From Institutional Disembeddedness to Emotional Re-embeddedness: The Forming of Interpretive Groups in Sex and the City

Bob

 

 

 

 

In practice, this [activities of the readers] resulted in the replacing of one question—what does this mean?—by another—what does this do?—with 「do」 equivocating between a reference to the action of the text on a reader and the actions performed by a reader as he negotiates (and, in some sense, actualizes) the text.

Stanley Fish, Is There a Text in This Class? (1982) 

  Various reader theorists, while seeking ways to reassert the essential dependency of meaning upon the interaction between the reader and the text, tend to examine the huge, diverse reading mass from a grand spectrum, with its two ends to be reader-response perspective and the traditional text-autonomy analysis.  Traditionally, text, with its absolute autonomy, is inherently unchallengeable.  Yet troubled by the disputed theoretical positions of investigators in the field of literacy criticism, theorists, like Stanley Fish, have come up with the idea of interpretive communities, in which the sampling reading mass is appropriated to be greater-scaled but loosely connected communities, where the readers are assumed to have shared similar educational background, preferences in choosing reading materials, and the nature of the interpretive process.  However, the notion of interpretive community is placed in relation to different forms of academic literacy criticism, so it appears to be somewhat too narrowly-defined and single-end serving, and the forming of community members, together with their interpretive process, seem to be left mostly mystified or relatively less discussed. 

Methodologically, when investigating the forming of a literacy community, scholars have to make quite a few preparations beforehand such as questionnaires, fieldwork interviews, etc., in order to set up a database big enough to support further observations, which in turn help build the framework of a new theory.  Meanwhile, such a painstaking investigation process would be effectively reduced if we could scale a community into smaller, more mobilized, easily formed, and highly reflexive groups—and this is exactly what I mean by 「interpretive groups.」  By scaling down the community into a group, a higher mobility is thus established (since the interpretive group is relatively less restricted to the number of members, time and space), a wider definition of a literacy community is assured (since it serves more than literary criticism and it acknowledges other possible literacy groups), and, most important of all, a more comprehensive discussion for people of different upbringings is made possible.  Most significantly, an interpretive group marks a smaller, assembly-like, reflexive discussion in which used-to-be passive readers turn into would-be active discussers.  Using the award-winning hit comedy Sex and the City as a case study, I will present the notion of interpretive group with probing discussions on how the definition of romantic love, in comparison to former traditional ties alike, has been changed, negotiated, and actualized by four single New York City women.  

"I would love to be one of those people who's all: 'we loved, thank you, you enhanced my life, now go, prosper...,' but I'm much more: "we didn't work out, you need not to exist."—Miranda Hobbes, Sex and the City

          Ulrich Beck, in his groundbreaking book Risk Society, observes certain late modern phenomenon that mark the loosening of traditional social ties such as family, marriage, intimate relationships, and the caste system.  In a society full of risks and short of backup traditional ties, the individual has gradually become the center of social practices and, in the process of individualization, needs to think reflexively to adapt to the capitalistic labor market.  Driven by the motor force of the labor market, individuals need to perfect themselves in three dimensions: education, mobility, and competition.  Anthony Giddens, On the other hand, takes a step further to show the realization of romantic love has been deeply influenced by modernity in that the presence of reason re-orders emotional life by instituting a narrative for the content of romantic love.  For him, narratives re-inscribe a new discourse of describing spirits implanted in a certain culture, and the presence of a new narrative marks the forming of a new idea as well as a new mobile subject.  With the loosening of traditional ties, and the disembedding from social institutions, we have to find a surrogate emotional tie in order to live in a late modern society, in which everything has been vacuumed out but  cold reason.  This in turns echoes what Beck is concerned about: that a late modern society is couched upon individualization and that all the individuals are the agents of a deeper transformation, harbingers to a better, if not familiar, solution, and pioneers in an expedition into a new territory.

Therefore, intimate relationship has to be reconsidered independently of traditional social institutions such as marriage, family, etc., and has to be reflexively negotiated, revised, or compromised over and over again with one』s partner(s).  Thus the forming of interpretive groups has come into being—it mobilizes individuals to talk about their relationships, work them out, or wipe them away; meanwhile, it raises individuals』 competitiveness in the labor market of romantic love by equipping them with painful but worthwhile moral lessons and empowering them with reflexivity after a heartbreak.  Sex and the City, taking an inside look at the candid, comic view of the sex and relationships of four single New York City women, best exemplifies how profoundly the forming of an interpretive group has influenced their notion of intimate relationship and has provided alternative emotional support among institutionally disembedded individuals.  It is during the dish (?) section discussions that the four single women come up with various possibilities in sex and relationships, and it is in their reflexive talking that we get to see an undiscovered territory of romantic love worth further explorations.  

