Relationships. Sex. Fashion. Beauty. Gossip. Drama.

All of these contributions are what makes it so hard for me, a twenty-year-old female, not to love watching Sex and the City. The racy and scandalous lifestyle these 4 women indulge in (and get away with) are noteworthy. Created by Darren Star, Sex and the City is a show that women can relate to. Darren Star’s focus on status, relationships, and conflict are expressed through his multiple productions. Other than Sex and the City (both the series and the movie), Darren also produced Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, Cashmere Mafia, Grosse Pointe, and Miss Match to name a few. Star’s work consistently targets the same audience by using the same genre of television shows. First I’ll explain a little bit about Star’s work and then go into detail on what makes the link of luxurious lifestyles between his work.

Darren Star, born in 1961, was raised in Potomac, Maryland, which he claims to be his inspiration behind Beverly Hills, 90210. Being the son of a freelance writer and orthodontist and knowing that his life inspired Beverly Hills, 90210 it is easy to say that Star was raised in a middle-to-upper class lifestyle. After attending Winston Churchill High School Star went on to attend the University of California in Los Angeles. Star’s obvious interest in sex and juvenile relationships was even made apparent in his first screenplay. Sold at age twenty-four, Doin Time on Planet Earth is about a high school student who lusts after other girls with a sex crazed best friend. In 1990 Beverly Hills, 90210 was created which focused on a set of twins who just moved from Minneapolis to Beverly Hills to attend high school. The high status lifestyle was made one of the main focuses of this show along with the relationships and conflicts that are brought about.

In a way I believe that Darren Star produces for a specific audience. His productions started with focus on high school drama only to progress into adult dramas. Beverly Hills 90210 is about wealthy high school students and their lives as they get older. There are friends, enemies, lovers, haters, and a conflict that covers almost every social issue from alcoholism to pregnancy to AIDS. Star then goes on to produce Melrose Place, intended to be a spin off from Beverly Hills 90210, which is about a group of young adults with an outrageous story line including adultery, multiple personalities, and violent crimes. Melrose Place was a bit of a step up from 90210 with crazy story lines to keep the viewers intrigued. Sex and the City is focused around four women who are inseparable best friends, yet live very different lives. Romance, fashion, alcohol, conflict, and coffee are what complete the lives of these four women. Cashmere Mafia is the story of a group of female best friends who have been friends since college who help each other with their work and relationship problems. The trend in Star’s age progression of characters through his work can appeal to the same audience that he originally started with.

One of the obvious thematic motifs that are presented in Star’s work is his appeal to a more feminine audience through drama, sex, fashion, and power. This recurrent theme has a strong focus on relationships and scandal. Beverly Hills, 90210 and Melrose Place center the story line along with both males and females whereas Sex and the City and Cashmere Mafia is more focused with females and their perceptions of the relationship they have with other men. Along with this racy drama, another link between Star’s work is the city lifestyle that is displayed through multiple shows. The women on Sex and the City are often seen strolling the busy streets of New York City. The use of a dolly enables the camera to follow the women through the streets of Manhattan. A dolly is a wheeled camera support that permits a rolling camera movement, typically the forward and backward movement of the camera. The use of a dolly is often used in Beverly Hills 90210 as the characters roam the halls of their high school, or walk the streets of Beverly Hills, 90210

Throughout multiple pieces of Star’s work the framing is usually in either medium shot or medium close up shot to help audiences focus in on facial features though out conversations. Also, a common mise en scene in Star’s productions was the multiple expensive material products shown to exemplify the high-class society. The name brands that were strategically placed in a variety of ways through cars, clothes, jewelry, and shoes. This just goes to show that the shows are centralized around power and wealth. The bright lighting contributes the glamorization of products, as Sex and the City: The Movie while trying on multiple designer wedding gowns for a photo shoot, the light is strategically placed Carrie and her accessories with a song that spells out “glamorous” in the background. The camera is on a tripod and is either panning the room side to side to show all of the people and work being done, or tilting up and down to focus on the dresses.

