The Sex and the City Lifestyle
Anouk den Hamer
0208973
Participatory Culture
Group 2
Teacher: S. van der Graaf
June 2004
Introduction
The Sex and the City lifestyle
Sex and the City is a show about Carrie Bradshaw, a mid-thirty year old, and her friends. You follow their lives and see what they do, how they deal with things, how they think about certain topics, and so on. Fashion is very important in the show. One time Carrie says: “I like my money right where I can see it…hanging in my closet.”[1] Clothes, bags and especially shoes are very important for Carrie and her friends. Whatever Carrie wears, becomes a big hit. She wears big corsets? The next day, New York wears corsets. And the day after the rest of the world. The same goes for the places the friends go to. Almost every episode there is a new place where they go out. That places becomes a hit in real life, just because the Sex and the City-girls went there. On the Internet you can even find a map of New York City, with all the places Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte went to. So, for fashion brands and clubs, restaurants, etc., it’s very lucrative to make sure their brand is in the show. In that way, Sex and the City is one big advertisement. It is an advertisement of the lifestyle of Carrie and her friends.
The producers want the audience to participate; they want the audience to copy the lifestyle of the SATC-girls. You can see that in fashion magazines, where you can check out what Carrie wears and how you can make a similar outfit with cheaper clothes. When the audience responds to that copying, they’re participating. They are participating in the lifestyle of the SATC-girls. Is the official website also keen on advertising the lifestyle of Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte? Yes, it is. You can find information about the fashion brands, restaurants, etc. You can even buy cocktail glasses, one of the things the girls use a lot. I want to investigate how the webpage is used as a commercial tool. Does the site concentrate on the commercial goal, or is there also a more moral layer, like discussions about let’s say relationships? The main question for my paper is:
“To what extend is the official webpage of Sex and the City a commercial extension piece for the show?”
Sub questions are:
- What lifestyle is being promoted in the show, seen from one episode?
- What information about the show can you find on the webpage?
- What information concerning one episode can the audience find on the webpage that makes it possible to copy the lifestyle of the four girls?
- How can the public share their own opinion on the lifestyle that being presented?
- How important is fashion in Sex and the City?
Method:
I’m going to do a comparative textual analysis on both the television show and the website. I’ll look global at season 1 till season 5 of the television show. I’m going to research how the lifestyle is presented in the show. But in particular, I’ll research one episode of the television show in detail, because it’s too much to research all the episodes in detail. That episode will be from season 4, episode 11, “Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda”.. The choice for this episode is random, because I think concerning advertising the lifestyle, the episodes don’t differ that much from each other. I’m going to show how the webpage is build, but also I’ll research how commercial the webpage is and how there is a participatory opportunity in that webpage for episode 4.11.
1. Text analyse episode 4.11 Coulda Woulda Shoulda:
My question is: “What lifestyle is presented in this episode?” By that lifestyle I mean the lifestyle of the four girls. But what exactly is a lifestyle? The dictionary says it’s a way of living. In the case of the Sex and the City (from now on SATC)-girls it’s the way they’re living their life; so, what kind of job they’ve got, how do they dress, what are they doing in their free time, how do they think about certain things, maybe even what they eat.
First of all, let me give you a synopsis of this episode:
“Miranda tells Carrie that she's pregnant from having unprotected sex with Steve and his one ball. [Miranda says to Carrie: “He only has one ball and I have a lazy ovary. In what world does that create a baby? ... It's like the special olympics of conception!”] Miranda doesn't want the baby and doesn't want to tell Steve. Charlotte, however, can't seem to get pregnant no matter what bedroom techniques she tries. When she finds out that Miranda is pregnant and is going to have an abortion, she's so upset she storms away. Carrie and Samantha admit that they've both had abortions - Carrie after a one-night stand with a waiter in the '80s. Carrie tells Aidan about Miranda and swears him to secrecy. Aidan is appalled that Miranda isn't going to tell Steve. Carrie lies to Aidan about having had an abortion herself.
Samantha has lunch with Lucy Liu, hoping to represent her. They hit it off and Lucy tells Samantha that she refuses to be lied to. Samantha also has her eye on the coveted Hermes red "Birkin" handbag. Unfortunately, there's an eternally long waiting list, so Samantha uses Lucy Liu's starpower to score a bag. When Lucy shows up at their next lunch carrying the "free" bag, Samantha tells her it's actually for herself. Lucy is furious, fires Samantha and walks off with the bag.