"Games are empowering. If you know what you're doing, you can totally control the situation." —Charlotte York, Sex and the City

           Stylistically, the episodes of Sex and the City usually unfold with a reflexive narrative, threading through the whole plot with occasional cut-in monologues by Carrie Bradshaw, the leading character and narrator.  Most of her talks, conducted in a reflexive tone, are about her girlfriends』 periodic relationships and those of her own.  None of their relationships last long enough to meet up with the standards of the traditional notion of ever-lasting romance, but each teaches them something and helps them grow, emotionally and intelligently.  From every sometimes nonchalant, sometimes heartbreaking ex-relationship, they gain experience in how to negotiate, work out, or give up a relationship; it seems that nothing can keep these four friends apart as they stand united in their quest for love, sex, and power.  In such a sexualized urban city as New York, these four single women can create their own interpretive group anytime they get together and anywhere they dine or have a drink.  Besides, the quick tempo of the narration, short episodic stories, together with the fast progressive pace of the city, make Sex and the City into a de-traditionalized textual study of the changing notions of romantic love, but, at the same time, make clear the dynamic of interaction in the process of late-modern individualization—high mobility, great competitiveness, and sharp awareness.

Maybe some women aren't meant to be tamed. Maybe they need to run free until they find someone just as wild to run with." —Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and the City

         Moving from formalistic analysis to its content, Sex and the City fleshes out the individual』s struggle from being institutionally disembedded to becoming emotionally re-embedded.  The impacts of traditional social ties are becoming less influential upon the lives of these four urban city single women; consequently, they are trying to sort out some other form of emotional bond to sustain their vacuumed-out labor life.  Significantly, the series does not provide viewers with clues of these women』s family backgrounds, their parents, or their siblings.  For one thing, the arrangements of their unknown past mark their disembeddedness from traditional institutions; for another, the struggles of these four single women mark the adaptation and negotiation of individuals in relation to the changing notion of romantic love.  The formation of the interpretive group strives to be comprehensive in its representation of single women: respectively all four members have their own personalities, desires, sexual practices, expectations towards an ideal relationship, and various inherently different characteristics.  That an expectedly teleological romantic story is broken down into four episodic plots, with each capable of being developed into its full-fledged story, functions as a counter narrative for traditional romantic novels.  The occasional mockery and cynicism regarding marriages or families indicate the potential negotiability or inherent changeability of the notion of romantic love and the expected ending of a happily-ever-after tale becomes the beginning of a negotiable intimate relationship. 

Interestingly, it is not the four women that remind us of the need to acknowledge the dynamic notion of romantic love; to our big surprise, it is the audience, the potential interpretive group members on the internet, that remind the characters to move on with constantly negotiated and revised ideas of romantic love.  According to a poll of the fan club on WhoWouldYouKill.com,  the emotionally unavailable Mr. Big and rationally selfless Carrie Bradshaw, the couple  that  best  exemplify the desirable qualities  of a traditional ideal relationship, are the top two on the list to be killed.  Does this merely mean another usual melodramatic projection of the audience』s emotions?  Is this a result of the unfulfilled dream of a traditional ideal relationship, so the audience can get over it and move on to real lives?  Or, is it a sign that modern individuals have learned to deal with the constantly changing notion of romantic love so as to be always ready to start a pioneering expedition into a guest for better solutions in an intimate relationship?

"The only place you can control a man is in bed. If we perpetually gave men blowjobs, we could run the world.」 —Samantha Jones, Sex and the City

           By using Sex and the City as a case study, and the idea of interpretive group as the newest form of community, we get to see how the notion of romantic love has been changing among the four single New York City women.  The immediate advantages and the comprehensive effects are thus established:   　

A Public Sphere for Sexual Talk

         The general thrust of the series is toward making private, passive romance reading into public, active discussion.  In Sex and the City, the four women talk openly about their sex lives, offering candid comments on each other』s relationships, and making sharp observations on their surroundings.  Inserting sexual talk into public spaces such as the restaurant, the coffeehouse, the workout gym, or the sidewalk, becomes the key difference that distinguishes girls』 traditional private talks from these open discussions.  Sex no longer appears to be a taboo in public, but rather a tool to thrust into the public sphere when narratives are believed to be empowering because they re-inscribe a new discourse of describing spirits implanted in a certain culture.

Janice Radway, in her book Reading the Romance, justifies reading romance by claiming it as both escapism (from the tedious day-in and day-out unconditional offerings and routines) and instruction (in itself because reading provides them with a sense of being nurtured and fulfilled), and she further encourages reading to be practiced, either indulgently or in a planned way.  Though her proposal is highly appreciated, it has to be carried out carefully; otherwise, it would seem to re-enclose reading in private space.  In contrast, an interpretive group, while still admitting the effects of reading romance, encourages it to be practiced in a public space: a coffee shop, a cafeteria, a spa saloon, a restaurant, or simply a bar—and this is exactly what happens in Sex and the City.  Compared with the written texts, their narratives would spread out more quickly and more straightforwardly in the public space, creating an ideology implanted in their culture, rendering visible the more mobile agents.

