Write About Now

Maybe it’s because, like Carrie, I write a published column (and this blog) and spend quite a bit of time pondering life in front of my Mac. Maybe it’s because, like Carrie, I spent years of my life clutching the safety bar in a roller-coaster relationship with my own black-haired, blue-eyed, manipulative-yet-charming Mr. Big. Or maybe it’s because, like most women who watch the show, I love the clothes.

Whatever the reason, I admit it: I love Sex and the City, and I can’t wait for the movie at the end of this month.

The show earns its name–it’s filled with the raunchy and the racy–but I watch for the relationships among the four women. Yes, that sounds like the old “I read Playboy for the articles” line, but it’s true. In fact, I watch the show on network reruns (rather than DVD or online) where the more graphic language and explicit scenes have been edited out and the real power of the show—its funny, insightful writing and excellent acting—can shine.

Throughout six seasons Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha experience life as single women. They live complex lives and ask difficult questions: Do women just want to be rescued? Can you make a mistake and miss your fate? Are we getting wiser, or just older? Each episode attempts an answer, and includes more than sex, or even romantic love–the real focus is the friendship and love among these four friends.

YouTube doesn’t currently offer my favorite examples: the episode in which Miranda discovers she’s accidentally pregnant while Charlotte discovers she can’t get pregnant; the one in which each friend offers support for Carrie’s heartbreak even while celebrating Charlotte’s marriage; the truly wonderful moment when Samantha attempts to hide her breast cancer diagnosis until after Miranda’s small wedding reception, telling Miranda, “Go be with your people and we’ll talk tomorrow.” “You are my people,” Miranda says. “Now talk, and don’t leave anything out.”

So, until those are available, I leave you with this fun moment–and an encouragement to watch the edited-for-network-TV version sometime.