After standing in a line that stretched around a city block, a few girlfriends and I were finally let into the theater to see Sex and the City
on opening night in Manhattan. We feared death by trampling. Luckily,
we made it in alive and settled into a row where just a few seats down
from us a couple of girls actually popped open a bottle of champagne in
celebration. Still, my expectations for the film were very low. And
they were met.
There's
some fun to be had in this movie, from Carrie's couture wedding gown montage to Samantha using her naked (and beautiful) body as a serving platter for sushi for her super fine boyfriend. There were also disappointments,
and one in particular really had me wanting to throw popcorn at the screen and let out a giant boo! Towards the end of the film,
Samantha shows up at Carrie's apartment for a surprise visit. When the
girls see her, they gawk at her in complete shock, and the camera
instantly zooms in on Kim Cattrall's tiny little midriff.
I
was confused. I honestly didn't know what we were supposed to looking
at. The tacky pants? Nope. Samantha had apparently gained a few pounds in the couple months since they last saw her.
I must say that if my best friends ever looked at me with the disgust
in their eyes that Carrie, Charlotte, and Miranda had for their
life-long pal, I could no longer in good conscious consider them
friends. When Samantha defends her body by saying that she hadn't
noticed she was gaining the weight, Carrie snaps back "How could you not notice?"
God
forbid a working 50-year-old woman not maintain perfectly flat six-pack abs. Apparently having an amazingly successful career in PR, a stunning
apartment overlooking the ocean,
and enough bank to jet off to expensive resorts in Mexico on a moments
notice just isn't good enough. Not with a barely perceptible
gut it isn't.
SATC and the Samantha character, in particular,
are famous for showing a revolutionary view of female sexuality and
independence. Remember in the first episode when they vowed to start
"having sex like men"? That was like a call to arms for a movement!
It's sad to see that freewheeling Samantha and the gang are still
oppressed by negative body image despite being depicted as
trailblazers and superwomen who can have it all. We've always known the
girls were body obsessed, but in the movie we're supposed to see them
as women in their late-forties who've grown out of adolescent
insecurities. They're supposed to be strong, confident,
comfortable in their own skin and not wounded by gaining a few extra
pounds. At least that's what I hoped. Besides, how are they supposed
to maintain those fat-free figures anyway when they're always eating out?
As
I stumbled out of the dark theater, I couldn't help but wonder: if one of
the actresses had actually gained weight would she have been recast in
the movie?
--Raegan Johnson
Related Links from Elastic Waist and SELF:
Sex and the fatty
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