The Ryan Thomas Collection

Sex and the City- The Movie Reviewed (Small spoiler below)

Standing amongst a sea of teenage and quarter-life girls with their token gays waiting to see the midnight premiere of Sex and the City, The Movie, the cult following of four women in their forties is shocking at first. However, looking at the television series and now the movie, it makes sense that the storyline of these women has captivated so many women of all stages in our modern age.

Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha are new archetypes of the modern woman. In a post-women’s lib world, these women depict the results of such efforts. Though the movie lacks a strong storyline, and instead crams a television season’s worth of fluff, puns and chaos into a 2.5 hour movie, it successfully presents modern women with a plethora of examples of what it can be to a be a woman.

A successful writer, lawyer, art dealer and PR rep of the Big Apple afford young women a clearer vision of career and personal growth intermixed with traditional feminine ideology of family and marriage. Increasingly, it is important for impressionable young women to realize they can have both a career and a family, if they choose. Furthermore, it is important for women of all ages to realize that it is alright if traditional feminine ideology does not suit their individual lifestyle.

This is what Samantha’s character and storyline in the movie portrays successfully. As Samantha attempts to fulfill traditional ideas of living for love, rather than solely herself, she realizes that she prefers the freedom of herself. The “me” factor. She abandons a unfulfilled and saddened life where she feels stuck at home as a traditional “housewife” in Los Angeles. The film ends with her turning 50, being single, successful and living the socialite life in New York City. The important part here is that she is happy with that and shows that this independent lifestyle is a perfectly fine selection for women. She is not punished in the storyline, like films of decades past where older, single women were treated more like old hags rather than fulfilled and happy members of society. Living to live rather than living to find a man is a pivotal pinpoint of Samantha’s character and a vital element that audience members should pick up on.

The overarching importance of a film like this, which relies on audience loyalty rather than cinematic quality and/or excellence, is the defining of a new type of womanhood, or rather the destruction of a single traditional ideal of womanhood into a flood of choices and options. Each of these options lead to differing places and viewers see the struggles, and they see the benefits.

Sex and the City reminds viewers that being single at 30, 40 and 50 is okay and, in actuality, can be beneficial for the idea and fulfillment of one’s self. Happiness can come from more than getting married, having a child and staying at home. At the same time, it is okay to desire traditional feminine archetypes. There are options and women are empowered to create them and choose them.

Sex and the City, The Movie fulfills America’s incessant need to overindulge, going for a second helping when the final meal was more than satisfying. However, the presentation of four successful, hard working, fun women living varying lifestyles in the nation’s biggest city is imperative in a society that continues to present young women with conflicting ideas of womanhood.

Popularity: 23% [?]

Watching Cher and Tina Tuner being interviewed on Oprah had me thinking. Seeing these two women on a stage in Vegas is more than just a Thursday afternoon at 4pm. These are two women who stood against what was of expected of women in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and even what is expected of women now.

These are women… no…these are people who stood up for something and not for attention, but for themselves. These women did not and do not do what they do for attention like today’s Paris, Nicole or Lindsay Lohan types do. They have worked and pushed forward for more than paparazzi pictures.

Cher and Tina have both pushed against patriarchal power and influence in a time when some may have thought it unpopular. They both understood that personal liberty and the power of the individual was worth more than anything a man could provide. Standing up against the norm in a time when it was unacceptable is not only commendable, it is admirable. It seems that far too often women like this are pushed aside now. Strong and independent women are put in the shadows by “porno, paparazzi girls” and this is will be the downfall of modern American society.

Cher and Tina Turner are what some may say the “retirement” periods of life and yet they push on. They are performing their art and entertaining those who want to listen. So often do we see we male politicians, performers and men of business doing the same and being acclaimed for it. Let us not forget that women can and are doing the same. Women like Cher and Tina Turner may not be the the businessmen of today or yesterday, and they may not be the politicians of today or yesterday, but they are people of our time. We must recognize what they have done for girls, women, and people in their lifetime. In our lifetime.

Some may read this as a typical gay man preaching the glory of a diva or two, but one must realize that it is more than this. Women fighting for an equal opportunity on their own is still a rather new concept in society and it is a continual fight. These women are examples of what all of us, men and women alike, can aspire to; a fight for self determination and individual success. We may never achieve the depth of success they have, but we can aspire to do something close. If we are questioning success or survival from a difficult choice we must make. These are women…no…these are people that we can look to and understand that good things can and will come from making a tough choice.

Whether you are a young girl wanting to conquer the world without being a tragic paparazzi girl, a young gay boy in a small town sitting in a closet waiting to break free, or a straight guy who does not want to be quarterback of the high school football team; these women show you that being a puppet of social norms does not equate happiness or success.

Take a small step for your individual freedom and independence. Next, take a larger step towards your personal liberty. You may never, I may never, and the person next to you may never be the next Cher, Tina Tuner or even Oprah, but we may all be one step closer to personal and individual liberty, and only then can we achieve the energy to push on when we are of “retirement” age, or even tomorrow.

Popularity: 5% [?]

A strike of reality hit me and a group of friends this weekend. A three hour drive found four of us, all gay men, in Reno, Nevada to celebrate my 25th birthday with some drinks, gambling and fun in a less glamorous way than Las Vegas.

Describing Reno is rather difficult. One may be able to equate it with Atlantic City, NJ. Reno is known as the “The Biggest Little City in the World” and this may be the best way to describe it. Having lived in Hillcrest (San Diego’s gay neighborhood) and now living in San Francisco, day to day life typically excludes feelings of being the odd man out. However, the four of us were hit with the hard stick of reality on Saturday.

Taking a casual daytime stroll down the streets of downtown Reno, a car of African-American men drove by us yelling, “Faggots!” Thankfully it has been a long time since I have encountered such bigotry on a personal level, but we were all a bit taken back. Comfortable with what I assume these men would call our “alternative lifestyle,” a part of us was able to laugh at the sheer ignorance of our these men. Another part of us just wanted to say, “Really? Did you really just say that? Come on. It’s 2008!”

Above, the ignorant men were described as African-Americans purposefully. The irony of this is found in that these men are a part of society continually suffering from racism and ignorance. These African-American men are unable to correlate their use of the word “faggot” with the use of “ni**er.” This is where one can find comedy in the ignorance, while also frustration in the inability to make this association.

One can almost feel sorry for these men. For one, they have nothing better to do than call out vicious names to strangers. Secondly, they must feel so powerless and so threatened by four gay men casually strolling down a street that they need to call out these names in attempt to feel power and strength in a society that continues to see this race struggling for equality.

This is why I don’t feel anger towards these individuals. One has to feel sorry for such people and sometimes you just have to laugh it off. Sometimes it is easier to laugh than it is be angry.

Popularity: 19% [?]