“Sex and the City” has risen again.
Not only is the movie fast approaching, but I also recently came across a column in the Harvard Crimson titled, “Carrie Bradshaw Syndrome.”
Normally, any research I gather from fellow university papers is minimal, for the obvious reasons of avoiding petty plagiarism of topics and fueling rivalries. However, this column caught my attention: Who knew the smarties at Harvard had something in common with a liberal Bruin such as myself?
Turns out columnist Ryder Kessler has this silly idea that people our age, and students in particular, have a tendency to overdramatize their current life problems and equate them to the ones we see on genius shows like “Sex and the City.”
He defines this as “Carrie Bradshaw Syndrome,” an unnecessary parallel of real life and television entertainment. Of course, Kessler makes a valid yet obvious point, but he continues on to say that this syndrome is a flaw worth fixing.
Kessler admits our lives would be boring to anyone, including ourselves, if we didn’t spice them up with talk of some affair, crime or betrayal, but he questions the origin of this motivation. Essentially, Kessler’s answer has to do with the need to make our mark in the world, so to speak.
We are all living in that middle phase, in between what we want to be when we grow up and what we do for a living, in between guys who take you out to fancy restaurants in a Lexus and guys who barely offer to split the check, and in between paying the Internet bill and actually having real responsibilities.
Sitting in this variable chapter makes one crave excitement to fill the void of just waiting to see what your life might become.
As much as I agree with Kessler about the weird, misfit feeling a twentysomething can come across, I disagree that this is a problem that requires a solution at all.
He proposes getting our drama fix from an even more unrealistic show so as to avoid the risk of losing sight of the line between real life and television. Apparently there is not enough of a difference between the normal life of a student and the normal life of a single New York City girl with hundreds of pairs of shoes.
I say while that might actually work as far as a distraction goes, it’s unnecessary.
Now, as a huge fan of “Sex and the City,” I admit to being biased about the merits of the show. However, there is a reason it so closely models the life of a real single woman. I’m hesitant to admit this, because showing weakness is never my style, but at times, women can be very fragile, especially in cases that include sex. It’s a shocker, I know.
HBO made an incredibly smart business decision by targeting a majority audience and basically making the show model real life as far as television permits. It emphasizes the vanity that is part of human nature.
You cannot tell me that you do not know at least one person who has been cheated on or vice versa, been taken advantage of (sexually or not), or been dumped. I argue against Kessler’s term “Carrie Bradshaw Syndrome” as a minor misnomer. I do not think it is a syndrome we suffer from. Rather, I believe it is simply part of growing up and slowly learning how to handle things that have the potential to really screw up your head.
Prior to the show’s debut in 1998, there were women and men contemplating the future of relationships, dealing with STIs and unwanted pregnancies and other life brainteasers. These are not new revelations drawn from watching four women trample over a city.
Kessler warns drama queens and kings by stating, “You might like to make your life like a TV show or movie, imagining that your daily problems require untold deconstruction and discussion. But keep in mind: The only person watching is you.”
Kessler’s reminder simply states to keep things in perspective and not expect the entire world to turn away from global warming, for example, and focus on you.
Valid argument Mr. Kessler, but I respectfully disagree. There is a loophole.
You can be consumed by personal dilemmas and you can spend hours having the same conversation over and over with your best friend. The probability of this happening is very likely, and that’s just the way it is.
No television show or mature mentality will ever rid the twentysomething student from overanalyzing or contemplating anything.
That’s just life. It’s not a problem.
Happily basking in your “˜Carrie Bradshaw Syndrome?’ E-mail Forde at nforde@media.ucla.edu.