Life as a Living Text

         In an interpretive group, written texts are no longer the only ones that need to be interpreted because, as I mentioned earlier, it does not only serve the field of literary criticism.  Therefore, texts could range widely from a readable environment, personal experiences, relationships, values, works, to anything that is concerned in an individual』s life.  For one thing, it makes the ongoing discussions in an interpretive group more comprehensive, as we see in Sex and the City that sex is not the only topic for discussion, but there are other issues such as life, work, values, etc.  For another, a more comprehensive discussion in an interpretive group guarantees a higher possibility of both creating and embracing a new idea, agent, or practice.  For still another, by reading lives (of others or their own) as living texts, the four of them are actually writing their own biographies with probing examinations into others』 and their own relationships, works, and life experiences.  

Perfections in Three Dimensions  

         Thanks to the variety of texts and the comprehensiveness of discussions, the present notion of romantic love is being changed, negotiated and carried out in Sex and the City.  In contrast to the traditional notion of romantic love, which is expected to be stable, long lasting, with clear gender roles and seemingly sexless lives, we are now looking for a relationship that works reflexively and calls for mutual communication, negotiation, and adaptation. 

Driven by the motor force of the market of romantic love, the four single women need to perfect themselves in three dimensions.  First, they have to be highly mobile to deal with the flashing occurrences in daily lives, to discuss their problems anywhere they want, and to seek considerable suggestions anytime they need.  The interpretive group is just the right form of small, assembly-like, mobile discussion for them.  Second, they have to be emotionally immune, at least more or less untouchable, to every heartbreak in order to get over it as quickly as possible to seek the next better guy.  It is not that they are cold blood animals but they are beings of cold reason, who need to be highly competitive so as to hunt and win the prey in the market of romantic love.  Last but not least, in their discussions as an interpretive group, they are armed with sharper senses, more sophisticated insights, and more profound comprehension regarding to the notion of romantic love and the negotiable idea of intimate relationship.  In other words, the discussions are inherently educational and instructional in themselves because each of the four women learns her lesson in their relationships with other men or women.  

Emotional Re-embeddedness  

           In a risk society, traditional institutions are losing their roots, thus forcing the individuals to dis-embed themselves from old social ties such as family and marriage.  To survive in the capitalistic labor market, one has to seek ways to live with cold reason while everything else has been vacuumed out.  Emotionally, the four single women in Sex and the City are strongly tied to one another because they know they have to stand united to survive when there is nothing else to turn to for possible help.  In forming an interpretive group, they also form strong emotional bonds by which they re-embed themselves in friendship, an alternative form of intimate relationship.

       Meanwhile, in the interpretive group, these four single women have transformed a private reading activity into public discussion, indulgence into sharing, and reading into writing one』s own biography.  The potential influence is more than passively persuading a certain group of domestic women back into boring housework routine, but it is actively urging institutionally disembedded women to become emotionally re-embedded in the friendship of social groups so as to move on in their real life. 

Reference:

Beck, Ulrich.  Risk society: Toward a New Modernity.  London: Sage, 1986, 1992.

---.  Ecological Enlightenment: Essays on the Politics of the Risk Society.  Trans. By Mark A. Ritter.  New Jersey: Humanities P, 1991

Beck, Ulrich and Elizabeth Beck-Gernsheim.  The Normal Chaos of Love.  Cambridge: Polity, 1994.

Featherstone, Mike.  Love and Eroticism.  London: Sage, 1999

---.  Ed.  Global Culture: Nationalism, Globalization and Modernity  London: Sage, 1990

Featherstone, Mike., Scott lash, and Roland Robertson, eds.  「The Birth of Identity Politics in the 1960s: Psychoanalysis and the Public/Private Division.」  By Eli Zaretsky.  Global Modernities.  London: Sage, 1995  243-259

Fish, Stanley.  Is There a Text in This Class?  Cambridge: Harvard University P, 1982

Giddens, Anthony.  The Consequences of Modernity.  Stanford: Stanford University P, 1990

Radway, Janice A.  Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy, and Popular Literature.  Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 1984

---.  「Interpretive Communities and Variable Literacies: The Function of Romance Reading.」  Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Science 113.3 (1974).

---.  A Feeling for Books: The Book-of-the-Month Club, Literature Taste, and Middle-Class Desire.  Chap Hill: The University of North Carolina P, 1997

Weeks, Jeffrey.  Sexuality.  London: Routledge, 1986 

Internet Sources:

「Sex-theCity.」  bbs.kkcity.com.tw  B.B.S. Internet.

http://www.hbo.com/city/  Online. Internet.

http://epguides.com/SexandtheCity/  Online. Internet.

http://www.whowouldyoukill.com/sexandthecity.html  Online. Internet.

http://www.bravo.ca/moresex/index.asp  Online. Internet.