Sex and the City 2: Brilliant, Accidental Satire or The Most Ridiculous Movie Ever Made

Sophia Rose Shafi

Posted May 30, 2010      •Permalink      • Printer-Friendly Version
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Sex and the City 2: Brilliant, Accidental Satire or The Most Ridiculous Movie Ever Made

By Sophia Rose Shafi

A flurry of negative reviews has already been written about Sex and The City 2, which follows the misadventures of Carrie and the Girls in Abu Dhabi.  Rather than list all of the Orientalist stereotypes and images (rich oil sheik, scary Arab men, oppressed Muslim women, lots of caftans and thobes, etc), which were so numerous I could not write them all down when I viewed the movie the other night, I am instead going to list a few of the more interesting, memorable scenes. 

However, before I do so, I feel that full disclosure is necessary – I watched the television show for years, I actually liked the first SATC film, and one of my best friends and I went to the latest installment fully knowing about the Orientalist and Islamophobic reputation of the film.  But, we wanted to judge for ourselves how awful it was, and as Muslimah-fashionistas we wanted to see the clothes, handbags, and shoes.  I know that this may not sit well this some, but these elements of the film were really, in the words of Carrie, quite “fabulous.”

A few days later, I am still unsure if this film was just making fun of Muslims, if it was making fun of everyone, or if it was an unintentional critique of the West’s ignorance of Islam and our (that is, the West’s) decadence and unconsciousness.  The fact that SATC 2 began with a gay wedding that included Liza Minnelli performing the Beyonce women’s anthem “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” a gay men’s chorus singing Broadway tunes, and a huge number of white swans made me wonder if the film wasn’t poking fun of the stereotypes constructed about many groups, not just Muslims.  By the end of the film I was left feeling quite conflicted, because honestly, it felt like a very clever satire or possibly the most ridiculous film ever made.  Spoiler Alert: It is both, and the first was accidental.

Case One: When boarding a sheik’s private jet, the girls are amazed to find “Arabic Pringles” (Muslims eat food besides hummus, kabob, and dates?), and are offered dates (the welcoming food of the Middle East, served to guests - a nice juxtaposition to the Muslim potato chips).

Have Carrie and the Girls lived their entire lives in NYC without ever setting foot inside a Middle Eastern/Muslim/South Asian bodega?  Did the creators of SATC 2 want to share their amazement that Muslims produce and eat junk food or make fun of the Girls for being so completely ignorant? 

Case Two: As they are walking through their incredible hotel suite (which was surely patterned after the al-Burj in Dubai), Charlotte uses her maiden name “York” instead of her Jewish married name of “Goldenblatt.”  Carrie asks her about this, and says, “It’s the new Middle East,” to which Charlotte replies that it is still the Middle East.

Does this exchange refer to the purported anti-Semitism of “Middle Easterners” or is it making fun of how fearful and paranoid Americans are of Muslims?

Case Three: On the desert adventure planned by Miranda, which includes a camel ride, “Muslim” clothes for all the ladies (okay, not really, but some very cool outfits inspired by Orientalist fashion – i.e. harem pants – chosen by the gay Muslim hotel employee, of course), and the requisite Bedouin tents, they pass a large mural of the emirate’s leader. 

Is this a “veiled” (sorry, I couldn’t help myself) critique of despotism or is it poking fun at what Americans think of all “Islamic” governments? 

Case Four: The Muslimah with niqab (pronounced “nik-oo-ee-wab” in the film) sitting by the hotel pool eating French fries, one by one, by lifting her veil.  Carrie and the Girls are amazed by this, and comment on how she must really have a strong desire for junk food to go through all the trouble she does to eat each fry.

Does this scene communicate the common stereotype of the oppressed Muslim woman, or, given the fact that the niqab-wearing lady is accompanied by a “hip” and younger Muslimah (who is on the cell phone throughout the scene, apparently conducting her business) wearing a beautifully adorned hijab (which Carrie loves) - is this a fair representation of the diversity seen in dress and tradition among some Gulf Arabs?

Things unravel at a fast pace as the film reaches its end: Carrie and the Girls are forced to flee Abu Dhabi after Samantha is caught making out with a Danish architect (she is arrested because kissing is illegal).  Departing for the airport, Carrie discovers she has left her passport in the bazaar.  When she returns to the shoe-maker in the bazaar, who has kept it safely for Carrie (i.e. “good Muslim”), he refuses her offer of money for it’s safe-keeping.  Samantha drops her purse and a seemingly unending supply of condoms spill out (she is also wearing a tank top and shorts, to the dismay of Miranda), causing a mob of men to chase the girls through the bazaar.  They are saved by a group of Muslim women, who usher them into a secret room, where they pull out copies of a Suzanne Sommers book they are reading for their book club and soon reveal what is under their abayas – European couture.  In the end, they manage to make it to their flight, and even get to keep their First Class seats (i.e from the souq to luxury – an escape from East to West).

However, the problematic behavior (except Miranda) of the four main characters is what really matters here, not the least of which is Samantha’s repeated inappropriate speech, dress and behavior at the horror of Miranda, and Carrie’s extra-marital transgression with her old flame Aidan. SATC has, from the beginning, highlighted the narcissism, materialism, immaturity, and destructive attributes of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda.  Perhaps one way to look at this film, in addition to the Muslim Question, is how flawed these characters still are, and how this film serves as an unintentional critique – not of Abu Dhabi, but of New York.   

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