Sex and the City and the Contemporary Woman

Week 1 (1/26): Introduction: Sex and the City and the Contemporary Woman

Review course materials, requirements

Introduction to “Sex and the City”

Episode 1, “Sex and the City”

Enrollment

Readings:

            Amy Sohn, The Pilot

            Amy Sohn, Darren Star

            Simran Khurana, Sex and the City Quotes

 

Week 2 (2/02): Miranda – the Successful Woman

Icebreakers

Episode 31, “Where There’s Smoke…”

Clips: episode 44, “Sex and Another City” / TBD

Questions to Think About:

Is Miranda a strong woman who “doesn’t need men” or is that just an image she portrays because it’s easier than admitting she’s vulnerable? 

Are successful women more intimidating?

Readings:

            Amy Sohn, Miranda Hobbes

            Amy Sohn, Steve Brady

 

Week 3 (2/09): Charlotte – the Traditional Woman

Episode 32, “Politically Erect” / episode 37, “Drama Queens”

Questions to Think About:

Why is Charlotte so desperate to marry and have kids – is it something she truly wants or simply something she thinks she needs b/c of societal norms and pressures?

Is Charlotte weak because she feels she needs a man?

Why does Charlotte feel it is so important to “play by the rules” and engage in traditional dating?

Readings:

Amy Sohn, Charlotte York

 

2/16 Holiday: NO CLASS

 

Week 4 (2/23): Samantha – the Sexual Woman

Episode 27, “Shortcomings” / episode 36, “Are We Sluts?”

Clips: episode 41, “Running With Scissors”

SHEP presentation

Questions to Think About:

Is Samantha a liberated woman or a slut? 

Is her desire for many men a want or a need?  Can she be strong without a man?

Why the aversion to monogamy?

Readings:

Amy Sohn, Samantha Jones

Caitlin Domke, The Lady or the Tramp: a Critique of Television's Stereotypes of Women in News and Entertainment

Elizabeth Boskey, Let’s Talk About Sex (and the City)

 

Week 5 (3/2): Carrie – the Complex Woman

Episode 13, “Take me out to the Ball Game” / Episode 63, “Change of a Dress”

Questions to Think About:

Why is Carrie drawn to both Big and Aidan?

Why does Carrie stress commitment in her relationship with Big but cannot deliver this with Aidan?

Is Carrie’s perspective on sex and relationships too “loose”? 

Readings:

            Amy Sohn, Carrie Bradshaw

            Julia Chaplin, I'm Stylish, I'm Single and I'm Not Carrie Bradshaw

 

 

Week 6 (3/9): Cheating and the City

Episode 18, “The Cheating Curve” / Episode 39, “Easy Come, Easy Go”

Questions to Think About:

Why does Carrie cheat on someone she loves? 

Can the contemporary woman trust?

Readings:

            Amy Sohn, Mr. Big

            Amy Sohn, Aiden Shaw

Joanna DiMattia, ‘What’s the Harm in Believing?’ Mr. Big, Mr. Perfect, and the Romantic Quest for Sex and the City’s Mr. Right

 

Week 7 (3/16): Children and the City

Episode 10, “The Baby Shower” / Episode 59, “Coulda, woulda, shoulda”

Guest Speaker: Professor Ruth Rosen

Questions to Think About:

Why does Miranda believe a baby doesn’t fit the image of a powerful woman?

Why is Charlotte so obsessive over having children?

Why is Samantha so image-centered?

Readings:

Amy Sohn, Aleksandr Petrovsky

Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, Ms Parker and the Vicious Circle: Female Narrative and Humour in Sex and the City

Andrea Lynch, Praise for Sex in the City

Rosemary Bennett, Teens Who Watch SATC More Likely To Get Pregnant

 

3/23 Spring Break: NO CLASS

 

Week 8 (3/30): Singles and the City

Episode 3, “Bay of Married Pigs” / episode 83, “A Woman’s Right to Shoes”

Questions to Think About:

Explore the dynamic between the two types of adults

Are singles wrong for not trying harder to fit the societal norm of marriage and family?

Why does being single make you seen as a pariah?

Who is more mature/age appropriate?

Readings:

Roderick Duncan, Does Sex and the City Predict the Future of Marriage?

  

Week 9 (4/6): Homosexuality and the City

Episode 34, “Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl…”/ Episode 52, “What’s Sex Got To Do With It?”

Project/Paper Proposals Due!

Questions to Think About:

Is there a stereotypical portrayal of homosexuality throughout the show?

Is SATC positive because of exposure of the gay community or negative because of the “gay caricature” created?

Readings:

            Amy Sohn, Stanford Blatch

            Amy Sohn, Anthony Marentino

            Mandy Merck, Sexuality in the City

Gary Maddox, Is Sex and the City gay?

 

Week 10 (4/13): Love and the City

Final Presentation Sign-Ups

Episode 80, “Hop, Skip, and a Week” / Episode 90, “Out of the Frying Pan”

Questions to Think About:

Even though they have been through so much, do these women still believe in love? Why or Why not?

Readings:

            Amy Sohn, Jack Berger

            Amy Sohn, Trey MacDougal

            Amy Sohn, Harry Goldenblatt

            Amy Sohn, Righard Wright

            Amy Sohn, Smith Jerrod

            Beth Felker Jones, Unsafe Sex: Still Watching 'Sex and the City'

            Anne Stover, Sex and the Cynics

            “Do We need Men to be Happy…or Can We Go It Alone?”

  

Week 11 (4/20): Image and the City

First Round of Final Presentations

Episode 50, “The Real Me”

Product Placement Activity

Questions to Think About:

What does the diversity and differences between the girl’s styles signify?

How does product placement affect the message of the show?

Readings:

Amy Sohn, The Fashion

Jane Arthurs, Sex and the City and Consumer Culture: Remediating Postfeminist Drama

Stella Bruzzi and Pamela Church Gibson, ‘Fashion is the Fifth Character’: Fashion, Costume, and Character in Sex and the City

Candace Bushnell, Can You be a Sex Goddess in a Cardigan?

Candace Bushnell, Nice vs. Ice

 

 

Week 12 (4/27): Realism and the City - A Happy Ending?

Episodes 93 & 94, “An American Girl in Paris Part Une” / “An American Girl in Paris Part Deux”

Questions to Think About:

            Do real women talk like the girls/live like the girls? 

            Are they only a portrayal of rich, white, beautiful, city girls? 

            Does the show portray a positive or negative image of the modern woman?

Readings:

Sarah Niblock, In Love with Sarah Jessica Parker: Celebrating Female Fandom and Friendship in Sex and the City

Timothy Williams and Annie Correal, Sex and the Rest of the City

 

 

Week 13 (5/4): Project Presentations and SATC Movie.   

Finish Final Presentations

Final Papers due in class

Readings:

Craig Blankenhorn, ‘Sex and the City’ and Its Lasting Female Appeal

Manohla Dargis, The Girls are Back in Town

 

Week 14 (5/11): Finish SATC Movie