Sex and the City - a backhanded assault

So I find myself meditating on the phenomenon that is Sex and the City. Whereas I love the Carrie Bradshaw character I feel women are too carried away by the adorable charm that drapes perfectly over her proliferating idiocy. Why, after almost a decade of its existence do I choose now to comment on this slice of Americana? Because I am bored and boredom stimulates my need-to-offer a critique on popular culture.

I will admit to being a fan of the "sisterhood" idea that the show promotes, even though it is widely known that women are their own worst enemies. But what I am not a fan of is these women's misperceptions, interactions and expectations of themselves in relationship to men. Their lack of self-esteem is so thinly camouflaged with success, fashion or sex and their low sense of self-worth is best exemplified in Carrie's choice of a suitable mate. The very idea that a Mr. Big is worth more than an Aidan paints this woman with a "sand castle in the sky" hue. In this Carrie reality women are prone to putting emotion over reason and cents over common sense.

But by far the most damaging effect of this poor assessment of the female psyche is Carrie’s depiction of that age old belief that if a woman loves a bad boy long enough she can "CHANGE" him. It may take ten years, make you the “other woman” and cost you the love of a better man but it is more important to “CONQUER” the one that got away than being with the one who loves you. [When I speak of love I speak of acts not feelings.]

You want to know why good guys finish last? Coz this is what good girls are watching. I hope that the female's self perception is not too coloured but what straight men "want" from women or how gay men "see" women?

The Inevitable Expression of Human Duality

There is a syndrome rampant in modern America that is slowly spreading throughout Christiandom, the deification of men. Too often an athlete, entertainer or political figure exuding excellence in their field finds himself augmented to the post of a demi-god where all perfection is expected and all imperfections, part of the nature and character of man, dejected. The elevators erase from the demi-god any and all traces of "fault", thereby denying the demi-god permission to their own humanness. Instead of embracing the dual wholeness of one-self, the demi-god either feels shame from autophobia or arrogance from narcissism.


But what must be understood is that man's true character cannot be denied and will find a way to express the duality of its nature. Virtues will be expressed and vices will fight repression. Sooner of later the demons hidden behind the thin veil of perfection, in the presence of ample temptation, will be illuminated. All that will be needed is the right catalyst to bring about the diametric opposite of the celebrated virtuous one.


This is the story of Tiger Woods and all others who have been judged before and after him. No man is perfect. All men must be allowed to express the entire spectrum of their humanness. Thanks to Pandora or Eve, women seem to garner more interesting responses when their "wickedness" surfaces. In some cases her downfall augments her sex appeal. In others, she becomes the damsel in need of rescue, judged harshly only by those who do not understand the "fragile" nature of the weaker sex. This too is laughable and a slight to the beauty in the duality of human nature.

RAP

Race - why doesn't anyone bother to ask why we use the word “race” to identify humans when the term basically connotes competition? 

American Dream - why “dream” when the very word conjures the unattainable? I dream that I float through space sans space suit but the law of gravity and my need of oxygen let me know that will never happen. 

Political Correctness - isn’t this nothing more than politically endorsed, self-censorship and thereby a violation of the First Amendment?