25 years of “Sex and the City,” the series that allowed women to speak plain and misbehave
Last October, an article by John Koplin in New York times I remembered how much it cost HBO to start making series with a female lead. The first contents of the then cable series (eg the beloved series Keep dreamingabundant in gratuitous nudes) were prominently directed at men, apparently because Among the company’s top executives, it was believed that it was the man who decided the house subscription payment.
This idea fell to reality with the premiere in 1996 If the walls could talk, a telefilm starring women, with a pro-abortion theme, which became her most successful in-house production to date. And the decline continued two years later, from June 6, 1998, to be exact, with the premiere of a great phenomenon called New York sex. Its 25th anniversary is as good an excuse as any to remember a series important not only to HBO, but also to the series or popular culture of the last quarter-century.
Apart from Gen
TV creator Darren Star began to take shape New York sex After being interviewed by Candace Bushnell, a magazine columnist New York Observer who started it all. He saw it first as a movie and then in form The series “looks like a made-for-TV standalone movie; not recommended for children under 18, adults, and very explicit and frank about sexual relations”As shown in the last book It’s Not TV: The Incredible Rise, Revolution, and Future of HBOfrom the aforementioned Koblin and Felix Gillette.
What was crystal clear to me was that something like this could not thrive on public chains. When did it happen? The feeling of living As for Fox, he’s been forced to be careful about sex. When it occurred to him to introduce a gay character in Melrose Place (Matt Fielding, played by Doug Savant), the response of some executives from the same network was offensive. Despite ABC’s interest in New York sexHBO insisted more and seemed like a natural home for that sassy, free-spirited, or (not only) fluid vision of sex.
In each episode, freelance columnist Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) used to philosophize about the body and the spiritual through a question she herself ended up answering by observing herself and her friends, which Miranda is more or less sane (Cynthia Nixon), the relatively innocent Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and this sex goddess with a huge heart is called Samantha (Kim Cattrall). What started as a practical how-to guide in the dating jungle of Manhattan has evolved, thanks to the fine arts of a screenwriter Michael Patrick Kingin Something more focused on love affairs and friendship that lasts more than one night and even on reflections on illness and death. All this without ever losing your cool.
Beyond the Men’s Network
As comic historian Saul Asterlitz recalls in Sitcom: A History in 24 Episodes of “I Love Lucy” to “Society”Telecommunications has always been a niche field for women, providing stars like Lucille Ball [Te quiero, Lucy] and Mary Tyler Moore [La chica de la tele] More comfortable and lasting opportunities than cinema. but In order to properly tame them, they need to be surrounded by a network of men: husbands, neighbors, bosses and colleagues at work.“.
Same precedents as in Miami golden girlsThese are New Yorkers They may be interested in men, but nothing interests them more than their best friends. The viewer had the privilege of observing closely, as if peering through a crack, his conversations about sexual adventures and intimate subjects of all kinds. The difference between, for example, Blanche Devereux (Wonderful Rue McClanahan) and Samantha Jones is the latter being allowed to be completely candid on her sensual release records.
In addition to speaking clearly, the women New York sex They were allowed to misbehave, which is quite unusual (with exceptions like Candice Bergen’s Murphy Brown) for a time when Being a woman on TV is still equated, above all, with being good and wearing a wedding ring. But here we had Carrie cheating on her good friend Aidan (John Corbett) with the most enigmatic Mr. Big (Chris Noth) for up to three weeks: one nosy leading lady.
Related news
a decade and a half later, Lena Dunhamadmitted fan New York sex (remember a certain poster in Shoshanna’s little room), more selfish heroines would be tagged girls And it will help open the discussion about what’s more interesting to see on screen, if people are just grossly perfect or imperfect, as we all are. success Succession Refers to the second option most likely.
Films directed by Michael Patrick King In 2008 and 2010 they were, admittedly, less complex than humans and just as interesting. In them, one of the series’ problems intensified vaguely: a somewhat inappropriate cult of luxury. And no belated sequel And just like this & mldr; It corrected this problem, but at least it corrected the problem of low racial diversity. And its second season, which arrives June 22, will be superior, if it’s true that it will get a cameo from Samantha Jones.
