“And just like that”: The heroines try to cope 20 years later.
Today, 20 years later, it is of course easy to say that “Sex and the City” is in part a rather borderline series. Back then we loved “Sex and the City,” the series about four women who took what they wanted in bed, just like in life. That was revolutionary and exciting – of course we had to tune in. But what was shown there were extremely problematic narratives. The entire life of the four privileged white women revolves around men. Even if other topics are touched on, everything always comes back to men and relationships. So this is the great self-realization?
Confused by feelings
The man who is said to be Carrie’s great love is narcissistic and she suffers from the relationship. What did we learn back then? If a man treats you badly, allow it, it just means he’ll be confused with his feelings and eventually he’ll confess his love to you.
But this narrative was only one of many problems of “Sex and the City”. For example, the protagonists find that bisexuality doesn’t exist: “It’s just a stopover on the way to Gaytown,” says Carrie.
Another example is dealing with trans people. The portrayal of three trans women from Samantha’s neighborhood is a string of transphobic jokes, “half man, half woman” Carrie calls them. Worse still, Samantha feels that people like that shouldn’t even exist in her neighborhood because she’s paying “a fortune” for her apartment.
New York City is probably one of the most multicultural places in the world. But in “Sex and the City” people of color don’t take place, at most in the background, as service workers or as so-called “plot devices” to embellish the story of the white people.
So now, twenty years later, “Sex and the City” continues. “And just like that” is the name of the sequel that can be seen on Sky. But only three of us (actress Kim Catrall was tired of her role as Samantha) our series heroines Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte are now in their fifties trudging through New York. “And just like that” seems like a kind of correction to “Sex and the City”. PoC and queerness take place prominently and without discriminatory representation. The “woken” moments of the series show how much Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte are overwhelmed by the current discourse. The women who used to have their finger on the pulse are now lost between the white rescuer complex and the right pronouns.
Aging is an issue
PoC and queer people are now becoming an important part of the story. But instead of depicting the reality of their lives, these supporting characters are only there to help the three main characters get over their insecurities and patiently make them better people.
What the new series “And just like that” does well, however, is to seriously address the problems of life as it progresses. The loss of loved ones, the fear that there may not be much more to come in life, aging. And finally it is no longer primarily about men. But about the three women themselves.
Despite all the problematic narratives, “Sex and the City” was actually revolutionary twenty years ago. The four protagonists questioned apparently fixed patriarchal concepts at prime time and showed that women like to have sex and not all want to marry and have children. They once had a lasting impact on and changed the discourse.
“And just like that” is still unmistakably “Sex and the City” with the typical humor and dynamic. But the new series shows protagonists who no longer have a say in the discourse and who can no longer really keep up with the zeitgeist. It’s hard for the viewer to watch at times, but Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte grow from it, too. And you can see above all: it keeps going.
“And just like that”, one season, on Sky.
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