Sex in the City
By Sarah Rotman
As opposed to another form of online entertainment I reviewed, Sistas
in the City (a take-off of this show), Sex in the City
was not made expressly for the web. As a result, the website functions
as more of an online appendage to the popular HBO series rather than
a fully formed entertainment entity on its own. The content is mostly
fluff, and the user comes away thinking this show, and these characters,
are more superficial than they thought. Sistas' characters
may be comical stereotypes, but at least their website doesn't feature
recipes, beauty secrets, advice on dating dilemmas, and the usual
beauty magazine quiz. What content there is of the actual show is
superficial too-synopses and episode clips in place of the entire
episode (but I guess that's all you can give away for free). True,
watching an hour-long show, instead of a few minutes of a short format
animated show (like Sistas), is an entirely different experience.
The Sex in the City website, however, does not even give you
the option of downloading an entire episode of Sex, for a fee
or no.
Certainly, the most substantial aspect of the Sex in the City
website is its online community. (You must register with HBO by giving
your email and zip code to participate in discussions.) The user-generated
content is a mix of fashion fluff (where can I buy Carrie's aviator
sunglasses?), fandom obsession with plot continuity (comparing two
similar scenes in which Carrie's suitors ask her the same questions
as they complete a crossword puzzle-the fans ask whether the writers
are unknowingly plagiarizing themselves if it means something significant
about character and plot development), and more substantial "real
life" issues (debates around the representation of an interracial
relationship on the show). All of this content is interspersed with
impassioned pleas for someone to clarify or identify something in
a previous episode (what was the poem Carrie read at her friend's
wedding in Episode 19 of the 2nd season?) It would make sense that
the rest of the site would echo the interest of its users, and not
just be a shallow women's e-zine. These viewers want content,
not brunch recipes. They are clearly invested in the characters and
the plot of the show. I think full episodes for micropayments would
be well received on the site, and would be an innovative direction
in which to take the site in the future. In addition, the rest of
the content on the site should be overhauled to be less superficial
and less condescending to the viewer. I don't know what it could be
replaced with-actually, the user-generated content by itself, as well
as the full episodes available for micro-purchase, would be a convincing
enough draw to the site.