Analysis of TV with a Prof by Josh Fader
Sex in the city TV with a Prof
The show “Sex in the city” is an American romantic comedy television series that aired on HBO from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. Set in New York City, the show follows four women and their quirky trials and errors in finding their significant other. Season 3 episode 5, titled “No Ifs Ands or Butts” features a diversity of relationships including heterosexual, homosexual, and interracial couples. Throughout the episode, the viewer watches as these relationships pan out between characters and how “deal breakers” become more and more evident in each interaction. For instance, Carrie Bradshaw, the main character, finds herself in a relationship with a guy who owns a furniture store. During their first date, she whips out a cigarette which causes him to say that he can’t date smokers. This “deal breaker” causes quite a bit of drama internally with Carrie and leads to her exploding on her friends about the issue and eventually on the guy during their second date. I found this interesting because in class we spoke about how much of a role “deal breakers” play in modern relationships. Today, these deal breakers have become more and more prominent, as access to a larger dating pool has grown with the popularity of social media, smartphones, and dating apps.
Another thing that stood out to me in the episode that related to our class was that although the 4 main female characters are supposed to be diverting from typical gender stereotypes and reflect feminist characteristics prevalent back in the early 2000s, they still conform to many gender roles including living a highly consumerist focused lifestyle, always wearing make-up no matter the occasion, and regardless of each character pursuing a career, the show still fixates on them landing the perfect guy. These traits of the characters are reflective of standard gender stereotypes that have taken shape since the early 1950’s post-WW2 era. Overall, I found the show quite eye-opening and interesting. It gave me additional insight into how women perceive men during the standard “first date”. I also thought it was interesting to find out how much the main characters fixated on the little things that occurred on the dates and how much it bothered them. I will definitely be much more conscious of my actions during my next date as a result of watching this show.