... and I probably won't bother. But I have noticed how much comment is going on about it. Most of it quite angry and misogynistic.
Well I read this in the Sydney Morning Herald the other day and I think it says it all.
"SEEING the Sex And The City movie is not your average man's idea of a good night out. Every woman knows this. Yet I have been surprised by the negative reaction of most men when the movie is even mentioned. Every man I know has launched into a tirade about the materialism/sexism/salaciousness of the show, as if they had been personally vilified on it.
Why do men find this movie so offensive? Is it the extravagant shopping trips?
Admittedly, seeing Carrie strut down the street in a pair of gladiator Dior heels is hardly likely to get men excited, but this could hardly be what men find so repulsive about the show. Sure the clothes are ridiculously expensive and the lifestyles unrealistically leisurely, but so are the gadgets, explosions and stunts in those action movies men flock to.
Any woman with half a brain recognises that spending every cent on Manolo Blahniks is not smart. But that is exactly the appeal. Most women in the audience are using their hard-earned cash on more important things and cannot afford a Louis Vuitton bag. So it is nice to escape to a world where an outfit is never worn twice.
According to some men, the show's materialism is the reason we each lose IQ points every time we watch an episode. If this is the case, there should be a national epidemic of male stupidity caused by watching too much sport and action movies. Women's adoration of Sex And The City does not make them vapid any more than James Bond makes men into super spies.
Perhaps the characters make men foam at the mouth. According to most men, the characters are self-absorbed, promiscuous and careless with men's feelings. Consider James Bond and Indiana Jones. The central characters in each of these movies is a man. Women come and go, often as a one-night stand or a damsel in distress. Or both. In what sense are the Sex And The City characters more self-absorbed than these men?
The show strikes a chord with women, not because the characters are perfect, but because they are flawed. So let's make a deal. If you men let us watch Sex And The City without worrying we'll turn into bimbos and max out our credit cards, we'll let you watch Die Hard 4 without worrying you'll kill yourself trying to launch a car into a helicopter."
It's just a movie!
Monday, June 16
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4 comments:
Some good points. It's curious, there hasn't been that kind of mysoginistic backlash against the movie here in the US, that I know of. Men don't usually go see the movie, but that's about it. I for one loved it.
Here's the key difference, though, between men and women...
Men go to the movies to escape. They like films with implausible plots, action sequences that defy the laws of physics, and lots and lots of shit being blown up.
THAT's what we call entertainment, and when we leave the theatre, we're suitably entertained and ready to move on to the next of life's little advertures. For us, once the credits roll, it's over.
Women go to the movies to be emotionally and intellectually stimulated. The like films with meaningful dialogue... yes... even vapid films have meaningful dialogue... and they want to "share an experience". They also believe the motion picture medium ought to be true "art".
FOr womenh, the real enjoyment of a film starts after the end credits. They leave the theatre wanting to talk about what they've just seen. Over and over again. They want to dissect every line, every nuance, as though the latest cinematographic offering contains another small piece in the jigsaw puzzle of life.
THAT's why men hate Sex And The City.
Well, like I said, I haven't met any guy here who hates it, they just shrug their shoulders like they don't get it. It seems perfectly understandable that men aren't interested in either the series or the movie, the point of both is that they're about women and for women. It seems an overraction to hate the things, though.
I also haven't met any women who have dissected the movie, for me and my friends it was just a great movie. Yes, definitely an emotional and cathartic experience, but just a movie nonetheless.
Besides, who's to say that what you describe is any less valid as a movie experience as what men do? Is there something inherently bad about relishing a movie beyond the 2 hours that it takes to watch it? And why do men feel it necessary to hate that women experience movies differently?
Again, over here, it really wasn't that polarizing. It was a fun, escapist series, and a fun, escapist movie.
Well I'm not a "typical" woman, I like boy movies & girl movies and don't generally want to talk about them afterwards. Perhaps I'm just mixing with too many angry blokes and need to start talking to some nice mellow boys!
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