The opening sequences of Sex and the City, Beverly Hills 90210 (the initial pilot opening sequence), and Melrose Place are all used as somewhat of an establishing shot. An establishing shot is a long shot that positions characters within their environments and heps to establish the setting. In all of these opening sequences the audience is exposed to the city life that these characters live in. They all are similar in the way that they have multiple shots of the city the show is based in and the lifestyle the characters are exposed to. The use of material luxuries exemplify the lavish lifestyles that will be expressed in the show.

Star’s devotion to making shows that are appealing to female viewers is obvious. His manipulation of relationships and conflict are somewhat of an addicting drug to his viewers. The imaginative story lines are used to keep his audience wanting more.

References:

IMDB

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0823015/

Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darren_Star

The evolution of television changed the world tremendously, and for me, TiVo did the exact same thing.  Recording devices allow for more people to view a television show that they otherwise could have missed out on.  Which also means that the day after gossip about what happened on last nights TV was THAT much better.  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion right? And when it comes to the TV shows you love, you could have a heated discussion with your best friends on why you’re right and they’re wrong, right?  Wait… am I the only one who’s gone that far? Well anyway, what does it really mean to criticize anyway?  Technically criticism is pointing out the faults in others.  However, when it comes to criticizing TV not only will I point out the faults, but I will also praise the graces.  However, I hope that you understand that I am just one person with my own opinions and it’s up to you to agree or disagree.  In this first post I will hopefully draw viewers in by getting my personality and view somewhat understood.  Like O’Donnell (2007) states, “we all use television to relax. We laugh at the comedies and watch crimes get solved” (xiii). For me, television is a form of escape. Imagining how I would act in the multiple situations that arise, or how closely my life seems to relate to what is happening on a particular show. But that’s the beauty of it, everyone somehow relates to television.  In this post I want to further go into my goals for doing TV criticism, explain my view of television as an object of study, and how I hope to keep you coming back for more.

            My goal for television criticism is not to primarily rip apart shows that I think have no purpose for being on TV… cough cough Rock of Love. Like I previously said, I want to praise the graces that I see on television, because yes I do often find myself addicted to Greek, Project Runway, and the typical Grey’s Anatomy.  Sillars and Gronbeck (2001) claim, “a communication critic makes an argument that describes, interprets, or evaluates the message to which people are exposed… criticism is a kind of discourse—a sustained message—that someone offers to someone else” (5).  I plan to do just that, describe what happened in a particular episode, give my interpretation, and judge the message that was given.

TV is one of the largest forms of media that influence people.  I find the business aspect of television to be so manipulative.  Everything is strategically mapped out minute by minute—even including commercial advertisements.  Overall I think I have a very transparent view towards criticism, but Butler’s (2002) argument on polysemy needs to be noted.  I strongly agree with the idea that television has multiple meanings to multiple people.  I could be watching the same show as someone and not notice the dimming of lights or the change of song that took place, but it could really affect how someone else viewed that specific scene. The critical-cultural view (Sillars and Gronbeck 2001) makes me question what does a specific show teach its audience, or how does a show have an influence on the way people act or feel?  How does simply watching How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days every time I’m feeling heart broken make me feel that much better?  How did watching Saved by the Bell make me want to have floral pants and wear my hair just like Kelly Kapowski? Some answers I will never know, but the fact of the matter is, is that TV has a larger power over people than I would have ever assumed.

            

I may never understand why someone would think it would be a good idea to put Rock of Love or Tila Tequila (the embarrassing thing is that I have seen both of these shows) on TV, but the fact of the matter is, is that they’re on TV for everyone to view.  But that’s my opinion, now it’s time for you to give me yours.  I plan to go over shows that I love and hate trying to point out good and bad in everything—because everyone knows, nothings perfect. J

 

References

Butler, J. (2002). Television: Critical Methods and Applications (2nd ed). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

O’Donnell, V. (2007). Television Criticism. New York: Sage.

Sillars, M. O. and Gronbeck, B. E. (2001). Communication Criticism: Rhetoric, Social Codes, Cultural Studies. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.