Thread by @Trinhnomics

Just read the review of this show: "In Darren Star’s latest series, the Sex and the City creator imagines an alternate universe where good intentions & accomplishing the bare minimum are enough."

The 1st line says that @shirklesxp , the author, speaks for her anxious generation.

https://twitter.com/joannachiu/status/1313382736749424640

She is saying that good intentions aren't enough for her & her generation & this show is basically a Bollywood version of the rampant poverty in India (Bollywood movies are escapism & fantasy for Indian poor) that a protagonist can live a carefree life, good intentions & be happy

But then to get to where we are, we must go back to Darren Star influential production on mainstream American culture, especially how women think about dating, fashion, and life: Sex & the City.

In that show, these women care more about designer clothes than growing up.

Despite in their thirties & highly educated, they run around the city searching for fashion trends, trendy people to meet & themselves or "men" or "Mr. Big" etc.

Carrie is likely the key reason many Millennials haven't grown up & anxious today in their mid thirties pushing 40s.

In that show & subsequent movies, she dates & commits to a man who basically treats her like she's trash, break up his marriage by having an affair, break up w/ a steady boyfriend, and etc etc. Meanwhile living in a flat that's beyond her pay grade. She makes few adult decisions.

She & her friends make the same mistakes over and over again in the movie & continue into their late thirties w/ few consequences. Still massively nice flats & plenty of fun. But that's a fantasy. In real life, Sarah Jessica Parker makes adult decisions (married w/ kid & career).

I bet many girls and young adults watched this show & tried to model their lives after her: moving to the Big Apple, buying designer shoes, dating around & experimenting as a benchmark for a successful life. But they find themselves struggling. Crappy flat, mediocre guys & career

But very likely they don't give up because let's be honest it took many seasons + several movies for her to be married so they do as she does making the same mistakes over and over again committing to the wrong guys (those that treat them like trash & trashing those that don't).

If they feel sad, why not go shopping for an expensive pair of shoes or bags to make you feel like a princess & "worth it". The reason why this show Emily in Paris is a fantasy for millennials is because of shows like Sexy in the City that helped millennials make poor decisions.

We extend our adolescent like the shows on TV thinking that's real life & that an aspirational life (fictional of course like that 90210 show).

We don't commit to anything & have nothing to show for it punching our thirties and into forties & anxious.

We could be like Emily.

Living a carefree with great intentions & one that aims to just accomplish enough is achievable & shouldn't be looked at cynically.

We don't achieve those goals for many reasons that are both systemic and due to poor personal choices thanks to Darren Star.

Read my pinned tweet

People say, well, what does this have anything to do with economics?

Don't you know that human psychology leads to human behavior & actions & that's what economics is?

The genesis of our poor financial decision is POPULAR CULTURE THAT GLORIFY POOR DECISIONS like Sex & the City.