I saw the first episode of the Cashmere Mafia series yesterday. I couldn't resist. I was watching Desperate Housewives and smart people at ABC knew to follow it up with this new, and highly anticipated, show. Let me first say that I am a huge Sex and the City fan. I've seen every episode numerous times and watch it all the time on HBO on Demand. I don't love each and every episode and some I don't particularly care for, but overall, it's truly one of my most favorite shows of all times and I can't wait for the movie to come out in May. I keep hoping for a new Sex and the City that would be, if not bigger and better, but at least on par or not too far below. Did I find the replacement in Cashmere Mafia? Sadly, no.
I think, to me, what made Sex and the City special was the message I always got out of it - if you have your best girlfriends, determination, hope and drive you can do it. You can have it "all" and the "all" is not a cookie cutter concept. Every one's "all" is different and that's what makes our lives interesting. Each character brought something unique to the show and, at least for me, I could see a part of me in every one of them: Carry, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte. I guess, to me, yes it sounds silly, the show was always so positive, there was always that aura of optimism and a sense that yes, things will be great in the end. As I said, that's just me. I always got a warm fuzzy feeling inside from it. Go on, mock me, I don't care :).
With Cashmere Mafia, I don't know. Those rose glasses come off immediately. I think if the show seeks to empower women, it fails miserably. Essentially, I got two messages from the first episode. Well two and a half. The first was positive and reminiscent of Sex and the City - with your girlfriends by your side, anything is less miserable and life goes on no matter what else is crumbling around you. All you need are your trusted friends to sit you down and hand you a glass of wine. That part I liked. The other message(s) were less touching. There is no humility. The messages are (at least right now): the woman must ultimately pick between family/husband and great career. Message #2 was that men are dogs who cheat on their wives/can't put up with their girlfriends' success and ultimately just want to get laid and have their egos inflated Sure, I am not naive, I know it must be extremely difficult for powerful women to balance careers and having a family. I also have experienced first hand what it's like to have your boyfriend be jealous of your accomplishment, regardless of how silly that jealousy seems. I also understand that the premise of the show is to show it "like it is." One of the characters, after revealing to her friends after one of the friends saw her husband making out with their mortal enemy that she and the hubby have an arrangement that he gets to cheat on her, that "what can we expect from these men who earn less than we do, are not as powerful as we are ...blah blah." I understand all that with my mind, yet, at the same time, do I want this onerous message reinforced to me every Wednesday night at 10PM? I think not. I think I'm better off holding on to my Sex and the City ideal that for a modern woman in NYC, given time, it is possible to have "it all," whatever that "all" may be. In this world of positive thinking, I think we can all use a little more of that, no? Here is to hoping that NBC's Lipstick Jungle will be better!
With Cashmere Mafia, I don't know. Those rose glasses come off immediately. I think if the show seeks to empower women, it fails miserably. Essentially, I got two messages from the first episode. Well two and a half. The first was positive and reminiscent of Sex and the City - with your girlfriends by your side, anything is less miserable and life goes on no matter what else is crumbling around you. All you need are your trusted friends to sit you down and hand you a glass of wine. That part I liked. The other message(s) were less touching. There is no humility. The messages are (at least right now): the woman must ultimately pick between family/husband and great career. Message #2 was that men are dogs who cheat on their wives/can't put up with their girlfriends' success and ultimately just want to get laid and have their egos inflated Sure, I am not naive, I know it must be extremely difficult for powerful women to balance careers and having a family. I also have experienced first hand what it's like to have your boyfriend be jealous of your accomplishment, regardless of how silly that jealousy seems. I also understand that the premise of the show is to show it "like it is." One of the characters, after revealing to her friends after one of the friends saw her husband making out with their mortal enemy that she and the hubby have an arrangement that he gets to cheat on her, that "what can we expect from these men who earn less than we do, are not as powerful as we are ...blah blah." I understand all that with my mind, yet, at the same time, do I want this onerous message reinforced to me every Wednesday night at 10PM? I think not. I think I'm better off holding on to my Sex and the City ideal that for a modern woman in NYC, given time, it is possible to have "it all," whatever that "all" may be. In this world of positive thinking, I think we can all use a little more of that, no? Here is to hoping that NBC's Lipstick Jungle will be better!
I think it's appropriate to follow up with this article from the NYT
Fashion & Style
The Falling-Down Professions
By ALEX WILLIAMS
Published: January 6, 2008
For lawyers and doctors, gold-embossed diplomas are no longer so golden.
The Falling-Down Professions
By ALEX WILLIAMS
Published: January 6, 2008
For lawyers and doctors, gold-embossed diplomas are no longer so golden.
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