I love my Sex and the City, don’t get me wrong. I own every season and the first movie on DVD, I have the entire trivial pursuit SATC edition memorized, emulate the fashions (when I can afford it), but there is something that keeps holding me back that makes me refuse to go see the new SATC 2 in theatres. I just can’t bring myself to condone it, especially after the first movie really pushed my buttons.
I can see it relating a lot to what Jenkins addresses in “How Texts Become Real” as far as my attachment and immersion within the show’s storylines and plots go. I have watched every episode to death and feel that I know the ins and the outs of each character so well, that I can fill in gaps or make pretty accurate assumptions to move ahead in the story. I feel that I know how characters will react or would react in given situations and I’m starting to think that maybe it is for that reason alone, that I was not thrilled when I heard there would be a movie made and then downright unhappy when the announcement came along about the sequel.
I have always hated the character of “Big” and when the final season came to a close and Carrie ended up with him AGAIN, I felt relief that the show was at an end because I did not want to see them crash and burn once more, as they always and inevitably do. But of course, the movie comes out and what happens to Carrie and Big? A big, fiery, pile-up-on-the-side-of-the-freeway type crash.He left her waiting at the altar. Obviously I wasn’t shocked that it happened and then even less so when they ended the movie with them getting back together (aahh love). Well, at least that’s over…..wrong. The previews for the sequel that I have seen, show Carrie and the girls running around India and somewhere/ somehow along the line, Carrie is now ringless and running into former flames. Gee, wonder where this plot will go.

Stressin' Like a Bridezilla

As each quarter (or semester) comes to a close, I inevitably reach that peak of ultimate stress where it seems as though school is never going to end, members of group projects are driving me up a wall, I’ll never get a job, and my constant yet unattainable ideals of coursework perfection begin to appear as nothing more than some blue-sky idea, a mere fantasy that once could have been a reality. If only, if only….if only I hadn’t procrastinated. Work habits aside, I tend to bottle up this stress when in public but have lately noticed an interesting trend in my TV viewing habits as the anxiety levels skyrocket.

Case in point: I found myself over Memorial Day weekend watching a day-long marathon of Bridezilla (yes, feel bad for my boyfriend who was forced to endure this). This show is a horrible depiction of what someone’s “happiest day of my life!” moment looks like. It unleashes the uglies, the stresses, and the neuroses of each bride-to-be, almost always resulting in some sort of dramatic meltdown or demotion of members within the wedding party *gasp*. It’s over the top no doubt. It’s unnecessarily dramatic, catty, and usually pretty tacky, BUT I feel so much BETTER after watching it! I find that watching someone on screen who is having the emotional outburst brought on by stress that I so often wish I could have during these times, is a cathartic experience that in some ways allows me to purge my own personal frustrations just by watching these monsters-in-white act out.

I’d never really been aware until now of how my media habits really do seem to reflect my mood or present circumstances but by analyzing it now, I could definitely correspond to someone the mood I’m in just by listing a TV show or Movie that I would be watching at that moment.

So here’s hoping to tomorrow being more of a Pixar type day!