Charlotte sees a fertility doctor and finds out that she has only a 15 percent chance of conceiving naturally. She bumps into Miranda on the street, tells her the news and walks away from the unhappily pregnant Miranda. Carrie accompanies Miranda to have her abortion. While they're waiting Miranda becomes increasingly worried that she's not making the right decision. She wonders if this is her only chance to have a baby. She decides to keep the baby and the girls, including Charlotte, gather around her and support her decision.
Carrie returns to the restaurant where she had met Chad, the waiter who had gotten her pregnant years ago. He's still there and doesn't remember Carrie. She realizes she made the right decision and leaves. Carrie decides to be honest and admits to Aidan that she had an abortion when she was 22. She was worried that he would criticize her, but Aidan is non-judgemental.”[2]
Theme
How do the SATC-girls think about certain issues?
This episode is mostly about the pregnancy of Miranda and whether to get an abortion or not. Samantha, who is known for her wild sex life, talks about abortions as if it’s a normal thing to do. She doesn’t want children, so when she’s pregnant, what happened twice, she simply has an abortion. Carrie shares the opinion of Samantha; she has no problems with an abortion. She had one thirteen years ago and is glad she did it. Charlotte in contrary is trying to get pregnant for over five months, and finds out that she only has a 15% chance to get children. She is in tears, because already in the first episode of Sex and the City she talks about how bad she wants a baby. She is therefore very upset with Miranda, who says that she simply can’t fit a baby in her life and wants an abortion. At the end of the episode we find out that Miranda changed her mind and wants to keep her baby.
Another issue that’s central in this episode is whether the man who made you pregnant has the right to know that you are pregnant. Miranda gave her ex-boyfriend a few episodes before this one a ‘mercy fuck’; he was insecure because he has only one ball after cancer. Miranda doesn’t see why she has to tell Steve, the ex-boyfriend, that she pregnant. Why tell if she’s going to have an abortion? You can see that Carrie doesn’t know if she agrees with Miranda, but she decides to respect Miranda’s decision. Carrie tells her boyfriend Aidan about the pregnancy and he says that Miranda should tell Steve, because he has the right to know. So, the sexes differ on this topic.
Also in the fight between Samantha and Lucy Lui we can see an ideology. Samantha is just hired by Lucy Lui and then walks in the street. She sees a Birkin handbag with which it’s ‘love at first side’. But there is a waiting list for five years, so she decides to say that is for Lucy Lui. When she meets Lucy again, Lucy has the Birkin handbag with her and tells Samantha that she got it for free for some reason. Samantha explains what happened and that the bag is actually hers. Lucy Lui gets mad and says that Samantha is fired, because she doesn’t want people around her that lie. Samantha’s ideology is thus that you can lie to get what you want. But what the audience learns is that you don’t get what you want when you lie.
What do the girls do for a living?
You see in the intro that Carrie writes a column titled ‘Sex and the City’. Every episode, one column is central. Carrie always starts her column with a question. This episode, the question is “Are we there yet?”. By that question she means ‘do we have the age to get pregnant?’. She doesn’t answer that question. In case, in most episodes she doesn’t know the answer of her questions.
You can’t make up from this episode what the other girls do for a living, but in earlier episodes we learned that Miranda is a lawyer, that Charlotte works in an art gallery and that Samantha is in PR.
What do Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda do in their free time?
We see the girls every episode hang out in different diners. They lunch several times a week together. In episode 4.11 we see them lunch two times.
What do the SATC-girls wear?
