Natalie Humphrey J312 Final Media Analysis Sex and the City Sex and the City 2 is the

highly anticipated sequel to the first Sex and the City movie based on the popular characters of Candace Bushnells novel under the same name. Show creator Darren Star turned the book into a wildly popular HBO series which ran for seven years, won eight golden globes, and developed a very loyal following (IMDb: Sex and the City, (n.d.). In 2008 Director Michael Patrick King turned the television series into the Sex and the City movie, followed by Sex and the City 2 produced by HBO Productions and distributed by New Line Cinema. Both movies are owned by Warner Brothers Entertainment, Inc. (IMDb: Sex and the City 2, 2010). The television show from which the trailer for the movie is based was a huge hit for HBO and continues to be syndicated today. In its six-year lifetime, it was nominated for a total of 125 awards and won 36, including four Emmy Awards, GLAAD Media Awards, Writers Guild of America awards, and eight Golden Globes (IMDb: Sex and the City, (n.d.)). With its passion for fashion, handsome men, lavish lifestyles and lots of sex, the show became popular around the world, exported to over eighteen foreign countries. (IMDb: Sex and the City, (n.d.)). This sheer fame indicates the true cultural relevance the series had around the world. Some might argue that the show boasted the liberation of woman and the breaking of social barriers that restricted women from being independent, self-sufficient, and sexual beings, while others argue that the show promotes a highly unrealistic lifestyle of fame and

fortune dwelling on materialism and promiscuous sex. Without a doubt, the positive and negative publicity all came together to build a scandalous, current, fabulous cultural artifact. The trailer for the film Sex and the City 2, due out in May 2010, is the artifact under analysis. It can be found at multiple venues including online and on television. There are several versions of this trailer that can be found, however the one specific to this analysis is the shortest at one minute and twenty one seconds. It can be found in its entirety on Youtube.com. The trailer is glitzy, glamorous, and larger than life. Bold glittering letters introduce the film amongst an aerial view of fabulous New York City. The characters are presented perfectly primped and coifed, with designer duds and sky-high stilettos. The trailer shows a little of their New York lifestyle and fast forwards to a lavish, all-expenses paid for journey to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, where the champagne is flowing and the ladies revel in the mysticism off the richest city in the world. Amongst the mysticism, materialism, romanticism, and friendship in the Sex and the City 2 trailer, there two prominent world views demonstrated: A World Operating According to a Romantic ideal: If you Wish upon a Star and A World in Which Consumerism is the Cardinal Ideology. World View I: A World Operating According to a Romantic Ideal: If you Wish upon a Star A world operating according to a romantic ideal is said to operate according to an absolute value system, consisting of truth, beauty, justice, faith, and love (Silverblatt, Ferry, & Finan, 2009, p.[32]). Similar to the classic Disney ideal, true beauty is a reflection of inner beauty and if you believe hard enough, your good will be rewarded

with something wonderful. In this world, good always wins in the end; the princess always rides off into the sunset with her true love, and the evil stepsister is plagued with tragic ugliness, inside and out. This world is based on faith and an ordered universe that is microcosm of heaven (Silverblatt, Ferry, & Finan, 2009, p.[32]). There are several cultural myths and mythic plots that indicate that the concept of Sex and the City is directly related to this world view. First, the mythic plot of Damon and Pythiansy touts the importance of loyalty and friendship. One of the major themes of Sex and the City is directly quoted at the end of the trailer: Sometimes, you just have to get away with the girls (King and Star, 2010). In fact, one of the few bold, glittery words that grace the screen is FRIENDSHIP. In the short almost one and a half minutes of this trailer, there are seven shots in which all of the four main characters are together. They are first shown reuniting in the streets of New York, in their sexy dresses of course. They continue to laugh, hug, and sip cocktails together. They are shown walking down what might be a runway, and flying across the world on Samanthas all-expenses paid jaunt to Abu Dhabi. It is very apparent that this film is based on the plot of Damon and Pythiansy, because as the tale goes friends are nurturing, supportive, and emotional. It seems that a very prominent moral of this story is that with friends, you have everything. Girlfriends are confidants and supporters that are there to share drinks with, travel to luxurious locations with, lunch with, and even sometimes butt heads with. Despite being apart and leading different lives, true friends are always there for each other. Ultimately Carrie says it best: Sometimes, you just need to get away with the girls (King & Star, 2010).

