I own the box sets of all 6 seasons of Sex And The City, I have a poster of Carrie Bradshaw proudly hung to my left, who watches me as I write, and I’m still on the hunt for a tulle skirt that can be dirtied by the bus that passes just under my house.
But let’s face it: SATC was never credible.
And it’s not so much having sex as the only subject of every brunch among ladies, it’s that no journalist who writes a weekly column can afford to rent an apartment in the East Village and ALL THOSE MANOLOS.
But I know that it was able to sanction a topic still considered taboo amongst women: sex. Not that among women it wasn’t spoken about, mind you, it’s that it couldn’t yet be declared, let alone shown on television, or base an entire TV series on it.
In short, without Sex And The City we would not have had Girls.
Girls, however, has learned the lesson, it took everything that was good in episodes that made Sarah Jessica Parker famous and brought it into the real world.
The US television series, born in 2012 and broadcast on HBO (just as SACT) tells the story of 4 twenty-year-olds who try to make ends meet after moving to New York.
It’s hard to tell who is who. Hannah, Marnie, Shoshanna and Jessa have some of the characteristics of Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha, but are also much more.
Hannah (Lena Dunham: creator, performer and producer of the series) goes from one internship to the next, trying to carry out her passion for writing, in which she takes refuge whenever she feels the need to vent her OCD or her obsession with Adam (Adam Driver. Yes, Kylo Ren), a handyman who dreams of Broadway but tries various manual jobs to earn money honestly and to not be maintained by his parents (although his grandmother gives him a monthly sum for rent). Marnie (Allison Williams), Hannah’s roommate and her friend since college, finds herself at a crossroad and is trying to figure out whether to continue working in art galleries or to finally grab courage by both hands and try a singing career. Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet) is a university student with the fastest talk of the West and a Red Cross nurse instinct that will lead her to starting a relationship with Ray (Alex Karpovsky), the only thirty-year-old of the protagonists, who works in a bar and sleeps between a friend’s couch and his car. Jessa (Jemima Kirke), with London origins, is the hippy spirit of the group that between rehabs manages to crack the wisest phrases of the series.
In short, four girls living in New York.
What is it missing compared to Sex And The City?
All of the shiny glamour.
The girls have no money for shoes and do not have the time to talk about men only, they are trying to create an identity for themselves and above all this is the centre of their discussions. All using a fresh and absolutely realistic tone.
What more does it have to offer compared to Sex And The City?
A blatant and conscious feminism.
Lena Dunham is a convinced feminist and we often find dialogues that link to all the different waves of the movement.
Some examples?
- Jessa and Hanna are flipping through old Penthouse issues
J: These women should be proud, because there is nothing more noble than helping a boy find his identity, you know, help him become a man.
H: It’s probably the noblest thing there is, you know … Apart from like being a doctor or a fireman.
J: How do you know she’s not a doctor?
- Adam and the new girl are having sex
A: Do you like my dick?
N: Yes, I do
A: Do you really like it?
N: Yes I adore it
A: You’re a dirty slut and you love my cock?
N: No. I can like your cock without being a slut. Do you understand? - Jessa, in rehab, tells another patient about something that happened just before
J: An idiotic bitch threw coffee at my face, just because I told her she was a lesbian. I did her a favour! I went straight to the point – not like those fuckers that go around it – and I told her that she’s a fucking pussy-licker.
P: Pussy-licker or not, people need to get there on their own.
(How to explain outing and coming out in 10 seconds) - Shortly after, the girl in question (Taystee from OITNB!) will say this sentence:
People always think that lesbians like sports. I’m afraid that if I tell someone that I’m a lesbian they’ll ask me to play sports!
Personally, I loved each of the four seasons that aired.
Because each episode gives food for thought, but without wanting to sound like a teacher or being pedantic. Every boy and every girl can watch the series and say “it’s about me.” Something that never happened with SATC (especially for boys!).
Having said this, the fifth season will start on Sunday the 21st.
What do you think? Should we begin the binge watching?