I can now watch the episode over and over again to note exactly what the girls are wearing, but I can easily find it on their official webpage. So, this is what they wear in this episode:
“"Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda" Fashion Credits
Carrie - Ext. Street (1): Pant: Black knicker Commes des Garcons; Top: Black Martin vest; Shoe: Nude patent Manolo Blahnik
Carrie - Int. Carrie's (4): Shoe: Nude lace Dolce and Gabbana; Skirt: Pink Williamson lace skirt; Bra: Putty Dolce and Gabbana
Carrie - Int. Carrie's (6): Dress: Pink strapless; Shoe: White Manolo Blahnik pump; Bandana: White Carrie; Purse: Blue Bulgari and Lulu Guinness tote
Carrie - Int. Pizza Shop (14): Jumper: Pink terrycloth strapless jumper; Bra: White 14th Street strapless; Belt: Gucci artist pack; Shoe: Nude patent mule; Hat: White floral golf cap
Carrie - Tavern (22): Top: Gauzy white Martin L/S top; Jacket: Crème Wilhelm stripe 3 button; Pant: Chloe (accent); Shoe: White Manolo Blahnik strappy
Samantha - Int. Coffee Shop (3): Top: Mathew Willamson; Pant: Turquoise Gucci; Shoe: Christian Dior denim mule
Samantha - Ext. Madison Ave. (5): Dress: Brown and white Ralph Lauren; Shoe: Jimmy Choo XX Suede mule; Purse: Crème quilted Chanel
Samantha - Int. Restaurant (7): Jacket: Pink Thierry Mugler vintage jacket with belt: Skirt: White Tahari stretch; Shoe: Turquoise Roberto Cavalli pump
Samantha - Int. Restaurant (17): Dress: Floral glitter Tracy Feith dress; Shoe: Black Manolo Blahnik; Bag: Charles Jordan
Miranda - Int. Miranda's Office (10): Suit: Orange burlap Ellen Tracy; Bag: Yellow patent Cerutti; Shoe: Crème slingback
Miranda - Ext. Street (16): Suit: Plum Barney skirt suit; Bag: Butterscotch snake Amarcord
Charlotte - Int. Coffee Shop (3): Skirt: Navy Floral print Jussara Lee; Top: White V-neck; Shoe: Navy Coach wedge; bag: Pink linen Kate Spade tote
Charlotte - Int. Miranda's LR (21): Pants: Khaki Donna Karan; Top: Pink Ralph Laurnen S/S; Shoes: Pink Coach wedge; Bag: Pink Prada”[3]
What I personally found most significant concerning fashion in this episode were a couple of things. First of all, when Carrie tells Aidan that Miranda is pregnant, she makes him swear on Chanel not to tell Steve. She sees the fashion brand Chanel as something holy. (Carries says in one scene to Miranda: “I made him swear on Chanel”. Miranda says: “Well, as long as he took the oath of fabric’.)
Secondly, when Lucy Lui walks in the restaurant where she meets Samantha, she wears a shirt with the lines ‘I love Dior’. The last fashion statement is how much Samantha wants the Birkin handbag. She even lies to get it. Samantha says to Carrie: “Oh honey, it’s not so much the style, it’s what carrying it means”. By saying that she makes clear that fashion is not only about the style, but mostly about what it means to you and others when you wear it; the image of the brand. A Hermes Birkinbag is a expensive bag (it costs four thousand dollars), so by carrying that bag, Samantha let people know that she’s rich.
These are only the most striking examples, but when you pay attention you can see a lot more fashion statements. For example, Carrie doesn’t leave the house with her stilettos, most of the time Manolo Blahniks. Shoes mean the world to her. In one episode she saw a beautiful pair of shoes, and besides the fact that she doesn’t have the money, she buys them. She says: “But I rationalised that my new shoes shouldn't be punished just because I can't budget.”[4] A few episodes later, when she realizes that she spent 40.000 dollar on shoes, and doesn’t have money to pay for her apartment, she says: “I've spent $40,000 on shoes and I have no place to live? I will literally be the old woman who lived in her shoes”.[5]
2. Analyse webpage:
I will look at every single aspect of the webpage, classified in the same way the website does it: Home, Episode Guide, Cast and Crew, News and Awards, Community, Games, Scrapbook and The Look.
Home
About every month the homepage of the site is changed. But it has always the same lay-out and sequence of topics. At the top of the page you see a large picture which refers to an episode. When you click on the picture, you go the episode guide. This picture is the first thing you see when you enter the page and because it is such a large picture, which means that the web producers find the episode guide the most important aspect of the webpage.
Under that episode guide picture you see five pictures of Carrie, wearing the most beautiful outfits. These pictures are links to the Scrapbook and under the pictures is written “take a look back at your favourite defining moments in dating, fashion, and girl talk.” Next to that we see advertising for new DVD-box of season 6.