An important cultural myth in support of the Romantic Ideal ideology is that of the all sufficiency of love. This myth holds that romantic love is a mystical force that is essential to a persons survival (Silverblatt, Ferry, & Finan, 2009, p.[206]). Just as prominent as the theme of friendship in this trailer is that of love. Sex and the City is notorious for sex, romance, and the womens search for deep and everlasting love. In one of the beginning scenes the friends are all shown at a wedding: the union of their two homosexual friends. Despite cultural roadblocks and difficulties that might stand in the way of a partnership between two men, their love prevails and they throw a lavish, over the top ceremony with all their friends and family. This is a perfect example of the Romantic ideal myth that promotes the ideal that love is critical to a persons well-being, identity, and existence. At the wedding Carrie and Big dance together and he dips her romantically in a fairytale sort of manner. Alongside, her friends stand and watch with their loves: both kinds and significant others. Once in Dubai, notoriously-single Samantha is shown courting a handsome fellow who just might be her next fling. Her constant search for love and sex shows how she feels incomplete and inferior without a male partner to please her romantically and sexually. Even though she is not often monogamous, the need for her to constantly be with a man is very indicative of the desperation to find love. In addition to romantic love-- Big and Carrie romantically kissing in his limousine or Carrie peering down outside her apartment to find him waiting for herthere is another kind of love shown in the trailer and that is a parent-child kind of love. Charlotte is shown with her little girls baking pink cupcakes in her seemingly perfect life. Miranda is shown with her son as well. For Charlotte, her life was incomplete and imperfect without

children, and now fulfilling her dreams makes her life perfect. Whether it be the love between a mother and a child or romantic love like that of Carrie and Big, love is a huge theme in the Sex and the City 2 trailer. Overall, love is seen as the key ingredient to a successful life. Love is glamorous, enviable, luxurious, and prevails in all circumstances. Everyone needs love to be successful and survive, whether gay or straight, husband and wife, or parent and child. Just like the cultural myth of the all sufficiency of love, with love, anything is possible. Colors within the trailer also boast themes of love, friendship, and emotions. Warm colors such as Mirandas golden dress, Charlottes pink cupcakes and pink dress, and the Samanthas glittering golden dress indicate feelings of happiness, securities, positivity, and heighten nostalgia. The green in the trees as well as the overhang mean growth, harmony, and hope. The deep and rich colors of Abu Dhabi mean several different things: dark blue of Samanthas dress represents peace, contentment, trust, and loyalty, and violet tones in the womens clothes represent magic, imagination, and romance. The very prominent earth tones of Abu Dhabi in the sand, the camels, and the earth represent vitality and sensuality. Reoccurring colors representing themes such as sensuality, loyalty, growth, harmony, and happiness all support the myth of the all sufficiency of love, contributing to the world view that we live in A World Operating According to a Romantic Ideal (Silverblatt, Ferry, & Finn, 2009, p.[259]). World View II: A World in Which Consumerism is the Cardinal Ideology According to this view, we live in a world where success is defined in terms of material acquisition, replacing other avenues of fulfillment (Silverblatt, Ferry, & Finn,

2009, p.[32]). This fits the world of Sex and the City 2 perfectly, as consumerism is practically a main characterthrough the presence of high fashion, vacations, and expensive lunches. This world view explains that despite what economical or societal status a person may hold, their primary ideology should be to participate in a consumer society. For the glamorous lifestyles that the women of the Sex and the City 2 trailer lead, they work very little. Realistically, the women would not have the things available to them that they have, like the high end fashion, their choice of restaurants and housing, and other such luxuries. Since they are beautiful, trend setting women, however, they have the power to act in ways that are most favorable to them without considering reallife externalities such as taking time off work or finding babysitters. There are several cultural symbols both in the cultures of New York City in the first part of the trailer as well as in Abu Dhabi, Dubai in the latter part. New York itself is a symbol of bootstrapping, just as the lyrics in the trailer proclaim these streets will make you feel brand new, these lights will inspire you (King & Star, 2010). The city is a symbol of hard work, dedication, economic mobility, and urban socialites. The first frame of the trailer is the rooftops New Yorks skyscrapers, following by the panning of Carries sky-high apartment building, from her luxurious penthouse suite all the way down to the golden doors opened by two doormen. As the doors are opened for Carrie to glamorously exit, the lyrics say in New York suggesting that the glamour, wealth, and prestige can only be found to this extent in the city of lights itself. The prominence of wealth in this trailer alongside penthouses and designer duds indicates the primary importance of consumerism as central to a happy lifestyle.

