Thursday, May 27, 2010

Defending Your Sex!


At first I thought I was being paranoid about how people are hating everything Sex but with a few hours left before the US premiere of the sequel, it's more than obvious that people have something against this movie.

For every lovely article with interesting, playful information like:

"20 Things You Didn't Know About SATC" at Sky Movies

"SATC2 Celebrity Interview Unscripted" at Moviefone

there's a distasteful, almost gratuitous attack like:

"Sex and the City 2 EW Cover: More Photoshopped Than the Poster?" at The Huffington Post (OMG do they REALLY Photoshop people in posters nowadays? *gasp*)
This one's especially hypocritical coming from a medium that highlights the Kardashian's almost naked bodies and Gwyneth Paltrow's curves in their entertainment section, yet chides the media's need to make actresses look beautiful.

Of course they also feature this in their website...


Now to breathe, there's this quite good, accurate article by someone who actually knows the show...
"In Defense of Sex and the City" at My Dog Ate My Blog

My biggest pet peeve though comes from the critical community, especially from Roger Ebert who seems to have made a mission out of trashing anything Sex.
Some of his Twitter posts read as follows:

  • 271 comments under the REEDIT link to my SATC2 review, and a lot of them are really good, by women. http://j.mp/aE5yjE
  • RT @I_AM_OZMA There is not a single thing that happens to the people on Sex & The City that I would ever want to happen to me. Those people are awful.
  • SATC "still offers the best insight into the complications of modern womanhood" says writer on Salon.com. Yes, Salon.com. http://j.mp/9DtZ2E
And just in case he didn't make clear on Twitter how much he hates it, he reminds us at his website by placing not one, but two links to his one star review of the movie.


Coming from someone who pretty much hated the first yet awards four stars to almost anything else, this has a lot to say about how he barely has mentioned he also gave bad reviews to the other big weekend releases.

Earlier yesterday Vanity Fair also retweeted an old article where their writer compares SATC fans to extremist terrorists.

A Brazilian critic I read, expressed his distaste for the movie as he tweeted during the screening. Not what I would call "professional behavior" for someone being paid to write about movies he watches, not semi-watches because he's busy tweeting how much he hates them.

Curiously most of the dissenters clarify the fact that they're not sexist or genre biased. I wonder then, whatever happens to their condemnations of extremely violent action movies? Or their love for male bonding over female disrespect in films like The Hangover?
Is it really more offensive for mature women to indulge in luxury, sex and friendship than to see a big muscled guy kill twenty nameless terrorists without a second thought?

For all I know, a shoe has done much less harm in the world than a gun.

8 comments:

Luke said...

Brilliant! As a lover of both Sex and the City and the occasional silly action movie, I wholeheartedly agree. What is so much worse about this particular indulgence as opposed to the millions of others in far-better-received films. Luckily the creators made this movie for the fans and not for the Tweeters. This way we avoid a cameo by Justin Bieber. :)

Notas Sobre Creación Cultural e Imaginarios Sociales said...

Thank you Luke!
I find it insane that people feel the active need to trash the movie and scream it everywhere.
I hate most action blockbusters but don't spend my time and energy telling everyone how much I do. It's not the dislike that bothers me, everyone's entitled to dislike stuff, but the hate principle truly bugs me.

Simon said...

Great argument. While I don't watch the TV show, I try to remain impartial to the franchise itself.

But, I ask, what if you've watched the show and loved it, liked the first movie, but hated the second one with a firy passion?

Notas Sobre Creación Cultural e Imaginarios Sociales said...

Thank you Simon.
I'm not sure what would happen in that case, as I said people have a right to dislike whatever they want. What I'm trying to understand is why scream your hatred to the four winds and start the awful hate campaigns Sex and the City is getting?

Simon said...

I dunno. There isn't a Twilight movie out right now?

Notas Sobre Creación Cultural e Imaginarios Sociales said...

Simon: LOL.
Do those movies get so awfully trashed as well? I know people hate Kristen but I've never seen 'em engage so actively in dissing her.

vectorsplatter said...

Arguments against SATC always seem to reveal people's underlying misogynism. I've heard so many people talk about how the characters are sluts and selfish bitches--It totally disgusts me. I still love the series too, even with the backlash against the movies & I think it's much smarter than people give it credit for.

In case no one has told you yet, Joseph Kahn linked to your analysis of All the Lovers on his twitter. Great job and good luck with everything!

cheap viagra said...

I don't have anything against this movie because I love the plot and women in the series appear, specially the woman in her red dress, she's so hot.m10m