It's not uncommon to hear the HBO series Sex and the City referred to as a "modern day fairy tale." The 2008 feature length SatC film finally makes that comparison explicit, with repeated allusions and intertextual references to the most beloved of all fairy tales, "Cinderella." It's no accident that it's "Cinderella" that Carrie reads to Charlotte's young daughter, nor that the princess makes an appearance on the Valentine's Day card Carrie plucks from her mailbox.
Some critics are dissatisfied with the ending of the SatC movie, believing that it suggests that women should settle for less than the happiest of endings. If you look carefully, however, I believe the movie suggests that it's when we walk into love with unrealistic expectations - the kind that stem from fairy tales like "Cinderella" - when we get hurt. It's not that we should settle for less than happily ever after, it's that we should realize that a fairy tale wedding plus happily ever after isn't the only option out there.
As Carrie says, "we were perfectly happy before we decided to live happily ever after." And they ARE clearly happy, before Carrie gets caught up in creating the kind of fairy tale wedding that every little girl is supposed to dream of, before the day becomes more about her wearing a princess dress and less about the life-long commitment of two people in love. When Carrie forgets that her story is not a fairy tale, she ends up jilted at the altar.
Of course, as Carrie says, "some people do get their fairy tale." Charlotte gets everything she's ever wanted: a loving husband, a beautiful home, and two children. But that's Charlotte's fairy tale, not everyone else's. Samantha leaves a five-year relationship because she'd rather be alone. That's certainly not a traditional decision, but in Sam's fairy tale, she's single. It doesn't devalue that relationship for her to not live happily ever after in it - as Carrie says, "some love stories aren't epic novels, they're short stories, but that doesn't make them any less filled with love."
In the end, Carrie takes Mr. Big back. But I don't believe this is a lesson in accepting less than you deserve. I think this is a lesson in understanding that real life doesn't always live up to the expectations that fairy tales set up for us. What SatC suggests to me is that there isn't only one way to love, or only one way to get your happily ever after. When Carrie reads "Cinderella" to Lily, then says to her, "you know, things don't always happen like this in real life," I don't believe it suggests happy endings are impossible. I believe it means that things don't have to end up exactly like they do in the fairy tales for the ending to be happy.
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I agree. Although SatC possesses many aspects of fairytale (an idyllic wedding, the scene where Big fits a shoe on Carrie's foot, etc.), its main message brings the movie back to reality. Even Charlotte, who in the movie seems to have the perfect life, goes through many obstacles before reaching her state in the movie.
ReplyDeleteIn the TV series, she ends up divorced from her seemingly perfect handsome first husband. Charlotte also finds out that she is unable to have a child and therefore adopts a daughter in her second marriage to her "less handsome" husband. The reason I bring this up is that the theme of "understanding that real life doesn't always live up to the expectations of fairy tales" is a common one in the SatC saga. Charlotte, the character with the most positive, optimistic and hopeful outlook on life, goes through many hardships throughout the seasons. Although she doesn't have a fairytale first marriage, she finds lasting love and happiness in her second.