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It’s been nearly two decades since “Sex and the City” ended, and the show’s reboot is not going to try to turn back time by making the women look younger or by introducing younger characters and casting aside the older ones. For this reason, there’s a lot of prejudice surrounding the movie’s production and Parker just wants it to stop.
Sarah Jessica Parker Speaks Out Against Ageism In Hollywood
When it was announced that Sarah Jessica Parker would be returning with some of her famous co-stars and leading ladies in “Sex and the City” reboot “And Just Like That”, the internet had a lot to say about it. While some fans were busy anticipating details like fashion and casting, others were questioning the sanity behind casting “old women” to get back on-screen.
“[On social media] everyone has something to say. ‘She has too many wrinkles, she doesn’t have enough wrinkles,’” Parker told Vogue. “It almost feels as if people don’t want us to be perfectly okay with where we are, as if they almost enjoy us being pained by who we are today, whether we choose to age naturally and not look perfect, or whether you do something if that makes you feel better. I know what I look like. I have no choice. What am I going to do about it? Stop aging? Disappear?”
A 2020 study carried out by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media confirms Parker’s worries about the representation of older women by the entertainment industry. The study shed a light on how pervasive ageism in entertainment really is. After examining many top-grossing films across the U.K., France, Germany and the U.S., it was discovered that women over the age of 50 were more likely to get cast in a supporting role, often depicted as lonely and depressed. Instead of playing fully rounded characters, they were there to serve as a contrast to their younger costars.
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The same goes for sex. The study reported that older women were often depicted as asexual or non-sexual beings with “characters under 50 three times more likely than characters 50+ to be depicted in a sex scene.”
“When we announced And Just Like That…, there were a lot of positive reactions, but one bitchy response online was people sharing pictures of the Golden Girls. And I was like, ‘Wow, so it’s either you’re 35, or you’re retired and living in Florida,” said Michael Patrick King, the showrunner of the new series. “There’s a missing chapter here.”
But the idea for the series revival isn’t to see the ladies reliving their glory days. “They’re not trying to say that these characters are reliving their 30s,” HBO’s President of Programming, Casey Bloys, revealed. “It is very much a story about women in their 50s, and they are dealing with things that people deal with in their 50s.”
Sex And The City Stars Congratulate The Series For Defiling Hollywood
Original returning cast Cynthia Nixon was among the stars who voiced their joy about the show representing older women, with their wrinkles and grays and attitude. “I like that we’re not trying to youthify the show. We’re not including, like, a 21-year-old niece.”
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Staff writer Samantha Irby, agreed, adding: “I think it’s revolutionary to do a show about middle-aged women, with their aging lady bodies.”
Parker also pointed out that the show isn’t only trying to combat ageism in the film industry, but sexism as well. “There’s so much misogynist chatter in response to us that would never. Happen. About. A. Man,” she told writer Naomi Fry. “‘Gray hair gray hair gray hair. Does she have gray hair?’ I’m sitting with Andy Cohen… and he has a full head of gray hair, and he’s exquisite. Why is it okay for him?”
The series legacy is set to continue even in the revival, so get ready to see older women claim New York City as their own.
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