At the bottom of the page we see six little pictures and their links; one of a character of the serial, linked to the Cast and Crew section, one of a computer, linked to the bulletin board, one of Carrie and Samantha, linked to The Look section, one of an other character, also linked to the Cast and Crew section, one of the new book Kiss and Tell, “the ultimate fan-bible”, in which are pictures, interviews, behind the scenes things and so on. Finally, in the last picture, you can subscribe yourself for “The Dish”, the official SATC newsletter. Under all these pictures there is a toolbar where you can hyperlink to HBO.
Episode guide
The episode guide of every episode begins with a quote of one of the characters, followed by the director, the writer and the synopsis. On the side you can click on a link to see what Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda are wearing in a particular scene. You can see on page 5 what these fashion credits look like. You can also check out what music is used in the scenes. The fashion credits of the first four episodes of the show, can’t be found on the webpage, maybe the webpage didn’t exist at that time.
Cast and crew
You can click on fifteen cast members and fourteen crewmembers. When you click on a picture of a cast member, you get the biography of the character. You almost have to search for a link to the biography of the actress. On the side, there is an advertisement for the “Sex and the City Champagne Flute”, a champagne flute with and etched Sex and the City logo. It’s also possible to take a look at the interior of the four girls. When you click on Carrie, you can check out her apartment; there are pictures of the different rooms in her apartment with an in-depth description of the rooms. You can also click on the ‘Interior Zoom’. There you can click on the different rooms and see what’s in there. For example, when I click on Carrie’s closet and then click on a dress, I get the following information: “Carrie’s closet is a virtual who’s who of haute couture: outfits by (among others) Roberto Cavalli, Dolce and Gabbana, Narciso Rodriguez, Chanel, Juicy Couture, Robert Funk, Christian Dior, and Balenciaga. A cool Chloe dress hangs in front – perhaps for tonight urban escapade?”[6] You can also check out the interior’s of Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda.
News and awards
Well, this speaks for itself; here you can find out what award SATC won (a lot) and what the latest news is. The latest news is updated about every two months.
Community
In the community, you can subscribe yourself to the newsletter, called ‘The Dish’ and you can talk with others on the bulletin boards. There are four bulletin boards: Carrie and Co., Fashion!, City Café, and Favorite Moments. These bulletin boards are very vivid, because there is an enormous number of posts everyday. In the Fashion! Board, there are 2 or 3 posts every minute! The same goes for the Carrie and Co. board. On the other two bulletin boards, there are about 2 posts in 5 minutes.
Games
It’s weird that this section is called ‘Games’, because there’s only one game you can play here. You can do three things here: play the Trivia Game (find out how much you about Sex and the City), vote in polls, and download screensavers. In the Trivia Game are 89 questions that only the real SATC-fans can answer. For example, ‘where does Carrie go after her book party: a) Gray’s Papaya b) Ray’s Pizza or c) The Coffee Shop”. In the polls section there are polls like ‘have you ever been in Paris?’ or ‘do you have your Mr. Big?’. The screensavers are film stills from the serial.
Scrapbook
The scrapbook is the most interesting section of the website. It’s classified in the different episodes per season. You can read a short synopsis, you can see what the girls are wearing in 2 or three scenes, you can check the address of the restaurant the went to, you can see who they dated this episode and there is the “girl talk”, where you can see what an important topic of the girls is in that episode. It’s a pity that the link to the scrapbook doesn’t work most of the time.
The Look
In this section, you can click on Carrie, Samantha, Miranda or Charlotte. Every girl has a lot of pictures divided over the different seasons. Carrie for example has 33 pictures for season 6, but Miranda only 8. Under every picture there is a description on what the girl wears. I looked up what description can be found on a film still from the episode that I’ve analyzed (4.11): “Carrie looks cool as a summer breeze in a white vintage sundress and UV ray-blocking Battenburg lace parasol. Barely-there nude mules by Manolo Blahnik add invisible height”[7] It’s also possible to hear the comment of the SATC-stylist Patricia Field on the look of the four girls.
Merchandising
When you look closer at the website, you can also find a Sex and the City merchandise link. You can order shirts with the SATC-logo on it, different cocktail glasses, of course the episodes on DVD, a baseball cap, books from Candace Bushnell (the writer of SATC), the new book Kiss and Tell, with all background information on the show, posters, and shorts.