through five consecutively over Winter Break, or the regularity of a Sunday night dinner and 9 p.m. date every week with your friends. And now that it has ended, I can guarantee you it is not the sex scenes that will be missed but rather the development of Carrie and Big's relationship (or more of Samantha's Smith) that everyone will be yearning to see.
Maybe I am an overly conservative person, but admittedly there is a fine line between tasteful and distasteful that at times has been crossed on the show. I find I have to ignore the blame the series has received for the proliferation of inappropriate sex columns on college campuses or even as another reinforcement of our current hookup culture. We have to accept the fact that things which are truly entertaining tend to be shocking and divisive.
Controversy aside, I will be in line for that last season on DVD. You can go ahead and tell me I'm watching it for the sex, but then I'd have to point out the fact that Carrie wears some really great shoes.
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