One thing I've realized since moving to the Big Apple is what a load of bunk Sex and the City is. (Well, I knew that already, but now for different reasons.) I've never cared for the show, but living here really drills home what a scrubbed fantasyland those girls live in. I'm sure someone's noted this before, but there are practically zero people of ethnicity in Sex in the City. That's entirely contrary to the New York I'm getting to know, where practically everywhere I go, I'm surrounded by people of multitudinous ethnic backgrounds. It's something I love about New York. You'd hardly guess it watching this show, though. Sure, there may be a few token people of color in the background from time to time, but where are the characters? Not just African Americas, who appear rarely as anything other than wallpaper in the scenery, but where are the Indians, Pakistanis, Middle Easterners, Africans, Hispanics, Latinos, Chinese and Korean people I see everywhere I go?
In fact, riding the subway, it's not uncommon for lily white boys like myself to be in the minority. Speaking of which: where are the straphangers in Sex and the City? I don't remember ever even seeing a single subway scene in Sex and the City. Everyone takes taxis all the time. Nobody I've met here so far takes taxis everywhere. Seven million New Yorkers actually ride the subway and buses on a daily basis.
Flipping back and forth between the two shows right now: Seinfeld portrays NYC with far more accuracy than Sex and the City.
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