Saw it twice, once with clients, and once with my actual friends. Totally loved it. Loved the clothes, loved the girls, loved the guys. Loved the setting, loved the humour, loved the drama. Loved Charlotte (I have to mention Charlotte because she is often forgotten in lieu of the other bigger characters, and she was superb in this movie). I am a die-hard SATC fan after all.
One thing that I did notice though was that on the New Year’s eve scene, (if you’ve watched it already, you’ll know what I mean) it showed every other couple kissing, apart from the black couple. Even the gay couple shared a screen kiss. There was a suggestion of a kiss for the black couple, but no actual kissing was shown. This is something I may not have noticed in the past, and I’m pretty sure that no one else would have spared it a second thought, but it did give me pause.
I really can’t help but wonder, why didn’t the producers show them kissing?
Lynn Emery
June 4
9:37 am
Maybe it’s just a coin-ci-dink, nothing at all. But it does illustrate something black romance writers fight against- the stereotype that black folks, and black women in particular, just don’t get involved in romantic moments. Even more rare? A black woman is the object of romantic pursuit in movies and television shows. Until black women started selling romance stories it was rare to find a novel where a black woman was the object of longing and affection. Now stating it like that it sounds silly, doesn’t it? Yet the reality is this- stereotypes persist.
Roslyn Holcomb
June 4
1:18 pm
Negro romance? Quick, hide the kiddies!
Anne
June 4
2:05 pm
Maybe they didn’t want to kiss? Maybe one of them suddenly got sick or something? I don’t think it’s a racist thing. There was probably more to it than we know about. I didn’t notice it as I wasn’t paying much attention to the extras in the movie. The main girls and guys held my attention. 🙂
I M A
June 4
2:25 pm
I am guessing it’s because they were ex’s who happened to both show up at the same New Year’s Eve party. The scene properly demonstrated their awkwardness as to whether or not they could/should/would kiss. The scene was handled perfectly regardless of who(m) the actors were/weren’t.
If it were “Big” & Carrie and/or Steve & Miranda in that same scene, I don’t think we would be having this conversation.
I’m just saying . . . . .
Annmarie
June 4
2:26 pm
I haven’t seen the movie, yet, so I can’t reference that scene. You would think, however, that a lot of time and money was spent analyzing each shot and that it was a deliberate choice. I’m not involved in the film industry so I don’t know. It may have been just a coincidence.
bam
June 4
4:34 pm
who cares?
OBAMA IS THE NOMINEE! OBAMA IS THE NOMINEE!!
YES WE CAN!!
*tears of happiness*
Dee Tenorio
June 4
4:52 pm
LOL, I know Bam! I was so happy I almost forgot he was going to have to run against McCain now.
You know, my uber democrat sister is going to think she brought me over or something when I vote for him. Ugh.
Angela
June 4
6:45 pm
Anne and I M A, IMO, you’re trivializing the issues black people go through regarding the warped media-based perceptions of our sexuality. If black love was no big deal, the same people who rush out to watch the latest Mathew McConaghy/Kate Hudson flick would have run out to see the multiple pairings of Gabrielle Union and Morris Chestnutt. Or Love Jones would be sighed over by more than black people. Or better yet–people wouldn’t willingly bypass reading a romance with two black protagonists!
Black love, I believe, is threatening to the majority because love is the greatest leveler–to see two black people in love, showing affection, and just doing normal things people falling in love do–and even have sex–would “humanize” black people. The same goes for other ethnicities (Asians [the scenes in Lust,Caution were hot], Latinos [sick and tired of the “latin lover” and “fiery seductress” stereotypes], and so on). The way love and sex are presented, implies that love and romance are the sole domain of white people, and that watching two white people have sex is beautiful and sexy, while two blacks are animals.
Dee Tenorio
June 4
7:07 pm
Not that I usually get into the big hurt of AA romance discussions because they can get quite heated, but hey… At least y’all have something to discuss. I can only think of one Mexican American romance. Don’t see us any tan people eating frijoles on the cover of a Desire, if you know what I mean.
God, if they did, they’d be eating from Taco Bell or something. Yech!
Dee
Robin
June 4
7:33 pm
If you’re talking about Louise and what’s his name, I think that was the first time they saw each other after he dumped her. So I would have been kind of pissed if she had kissed him, because he had some serious groveling to do, IMO, before he got anything from her, lol. They did get a happy, and happily romantic ending, though, FWIW. In fact, I think it was really Louise who made Carrie understand the nature of love a little better. I liked it when Carrie told Louise that she had brought her (Carrie) “back to life.”
