As a writer and hopeless romantic, the main thing I’ve always appreciated most about Sex and the City is the brilliant nuggets of wisdom tucked away in the columns written by the show’s primary character Carrie Bradshaw. Carrie always managed to eloquently and succinctly sum up some fascinating truth about men, life, love or relationships in 200 words or less during one of her voiceovers, as she was seen typing her column on her laptop.
Whether she was waxing profound on the mysteries of the universe such as why there were so many great single women but not enough great single men to go around or something a little more personal such as the soul-searching that takes place in the aftermath of a particularly bad break-up, Carrie was an inspiration to single women everywhere through her powerful voice.
Like many other women in their thirties, I always secretly wanted to be Carrie Bradshaw. From her fashionable clothes and Manhattan apartment to her witty, insightful columns to her relations with some of the most interesting men on the show, Carrie seemed to have it all. Sometimes Samantha’s sexual escapades were a bit too risqué, sometimes Charlotte seemed a bit too naïve and sometimes Miranda was just a tad too unlikeable in the brusque way she treated the men in her life and her lawyer-like approach to everything. But Carrie was just about always likeable, even when she was breaking hearts or buying one too many pairs of ridiculously overpriced shoes.
Carrie was the woman you could totally relate to on Sex and the City – the girl next door. If you didn’t see something of yourself in her, she perhaps reminded you of your best friend or sister. She was the one who was always putting herself out there in the dating world but you never really lost respect for. She was talented and independent and she wasn’t afraid to take risks. Whether it was agreeing to be a model on the runway or to grace the cover of a magazine, she may have made her share of mistakes, but she was always true to herself in the end.
She was a romantic at heart. Remember when she drew inspiration from the greatest love letters of all time for her book research? You always wanted it to work out with Big because you knew she was smitten with him from the very first time their eyes locked. And yet you knew he was trouble with a capital T. But you couldn’t help but go along for the ride because you knew Carrie was always going to come up with some insight for you along the way. Not only were you living vicariously through her, but she was also teaching you some of life’s important lessons. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said to myself or overheard a girlfriend remark, “That makes sense!” while viewing this program.
In my opinion, some of the show’s best writing emerged in Carrie’s column voiceovers. In fact, I once watched a special in which the show’s writers talked about tackling the column topics and how much pride they took in writing them. While just about every episode features a clever column that rings true in some way or another, I’ve narrowed down my favorite gems for you. If I left out one of your favorites, please feel free to share it in the comments section below.
Great post!! One of my favorite narration voiceovers was:
“If you’re a 30 something woman in Manhattan and you’re sexually active, it’s inevitable that you’ll rack up a certain number of partners. But how many is too many men? Are we simply romantically challenged, or are we sluts?”