DTWOF, SATC, WTF
The New York Times gave a heck of a review to The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For. I love Bechdel's reaction. Dang is right.
I'm watching the movie of Sex and the City while I write this. It's truly awful, and I say this as someone who was a fan of the series. (I'm still watching it because I've got a pile of laundry to sort.)
I wonder who else falls into the intersection of people who read DTWOF and watch SATC. While the characters are at close to polar opposites of the cultural spectrum (crunchy politically obsessed anti-materialist lesbians in Minnesota vs. fashion obsessed consumerist heterosexuals in search of true love in New York), the stories actually have a lot in common. Both are soap operas, and both portray worlds where friendships between women endure over time in spite of relationships, jobs, kids, and everything else that life throws at you. And, in spite of name of the show, most of the time SATC passes the Mo Movie Test — women talk to each other about things other than men (usually shoes, but I still think that counts).
December 4th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
I only discovered DTWOF after I read Fun Home, and I lost patience with SATC the last couple of seasons, but if that counts, sure, count me in to that intersection. You’re right, the two have some things in common, although I wouldn’t want to stretch the parallel too far.
December 5th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Thanks for the link — I’m looking forward to the book.
I’ve always been a fan of books that really follow people over a long time (and comics are the ones that do it in real time, rather than in a pre-ordained way, so Better or for Worse & Doonsebury are my comparisons). Does anyone know of any other stories like that?
I think episodic television shows (like SATC and Friends and Mad about you) also share that characteristic — I think what I like about them is that the characters end up with stories and histories that were not predicted from the beginning, just like in real life.
(SATC bugged me in the end by making the final story about Mr. Big. The others all ended their stories in unpredictable ways, ways they wouldn’t have predicted or imagined at the beginning. Haven’t seen the movie, but suspect I would find it a disappointment).
December 5th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Google reader just suggested your blog to me, and this is the first post I’ve read – I just had to stop to comment that I am a DTWOF fan from back in the day, and also watched SATC – the show, the movie, even as bad as it was. So there are at least 2 of us…
December 5th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
I’m at that intersection, too. And MAN was the SATC movie sucky.
December 5th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
I’ve always enjoyed DTWOF and hated SATC. And the reason is pretty straightforward: In my life I’ve known and liked lots of women like the gals in DTWOF; conversely, I hardly know anyone like the ladies of SATC, and the few I’ve met, I’ve disliked intensely. I guess I just fall too close to one end of the cultural spectrum and can’t relate to the other.
December 5th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
I’m at that intersection too– I even own the SATC movie, and will shortly own DTWOF:the book as well! And for me, you’re absolutely right, it’s watching complicated emotional relationships between women unfolding over time that is the attraction for me.
December 6th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
I’m at the intersection myself. It’s a fun place to be.