I had to ask myself. How can two versions of the same narrative, with the same main characters, facing the same challenges over and over again, be perceived so differently? Or, to put it another way: How could the TV series “Sex and single life” become a phenomenon and a classic, while the sequel, “And Just Like That”, is met with head shaking and sneers? DEAL WITH BLIND WHITE: Nicole Ari Parker (tv) and Karen Pittman (th) are new protagonists in “And Just Like That”. Photo: Reuters This summer it was 25 years since “Sex and single life”, or “Sex and the City”, premiered. It was a groundbreaking television series in its time. Much has been written about the fact that the friends Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samatha spoke openly about sex, directly and without prejudice, in a way that no one had done before in prime time. But when so many were drawn to the series like gnats to a designer lamp, perhaps it didn’t really have much to do with the sexual adventures. I’ve always thought that the key to the series’ uniqueness lay in the last part of the original title: Storbyen. “Sex and the City” took place in an unattainable glamorous universe in Manhattan, where there was always a vernissage or a launch party to go to. The Cosmopolitan glasses were always refilled and the wardrobes seemed bottomless. THE QUARTET: Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Samantha (Kim Cattrall) became a beloved group of friends. But this life can also be disorienting. It’s like a merry-go-round that goes very fast. People come and go at a furious pace. Sex is so central not only because it is a liberal society where people jump into bed faster than before. When sex happens so quickly in a relationship, it also becomes a way to get to know a stranger. It gives you early signs of whether or not this might be someone you are compatible with. And what if you don’t fit in with any of them? What if the carousel never stops? A minor string quivered under the cheerful melody at the beginning of each episode. Behind the puns and sharp observations was an existential question, which was sometimes said out loud: What if I die alone? This melancholy never became burdensome, because the series quickly jumped on to the next party, the next witty exchange. But when the romantic adventures fly by so quickly, and hope is lit and extinguished in a week, it is the friendship that becomes the rock. It is what becomes the anchor point, what lasts. In 2013, Emily Nussbaum wrote a famous article in The New Yorker about “Sex and the City”. She claimed that the series was as important and revolutionary as “The Sopranos”, which came out around the same time. When it wasn’t widely recognized in the same way, Nussbaum believed, it was because it was hyper-feminine, because it played with such a maligned genre as the romantic comedy, and because the audience was overwhelmingly female. AWARD-WINNING: Sarah Jessica Parker won several awards for her role as Carrie, including the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, which she received in 2001. Photo: AFP Nussbaum analyzed the conversations of the quartet of friends, noting how they highlighted the challenges of modern women’s life from different angles. Often the four argued two against two, but in different compositions. Sometimes, Nussbaum wrote, it was the spontaneous and romantic Carrie who was on the same page as the proper and conservative Charlotte, who longed for life in the nuclear family. The two were romantics. The other two, the ambitious Miranda and the sexually liberated Samantha, were cynics. They saw a relationship as a power struggle rather than a meeting between soul mates. Other times it was Carrie and Miranda who agreed. They were so-called second-wave feminists, concerned with equality between men and women. Charlotte and Samantha, on the other hand, were third-wave feminists, who saw the potential in exploiting their femininity. And finally there could be discussions where Carrie and Samantha found each other. They were both libertines, who quickly succumbed to sexual temptations, while Miranda and Charlotte believed there were good reasons to hold back. IHUGA FANS: Fans of “Sex and the City” pressed for Sarah Jessica Parker’s autograph when the first film premiered in London in 2008. Photo: REUTERS Nussbaum put into words some of what made “Sex and the City” so addictive. And on some of the things that make “And Just Like That”, which allows the audience to meet three of the friends again in a middle-aged version, fail to be the same. It has nothing to do with the women not being role models, that they do not act powerfully and admirably. Neither did the main characters in the old series. There must be something else. If you flip the switch ever so slightly to the side, Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and the now-missing Samantha become parodies of themselves. To a large extent, they already became that in the feature films from 2008 and 2010. A few tricks to the right, and Carrie becomes a crazy shopaholic, Miranda tense and shrill, Charlotte a hysterical housewife and Samantha a nymphomaniac. In “And Just Like That”, the first three are a little too often reduced to just this. There is a difference between portraying people who sometimes behave idiotically, and people who are more or less idiots. DEAL WITH BLIND WHITE: Nicole Ari Parker (tv) and Karen Pittman (th) are new protagonists in “And Just Like That”. Photo: Reuters The three friends who are new in “And Just Like That” have skin in a different tone and are obvious excuses for the whiteness of the original series. But even if they have a visibly different background to the others, they are not really able to add new perspectives. There is not much at stake for these women anymore. Much of the comedy in “And Just Like That” is about how resourceful ladies, who used to have an overview and cred, feel helpless in the face of the new era. They no longer understand the demands and expectations that are set. But this fear does not carry as much weight as the fear of the great loneliness, and the exploration of the problems that are actually there does not become really fascinating until the series dares to press hard on the pain points. RETURNS: Actress Kim Cattrall had a falling out with Sarah Jessica Parker and no longer wanted to play the role of Samantha, but makes a much-publicized appearance in “And Just Like That.” Photo: AFP Because clothes weren’t just clothes in the original series, bags weren’t just bags, and shoes weren’t just shoes. In an episode from Season 3 of “Sex and the City,” Carrie is at a friend’s baby shower and is ordered to put her Manolo Blahnik shoes down in the hallway. The expensive shoes disappear. Miranda thinks the hostess should replace them, while the hostess thinks it’s unheard of that she should pay for Carrie’s irresponsible expensive habits. This story is not about Manolo Blahnik shoes. It’s about discovering that you’re suddenly at a different stage in life than your friends. That values and norms have changed. That a single, working woman finds that others are judging the way she spends her money. Fast forward to the third episode of this year’s season of “And Just Like That”. Carrie’s new friend, the estate agent Seema (Sarita Choudhury), is robbed of her Birkin bag, one of the world’s most sought-after designer bags. She is grieving the loss because she bought it after her first big sale. And then, at the end, she finds the bag again. LUXURY PROBLEM: Seema (Sarita Choudhury) loses her precious bag in the second season of ‘And Just Like That’. The two stories are similar. Single woman buys an expensive thing and loses it. But the first story is a wistful look at friendships that change and positions that don’t last. The other is just about a bag. The first story is about a problem, the second about a luxury problem. When many still flock to “And Just Like That”, it says something about how beloved this universe is. For many, including those who watch through gritted teeth, it is enough to be back in Manhattan with their girlfriends. It is still somewhat entertaining to discuss the clothes, to be a fly on the wall at the parties. But it’s not the same. In all the criticism of “And Just Like That”, it is otherwise worth pointing out that the series, at least in the first season, has more wit and is more faithful to the original than the suffocating consumerist films. They still have a point, those who believe that the new series is not funny enough. But for my part, I also think that it is not sad enough.
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There is not much at stake for these women anymore – Speech