In addition to New York City, the trailer takes place in Abu Dhabi, Dubai. No doubt this city is a huge beacon of luxury, wealthy, class, and mystique. In actuality, Abu Dhabis GDP is around $100 billion dollars, and the per capita income is about $70,000, the third highest in the world (Abu Dhabi, UAE, 2009). With its extremely lucrative oil trade, booming tourism industry, and steadily growing population, Abu Dhabi, Dubai continues to be one of the hottest and swankiest locations in the world. When the ladies just have to get away from their lavish lives in the city, they jet off to the Middle East. Needless to say, consumerism becomes a means of escape from the characters daily lives when they spend an exotic vacation together (King & Star, 2010). The vibrant colors and other editing techniques contrast the busy city scenes of New York to colorful, lively scenes in Abu Dhabi. The city, which is a landscape of grays and blacks, is the springboard for which the women have their adventures. The women wear bright colors against the bland city, which signifies that they are feeling detached from their environment and want to stand out against their surroundings. When together, whether attending classy parties or lunching at expensive-looking restaurants, the women are vibrant and cheerful; alone, they look sullen. This shows that the women can find happiness through shopping or eating at fancy restaurants, no matter what personal problems they face. A certain racial stereotype exists in relationship with the consumerism ideology. The main charactersthe four womenare the definition of success who all happen to be white, upper class women who dont seem to have to work to achieve their success. There is no minority group represented in the trailer, which implies that the glamorous lifestyle shown is only available to white upper class citizens. In the whole trailer, there are only three minority people shown. All three of them are waiting on the women in a subordinate fashion. This infers

that while consumerism is the cardinal ideology, it is really only accessible to people of a certain race, location, and status. Discussion The characters in the trailer are all beautiful, wealthy, and in control of their destinies, which enables them to make decisions in their own best interest. Realistically, the women would not have the things available to them that they have, like the high end fashion, their choice of restaurants and housing, and other such luxuries, but since they are beautiful, trend setting women they have the power to act in ways that are most favorable to them without considering real-life externalities, such as taking time off work or finding babysitters. The women all have individual freedom and act of their own free will and problems arise when they realize that their lives revolve around other people such as spouses or children more so than themselves. Consumerism becomes a means of escape from the characters daily lives when they spend an exotic vacation together, which is seemingly the answer to their problems. In the world of Sex and the City 2, the main population is white, upper class, and affluent. They live lavish, glamorous lifestyles in which they act as they please according to their own best interests and are in complete control of their destinies. The characters each embody very different personality traits in the trailer: Samantha is shown as flirting with different men, Carrie is shown loyal to Big, and Charlotte is shown as the homemaker with the perfect life (after all, who can bake pink cupcakes with two children in hand and wearing a skintight white mini dress?). These different personas are highlighted by different production techniques which portray them as different and essential members of a fabulous quad.

Originally Sex and the City was an effort to break out of the stereotypical women character and create a group of women who are independent, powerful, and sexually liberated. This trailer, however catering to this ideal, depicts the value that life is not complete without a lover and a closet full of designer clothes. The world view World According to a Romantic Ideal explains and describes a very important ideology present throughout the trailer: that with loveboth romantic and friendship loveall things are possible. If you live lavishly, are loyal to your friendships, and do good in a world full of bad, you will be rewarded in the end with satisfying love. The world of Sex and the City 2 is one that complies with the world view A World in Which Consumerism is the Cardinal Ideology. Meaning, in order to live a satisfying life one must dress in fabulous clothes, live in beautiful homes, and travel. In other words, happiness comes from materialism and consumerism. The girls buy their way to happiness in the forms of a trip to Abu Dhabi, bottles of champagne, and Jadore Dior tee-shirts. It almost seems as though if a person longs for meaning that cannot be achieved through human relationships, that meaning can be purchased. Ultimately, between the friends and love of labels, you too can have it all. There are some very prominent messages about American culture and ideals in the Sex and the City 2 trailer. In New York, where dreams are made of, it is inferred that everything is possible through ruthless hard work and undying self-confidence. Ironically, there is not instance in the trailer where any of the main characters are working at a job. Being that all of the characters are white, upper class women, one might infer that this is the only race and class who can actually achieve these dreams and possibilities. There are no minorities in the trailer who are shown as wealthy or dignified,

and no minorities at all even shown in the scenes in New York City. Another cultural ideal of American society shown in the film is the importance of money. Money is depicted as the gateway to happiness and a fulfilled life. Without money and all of the things it can acquire, what does one have to show for their own success? The characters of the trailer are shown in their expensive clothes and accessories and jetting off in an all-expenses paid vacation to one of the richest cities in the world. It probably is no coincidence that the ladies did not go to France or to Egypt, but rather to the city where money is outrageously abundant and therefore, so must be happiness. Overall to have money is to have status, and to have status is to have a great time. We can decipher a lot about what Americans value and believe through watching such culturally relevant artifacts such as the Sex and the City 2 trailer. At face value the series and movies look like fictional or comedic stories, but they are really laden with truths about American society. Because there is such a successful movie based upon sex, love, and riches, it becomes apparent that these are the things that Americans really value and take the most interest in.