Reading Sex and the City (Reading Contemporary Television) (Paperback)

~ Kim Akass (Author, Editor), Janet McCabe (Editor) "Once upon a time, there was a tantalising TV show that embarked on a cynical yet hopeful journey to find that elusive spectre of Manhattan..." (more)
Key Phrases: feminist audience research, feminist audience studies, voiceover informs, New York, Sarah Jessica Parker, Carrie Bradshaw (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Although HBO's Sex and the City has won Emmy, Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe awards, film studies lecturers Akass and McCabe are peeved that some find the show a "'worthless pile of swill' with no cultural relevance." With this wide-ranging collection of essays, they set out to dispute that view, calling on various contributors to reveal the myriad ways of interpreting the show's plot and characterization. Sex's narrator, Carrie Bradshaw (played by Sarah Jessica Parker), details the exploits of gal pals Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte, simultaneously exploring issues of sex, independence and relationships from a decidedly female perspective. The book's most heated debate centers on whether the overall image of women on the show is positive or negative. Are Carrie and company third-wave feminists who won't conform to a preconceived image of emancipation? Or are they enmeshed in a traditional yearning for Mr. Right? In the 21st century, according to most contributors, happy endings are relative. The book covers a wide array of topics, such as the symbiotic relationship between fashion and costume, and historical representations (by Woody Allen and Theodore Dreiser, among others) of single New York women. Some writers criticize the show's image of men and the instances of lesbian homoeroticism, claiming both detract from the celebration of women, sex and gay life. Others enjoy walking in Carrie's Manolo Blahniks. Most of the analysis is thought provoking, and the majority of the clearly written arguments allow readers to make the final judgment. Some viewers may not crave such scrutiny, but other fans will enjoy the added depth. Photos.
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From Booklist

Sex and the City, with its trendsetting fashions and frank discussions about sex, has been iconic from the get-go, and these collected essays analyze its commentary about modern-day society. Joanna di Mattia examines Carrie's reactions to her two most significant suitors, the sexually exciting Mr. Big and the romantically inclined Aiden. David Greven compares the strange guys the women often encounter to The X-Files "freaks of the week." Astrid Henry sees the women's enduring friendship as the biggest symbol of female empowerment in the show. "One of the most important themes is the value of female friendships and the role of these friendships in helping each of the . . . characters to understand herself and her life," Henry notes. And what book on Sex and the City would be complete without a mention of those famous Manolo Blahniks? Sarah Niblock examines the shoes' creator and their significance in an urban setting. Anyone who loves Sex and the City and appreciates how it reflects contemporary times will want to read these smart, accessible essays. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: I. B. Tauris (March 18, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1850434239
• ISBN-13: 978-1850434238
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #506,097 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Miss the Girls, I mean, er..Women, August 11, 2005

By	Michael S. Waren "schoeder" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Being a critical media scholar and (Yes,fan of the show) this collection of insightful essays is a media scholar and/or feminist scholar dream come true. If you are looking for deep "dishy" style of gossip behind the show you will be sadly disappointed. "Sex and the City" is a show that will go down (no pun intended) for letting women reveal and talk about love, sex and relationships in a honest true fashion, regardless of how you feel about the characters and their "impossible" lifestyles. I always marvel at how this show often broke ground by often crossing gender and cultural guidelines within its audience base. I am intrigued by how universal the show is and how it makes me a little mad that some people want to dismiss it as a silly women/gay show.

Split into five parts the book touches on sex and relationships, the social and cultural impact of the show, female identification, narrative text and intertextuality within the show, and of course fashion. The last essays being a great deal of fun as they look at the famous "Sex and the City" tour in NYC, fandom and the intersection of being a scholar and bridging fan base gap as well. Editors Kim Akass and Janet McCabe should be applaud for their thought-provoking and meaningful work, I would quickly snatch (again no pun) any critical reader that these ladies do on any series. A critical celebration of "Six feet Under" has already been published this spring. I am "dying" to read that one. (ok, bad pun intended!)

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I know this much is true ... Candace Bushnell - you saved my single life, July 4, 2006

By	M. R. Estante "http://aralarcalifornia.blogsp... (North America) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Every woman should say "I'll take Manhattan" ... and then do so in her own way....

