Got an email from a reporter at the Forward today about last night's episode of Sex and the City (What can I say? I watch it to see the "fashion.") As I rambled on about how Carrie got on an N/R train at 23rd St. and got off on a 4/5 at Wall Street (how'd that happen?), the reporter was much more interested in the character who plays Charlotte's boyfriend. You see, he's a Jew. Now, I'm pretty new to Sex and the City but I have seen enough episodes that covered dating younger guys, dating guys who make less money than you do, and dating married men. I guess they never covered dating someone Jewish (although Carrie has started going out with someone whose last name is Berger....). Really? This is New York City, right?
What gets me is the stereotypical casting of a chubby, balding, hair-in-the-wrong-places kinda guy. Hey Sex and the City writers, why you gotta do me like that? What, America won't recognize "regular" Jews? (a.k.a. The ones that don't wear a huge Jewish star, have a big schnozz and say "oy oy" after every sentence.) Frankly, I'm getting sick of this stereotype (I also don't like the one about the mouthy Jewish broads with frizzy hair. Shut up, my hair is CURLY not frizzy).
Actually, the-Jewish-guy-for-Charlotte storyline is interesting although doesn't quite make sense. Charlotte's character is super Waspy with all those Upper East Side trimmings. The fact that she'd even look at a Jewish guy is indeed intriguing and could make for good TV. Especially since the boyfriend has already told Charlotte that he can't marry her because she's not Jewish. These kind of scenes usually make me cringe, but the writing of Charlotte's lines were handled well. She asked him to lay it on the line because she was interested in him. For once, the women on this show spoke truthfully face-to-face to the man they were dating. His response? Well, he never thought someone like her a "shiksa goddess" would even be interested in him, let alone marry him. So what the hell is doing with her? Oh right, this show is about sex. Burt damn if it didn't make him look like the putz he says he is.
What gets me is the stereotypical casting of a chubby, balding, hair-in-the-wrong-places kinda guy. Hey Sex and the City writers, why you gotta do me like that? What, America won't recognize "regular" Jews? (a.k.a. The ones that don't wear a huge Jewish star, have a big schnozz and say "oy oy" after every sentence.) Frankly, I'm getting sick of this stereotype (I also don't like the one about the mouthy Jewish broads with frizzy hair. Shut up, my hair is CURLY not frizzy).
Actually, the-Jewish-guy-for-Charlotte storyline is interesting although doesn't quite make sense. Charlotte's character is super Waspy with all those Upper East Side trimmings. The fact that she'd even look at a Jewish guy is indeed intriguing and could make for good TV. Especially since the boyfriend has already told Charlotte that he can't marry her because she's not Jewish. These kind of scenes usually make me cringe, but the writing of Charlotte's lines were handled well. She asked him to lay it on the line because she was interested in him. For once, the women on this show spoke truthfully face-to-face to the man they were dating. His response? Well, he never thought someone like her a "shiksa goddess" would even be interested in him, let alone marry him. So what the hell is doing with her? Oh right, this show is about sex. Burt damn if it didn't make him look like the putz he says he is.