The Meeting of the Minds (November 4th- November 10th) By: Faryn Wegler

 In this week’s meeting, we discussed some major recurring themes that were touched upon in our episodes. We also tried to relate the representation of women in the Sex and the City to our readings and class lectures, and talked a lot about they way the show is structured. We decided to use Lotz’s chapter Sex, Careers and Mr. Right in Comedic Drama and Newman's Form Beats to Arcs: Toward a Poetics of Television Narrative to make some key observations on the series.

Structure of Sex and the City

1.) Serial/ Episodic Elements: Sex and the City can be considered a serial series that contains episodic elements (it mixes episodic and serial plots)

Serial Aspects: By discussing each of our episodes, we notices that there are always underlying plots that affect the actions and attitudes of the characters. For example, Carrie’s desire to be with Big and Charlotte’s search for Prince Charming recur through the various episode and seasons.

Episodic Aspects: In each episode, there is a different “story” being told about the characters. For example, Samantha is usually sleeping with a different man from the previous episode, and Carrie is writing a new topic for her column. Although many of the story lines are continuous (such as the Carrie-Big relationship), the writers create different events for the characters to encounter and new obstacles to overcome.

2.) The Blending of Humor and Drama: The mixing of humor and drama is crucial to developing the stories of the characters. Instead of just an emphasis on plot (which is usually the case in situation comedies or pure drams), the format of Sex and the City allows audiences to see character development. We see the personalities of the characters come through in the ways they use humor in dramatic situations (often involving their relationships with men or the “curse” of being single)

3.) The Use of First- Person Narrative: Through first-person narration, the show develops an intimate relationship with the audience. We are able to get an exclusive view into Carrie’s “thoughts” and how she perceives her friends actions through her narrative voice-overs (in writing her column). However, the program still allows the other characters to have important story lines that allow for rich character development

Overall, our group has been communicating well each week in discussing important elements of our program. Stay tuned for future posts!