Sex and the city is one of the most popular cable television and film series in America. The main characters in the show are four independent women on a self exploration mission. Three of these women are in their thirties and one in her mid- forties. These four White American women are the main focus of the show.
The series has multiple story lines running concurrently and it tackles socially relevant themes like feminism, promiscuity, divorce and sexually transmitted infections (Sohn 32). The show highlights how the lives of professional city women are affected by the increasingly changing society. All the episodes in the show are narrated by Sarah Jessica Parker.
Sarah is a stylish party girl popularly known for having a unique sense of fashion and is referred to as Carrie Bradshaw in the show. She is an outgoing girl who likes having fun and anticipating love in the process. Carrie is an independent woman in her mid-thirties and sees marriage as an obstacle to her self exploration mission (Sohn 15).
The other character is Kim Cantrall starring as Samantha Jones. She is the oldest among the four and is portrayed as the most confident about her sexual life. She is very loyal to her friends and seems strong and outspoken. Kristin Davis starring as Charlotte Yorke is the most optimistic member of the group who advocates for emotional love rather than lust (Jermyn 48).
She is an extremely successful woman despite her traditional outlook which at times surprises her friends. She represents the traditional attitude about relationships and love. Despite having a series of relationship, her actions are somehow controlled compared to the other three. The fourth character is Cynthia Nixon starring as Miranda Hobbes. She is a professional attorney who is always negative about love and relationships.
There are quite a number of family –based themes highlighted in the sex and the city show. The theme of sexual immorality commonly referred to as promiscuity is prevalent in the show. This is mostly revealed through Samantha. She has numerous sexual flings in the show. She has an open sexual lifestyle to an extent where she doesn’t mind having sexual relationship with younger men (Jermyn 28).
Carrie has a string of boyfriends and she is also unable to settle in any marriage. The show depicts the theme of feminism where the four women represent a modern independent woman who is not ready to be enslaved by any man.
Infidelity is the order of the day in the show. Having multiple sexual partners is portrayed as normal and fun by these four women. This is exactly the picture in modern relationships. The four women portray marriage as a failed affair except Charlotte who believes that a marriage can actually work. Miranda divorces her husband Steve after he admits having cheated on her (Jermyn 87).
The chances of divorce are also high in the other marriages and the main cause being infidelity. Economic empowerment on the side of women is highly emphasized in this show. All the four women are professionals who are economically empowered and do not rely on men to support them.
Carrie is an established writer and columnist, Samantha a successful business woman, Charlotte a history and finance graduate and finally Miranda who is a professional lawyer. They actually represent a modern day woman on the first driving lane to success (Sohn 13).
Apart from being popular, the show has also faced its fare share of criticism. The characters in the show use the tag of feminism to push for their immoral interests. The show promotes sexual immorality in the way sex is advertised by the characters. The show portrays marriage as a failed thing with divorce being depicted as the only way to end marital problems and strain (Jermyn 92).
The show glamorizes sex and does not put into consideration its negative effects like unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. The show portrays infidelity as a normal and fun thing which is not acceptable in the society. The mode of dressing of these characters is questionable with characters like Carrie going to the extreme end. Their mode of dressing portrays women as potential sex objects for men.
In conclusion, sex and the city has continued to have a negative influence to the society and increased viewership of the show will continue to erode our good societal morals. The show has influenced teenagers in a very negative way. A recent survey revealed how the show has encouraged sex amongst teenagers leading to early and unplanned pregnancies for girls who watch the show.
On the other side, their male counterparts are more likely to engage in teenage sex than those who are not viewers of the show (Sohn 88). It is believed that some scenes in the show make the viewers to be sexually charged by arousing their sexual emotions (Jermyn 109).
Works Cited
Jermyn, Deborah. Sex and the City. New York: Wayne State University Press, 2009. Print.
Sohn, Amy et al. Sex and the City. New York: HarperCollins, 2008. Print.