This piece contains very few spoilers and does not analyze the Samantha question (though this writer truly missed her favourite OG SATC PR queen. I’ll include some links of great articles taking on the much needed analysis, but for me, this was about how the series made me, and I imagine other people, feel about our pasts, presents, futures, and friends.
Like many other women my age, I dutifully watched Sex in the City in my 20s. And now, like many other women of my age, I devoured its long-awaited reboot And Just Like That. Throughout my many rewatches of the 10 episode missive, I couldn’t help but wonder if the mature journeys of Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte were giving me little glimpse at what the future may hold, and a reaffirmation of the power of female friendships.
As a 20 something navigating the 00s, and a 40 something navigating, well, now, SATC and AJLT both functioned as an almost guidebook. The cast of characters were always just over a decade ahead of me, a group of beautiful, bad ass big sister types living beautiful, bad ass big lives. Watching the women of SATC navigate work, love and life in New York City showed me and other women like me that there wasn’t one right way to be a woman coming into her own, despite what our families, the media and society would have us believe.
For me, the biggest take away from Sex and the City was that it was not only acceptable, but encouraged, for women in their 30s to be single, to be seeking and, most of all, to be carving their own paths and following their hearts. It was a lifeline of possibility at that juncture in my life, when I was truly struggling with what I wanted my own life to look like. It also showed me, as an aspiring creative struggling to deviate from the more traditional path set out before me, that you could be successful as a creative woman, in a real and big way. From Carrie’s career as a columnist turned published author, to Samantha as a PR powerhouse, I saw women doing work that I found aspirational, and being lauded for it.
Fast forward 2 decades later, AJLT showed how the characters grew and evolved from those very choices, living inspiring and admirable lives and making new friends (diversity debate aside), even as they continue to make huge all life altering decisions and navigate life affecting situations. They each experienced some sort of upheaval, from Carrie’s sudden traumatic loss, to Miranda’s somewhat surprising identity evolution, and Charlotte’s offspring inspired affirmation of adulthood. And throughout all of these instances, it was the foundation of their friendships that helped ground the women throughout these earth shattering and core shaking moments. And as women of my generation get older, and encounter our own experiences with that level of magnitude, it serves as another reminder of the power of our own friendships, of chosen family. Both SATC and AJWT continue to validate the time and energy women of my and their generation put into these relationships, reminding us, and really the world, that they truly are everything.
In the end, I truly believe that AJLT gave me a glimpse into my future, and a beautiful validation of my present. SATC captivated a generation of women navigating a brave new world, one so different from that of our mothers’. We have our friends for support, guidance, and unconditional love. And we can also travel the world, have nights on the town, and create amazing memories from the crazy adventures we will always have together.AJLT reminds us not only that those friendships endure, but they continue to evolve and grow just like we do, while enriching our lives beyond measure.
AJLT filled a content vacuum I didn’t realize I had. The series fit perfectly between Gossip Girl and Grace and Frankie for indulgent and uplifting eye and heart candy television, for which this ongoing pandemic prisoner is eternally grateful. Maybe most importantly of all, And Just Like That also gave us a glimpse into what life can be like post pandemic. No masks, full makeup, social distancing a distant memory. What a wonderful thought, and another beautiful glimmer of what we may experience someday soon.
And just like that, I remembered what it was like to hope again.
Nadia Elkharadly
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