Shelby
June 4
7:43 pm
From a writer’s standpoint, some of what you all said is resounding in my ears and making me think. When I write romance, I just write the characters as they pop into my head. I don’t consciously pick their race, I just sort of “see” them, and it feels like they’re inventing themselves. I would guess, though, that my heroines have all been Caucasian because I’m Caucasian, and as a friend recently pointed out, my characters are a LOT like me. LOL Yeesh. But I’ve been working, on and off, on a romance novel with a Cuban-American hero. He’s not a Latin-lover type at all. He’s a physical trainer and working on a grad degree in hospital administration. He deals with geriatric people. He’s the hero because he is, in my opinion, a lovely, kind, intelligent and sexy man–a heroic hero. 🙂 And as for the heroine…she’s no Twiggy. But she’s beautiful in her own right, she just needs to figure that out about herself. I wanted to write about a woman coming into her own at 40 and realizing you don’t have to look like a model to be, and feel, beautiful and accounted for.
So if it gets picked up by a publisher, will this book with its Cuban hero and not-skinny heroine be read by all kinds of people, black, white, Hispanic, Asian? Or passed over because it’s more of the same “Latin lover/white damsel” story?
I have to say when these burning questions pop up for me regarding writing, I know you guys, as readers and authors, will be frank. I’d love to hear your take on something like this.
Thanks,
Shelby
Angela
June 4
8:47 pm
lol Dee–that’s one of my pet peeves in the entire entertainment world–the lazy use of stereotypes as characterization.
Anne
June 4
8:56 pm
I was thinking about this, the scene of which you spoke. It took me a minute to remember. I remember an awkward we-broke-up-and-haven’t-seen-each-other-in-forever-yet-
here-we-are-with-everyone-around-us kissing-moment. I think that’s why they didn’t kiss… though if memory serves, they REALLY, REALLY wanted to.
Robin
June 5
1:37 am
I thought their mutual desire was sizzling off the screen in that scene.
I think you could spin the race thing the other way, actually. A couple of the other women (the white women) have relationship challenges that involve making a very difficult decision about whether to stay with someone who done them wrong. Had the black woman so easily taken back the man who done her wrong, I’m not sure that would have been a particularly good message, either.
Emma Petersen
June 5
1:54 pm
Roflmao!!!
I haven’t seen it yet. Unless I’m forced to, I don’t plan on seeing it. I’d rather see The Happening. 😀 That’s more my speed.
I know I’m rather naive but I can only pray (probably in vain) that this isn’t true. Am I the only dork who believes people in general are really good at heart and love can conquer all?
Le sigh. And how could anyone not want to see Morris Chestnut in a movie? Or Djimon Honsou.
TracyS
June 5
2:29 pm
Shelby~I’d read the book. I’m not twiggy either, so I love books with non-twiggy heroines!! As far as the hero, if you want people to know that your hero is not the stereotype of a “latin lover” you can make sure the back copy says that. I’ve always been attracted to hispanic looks so I’d probably pick up the book anyway LOL (and I married a blonde haired, blue-eyed Norwegian, go figure!!)
I M A
June 5
4:30 pm
Sorry Angela, but IMO, you’re trying to create something that isn’t/wasn’t there. Karen asked a reasonable question and received equally reasonale answers, which you don’t like so you’re trying to make it out that were trivializing it. You’re the one trying to rationalize FICTION! I will absolutely say that if Louise and Will had still been dating and/or engaged at the time of the New Year’s Eve party, then yes, that would be totally something to question. But that wasn’t the case. Steve and Miranda were prodded to kiss by their son on New Year’s Eve and they didn’t (either) because of the precarious status of their relationship at that moment. It was no different than Will and Louise. If Will and Louise had kissed, you know what I would have thought? I bet they’re going to be getting back together. Yep, that’s it. Not, OMG, why are they showing African Americans kissing?!!!?
Robin
June 5
5:15 pm
IMO if race wasn’t an issue in mainstream media, you’d never have films like “Something New.” I just don’t think it was an issue in the New Year’s Eve scene in SATC.
Some critics have raised the issue of a secondary black character placed in an assistant’s (i.e. “fetch and carry”) role, but I think Louise’s character was much, much more than that, so after seeing the film I didn’t agree with that criticism. But it’s been articulated, and before seeing the film I wondered if it would play that way (as a ‘fetch and carry’ role).
I don’t really think, overall, that Carrie Bradshaw’s world was ever astoundingly diverse, so I think having Jennifer Hudson join the cast cut different ways for different people (welcome diversity v. token black character). Even if the role had been one of TBC, Hudson has such screen presence and talent, that she made Louise a character of significance, IMO.
Ebony
June 5
5:33 pm
One positive thing about Sen. Barack Obama being in the running for president, people can now see a loving AA couple with him and Michelle in the limelight. I just love it and the way they are with each other squashes all the stereotypes the media has forced upon folks.