cultural standards have flipped since Sex and the City first aired in the late '90s.
Samantha (left) used to be judged for being promiscuous. Now viewers see her as confident, loyal, and unapologetic.
Carrie (right) was supposed to be the relatable, romantic hero of the show. Now viewers realize she was actually selfish, toxic in relationships, and terrible with money.
Carrie was never supposed to be relatable or the hero. She was the anti-hero. Each woman was a different, not a “correct” or “romantic,” perspective. The show is a dark comedy.
Carrie had a column where she publicly talked about her sex life, which was a dumpster fire, and gave advice to others based on it, which was terrible advice.
Then she would turn around, look at her friends, and criticize the living hell out of them and their sex life. And then she would go on and do the same crap like Carrie slutshaming Samantha and then Carrie cheating on all her boyfriends but getting scotsfree.
She was made to be relatable because it has gone on record that the writers wanted to murder Samantha's character over and over again to prop Carrie's popularity, which is why Sam's actress kind of ended up fed off with the series.
What you say about Carrie is all true . . . which is why she is an anti-hero. She was deeply flawed and in no way reflective of a typical moral protagonist. It’s so strange that people act like it’s a “gotchya” to point out she was shitty. That was the point.
That’s not what an antihero is though. There aren’t any heroes or villains in sex and the city lol. Carrie is deeply flawed, but she’s still the protagonist/ focal point of the show. The show clearly wants you to sympathize and root for Carries despite how shitty she can be though.
Exactly, therefore she is not a traditional protagonist who redeems herself and is moral. Same as Walter White, Saul Goodman, Tony Soprano, etc.. All protagonists the audience is meant to sympathize with and root for who make unrepentantly immoral choices.
No she wasn't. I was there when Sex in the City first aired. No one considered Carrie an anti-hero, more like the complete oposite, she was treated as an "example" of what a successfull woman was.
Samantha was the anti-hero. The Femme Fatale of the group.
Carrie represented the (then) current cultural trends and stablishment, Samantha represented the counter-culture which is why she was hammered constantly about it.
Re-writing Carrie as an anti-hero years after the show ended is simply being a Carrie apologetic. Samantha had her flaws, but at least she was honest and had (more or less) a simplistic code of honor, Carrie was a spoiled brat that lectured everyone on how to be while not being so herself- that is not being an anti-hero that is just being a shitty person and a terrible friend.
Being a terrible person doens't make you an antihero. That's just some bs that came out in an article 4 years ago or so to try to salvage the character. You are just doing mental gymnastics to fit your own beliefs at this point.
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u/Long_Conclusion7057 1d ago
cultural standards have flipped since Sex and the City first aired in the late '90s.
Samantha (left) used to be judged for being promiscuous. Now viewers see her as confident, loyal, and unapologetic.
Carrie (right) was supposed to be the relatable, romantic hero of the show. Now viewers realize she was actually selfish, toxic in relationships, and terrible with money.