Enjoyable read and commentary on the single in the city life...for men and women alike. Sex and the City was a God-send for many women during its six-year run. Once upon a time women were brainwashed to believe that they were incomplete without marriage and motherhood. How many an aspiring career women felt she needed to take a break to find a husband and produce babies? Well ... we'll fast forward to a few years later (quoting Alanis Morrissette) .... and urban trends unfold to reveal that Cosmopolitan had it right. Love is for the Harlequin novels because like Avril Lavigne sang "five years from now she sits and home, feeding the baby she's all alone. She turns on TV and guess who she sees ... Sk8tr Boi rockin up MTV"... in the confines of a white picket fence prison. Oh hail Candace ... your Sex and the City tales spawned an entire collective discourse in pop culture's commerical HBO land ... of a rebel feminist yell not seen since the days of Madonna circa Like a Virgin..... with one clear cut anthem - Live it Up Ladies On Your Own Terms! The only baggage you need is a Gucci bag. All a wedding is - is a production - and the bride and groom get to play stars for one day. Why not be a star every day by taking on the world and a big bite out of the Big Apple.

Post-Script: All the people that I knew who got married at 25 and dissappeared from sight ... resurfaced about 3 to 5 years later divorced and some with kids. Those who once felt sorry for the single and solo now yearn for the very freedom that they lost on their wedding day. Thanks to Carrie and her pals! You saved our single lives! Go Candace - bring on more women heroines in the Sex and the City Empire. No Desperate Housewives need apply!

Here is a more personal account of how the ladies in my life see the very empowering impact of Sex and the City in their lives:

There was a young woman who was plump, plain, and finding her way in the world living alone in the big city far from family ....who only wanted to find a boyfriend to validate her. Years passed and she saw all the "love" go to the pretty cheerleader types, mostly blue-eyed blondes, ravishing redheads, or foxy brunnetts. Then a show came on the air called "Sex and the City" and something took root in the psyche. During the six years it was on the air the young lass found her personal heroine in Carrie Bradshaw and her lady pals. And so a transformation began which had a snowball effect... resulting in a quiet miracle - the young woman loved her life exactly as it was! She stopped desiring marriage and motherhood because she never wanted it at all! Who needs a cell mate and sleep deprivation - not me! It was society's rulebook and not hers! And she stopped apologizing for it. She celebrated it! And all the boys who never looked at her - well, they ended up divorced and telling everyone to avoid their mistake. A mistake they now can't take back. And as for all the girls who batted their eyelashes and won the roses ... let's just say Desperate Housewives and the suburban anorexia of their lives didn't live up to the wedding cake promise.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Critical perspectives--thoughtful and personal, October 30, 2006

By	Charles S. Houser (Binghamton, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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The essays in this volume cover the first five years of the six-year run of the HBO original series Sex and the City. The first four sections of the book are comprised of scholarly articles on the subjects of (1) Sex, Sexuality, and Relationships, (2) Socio-Sexual Identities, (3) Fashion and Cultural Identities, and (4) Narrative, Genre, and Intertextuality. The fifth section contains mostly brief personal essays about the authors' appreciation of the show, and as such is the weakest in the book. I especially enjoyed Susan Zieger's essay, "Sex and the Citizen in Sex and the City's New York" in which she discusses one of the dilemma's facing third wave feminists, the conflict between identity politics and "do it yourself" citizenship. In it she observes "DIY citizenship is a consumer fantasy which always encounters the reality principle of identity politics." Mandy Merck's "Sexuality in the City" was also noteworthy. She engagingly addresses the often-discussed issue of whether Sex and the City is the product (and projection) of gay men's imagination (i.e., the producers) or an authentic depiction of contemporary women (noting that most of the episodes were penned by women).

There's a lot of good stuff in these essays. While readers need to be fairly familiar with the series, its characters, and plotlines to get the most out of this collection, anyone with an interest in media or culture studies will be able to appreciate what the authors have to say. The book is indexed and has an excellent bibliography. Another fine volume in the Reading Contemporary Television series.