John S.
The jewelry stores are in high swing this February with their ads showing men running out to buy jewelry for their ladies. "He went to JARED!", "Every Gift Begins with Kay", and all the others, etc.
The Vermont Teddy Bear Company has got their annual "Love Bandit" ad in heavy rotation showing the office females cooing and fawning over the gift bear ("It's much BIGGER than I thought!" and "Where can I find a guy like that?").
The Pajama-gram folks have got their standard ad in heavy rotation, showing the slinky women in new pajamas with looks of total ecstasy on their faces and how guys will probably win some special bedroom affection if they just buy their ladies some cuddly new pajamas.
But where are the ads showing women sweating over what they are going to get for their man this Valentine's Day? Or is this a day where only men give and women receive?
Oh I forgot...all women have to do is give their AFFECTION in exchange for material gifts, right? Or at least this is the subtle message we seem to be getting from the.marketing gurus who write these commercials.
I know many women who feel equally obligated to get their man a gift on Valentine's Day...so how come the advertisers don't seem to be trying to serve this consumer need, especially since women seem to wield so much spending power?
Answer
1. Men have a harder time knowing what to buy a woman for any occasion. Marketing schemes exploit this by showing men images of women loving their products. It's likely not that men don't know what women want so much as that it's women who do the majority of the shopping. When women want or need something, they buy it on a regular shopping trip. So it is very infrequent that a woman wants or needs something practical. Jewelery is impractical and expensive, and about the only thing left to buy women for "special occasions."
2. In a capitalist society, we are eager to show how wealthy we are by practicing conspicuous consumption, and companies that market luxury items are eager to capitalize on that.
3. Men still feel the pressure to provide for women in an age where women make ALMOST as much money as men. That's an example of different areas of social interaction evolving at different rates.
4. The female double standard. Women want "equal rights" and equal treatment, as long as it works in their favor. Women demand to be treated as good as men in politics and business, but have no interest in giving up their female privilege. Women (generally) don't want to be drafted into war, so it's okay that their not treated equally in that regard. Also, women don't want to give up being pampered, showered with gifts, and treated like weaklings when it suits them. So, there's currently an expectation for men to somehow know when women want to be treated equally, and when they want to be treated like the "fairer sex."
Like it or not, this is not a perfect society. Each gender, class, and race has its "cross to bear." Unfortunately, one of yours is Valentine's Day. Everyone, do me a favor. When you think you want to buy or receive diamonds, watch "Blood Diamond" instead. Realize you are not getting a precious stone, but a readily available rock for which people are being killed so that you may wear a status symbol. Diamonds are not expensive because they are rare or precious, but because you demand them.
End of rant.
can someone send me plot summary of the movie from Wikipedia please?
K2010
just copy and paste please, no links
I have Netgar blocking word sex so I cannot look it up myself
It is "sex and the city II"
nothing is graphic there or it won't be on Wikipedia
thanks
Answer
Set two years after the first film, the film begins with Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) meeting up with each other at a shop in New York which turns into a flashback to how Carrie first meets Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda in 1986 in New York City.
The film then jumps to the present, two years after the events of the first film. At the Connecticut same-sex wedding of Stanford Blatch (Willie Garson) and Anthony Marentino (Mario Cantone), Liza Minnelli appears to officiate the wedding vows and sings Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)".
The four friends now have lives that are more stressful than before: All are married except Samantha, who is now 52 and trying to keep her libido alive with hormones while dealing with menopause. Miranda quits her job after the new managing partner disrespects her once too often. Charlotte's two children are a handful and she's worried that Harry is attracted to their buxom Irish nanny, Erin (Alice Eve).
Carrie's marriage to Mr. Big (Chris Noth) has settled down, though they differ on how to spend their spare time: she loves to go out, he would prefer to stay home every night, eating take-out meals and watching television. For their anniversary, Carrie gives Mr. Big a vintage Rolex watch engraved with a romantic message, while he, much to her dismay, shows her a new television in their bedroom as his gift, which Big says they can use to watch old movies together as they did on vacation. Carrie is disappointed, as she had hoped for jewelry as a gift. She asks to spend some personal time alone in her old apartment, but Big enjoys the time to himself even more than she does, and to Carrie's dismay, asks to make it a weekly occurrence.
Meanwhile, Samantha has been approached by an Arab sheikh to devise a PR campaign for his business. He offers to fly her and her friends on an all-expenses-paid luxury vacation to Abu Dhabi. The girls happily accept, although Carrie is worried about the separation from Big and Charlotte is worried about leaving her husband alone with the nanny. Only Miranda, unfettered by a job for the first time in her life, plunges enthusiastically into studying Arabic and planning sightseeing.
Upon entering Abu Dhabi, Samantha's hormone-enhancing drugs are confiscated under UAE law. This renders her devoid of estrogen; to her great dismay, her famous libido goes dead, unaroused even by Australian men in Speedo swimwear. Charlotte tries to call Harry every few minutes. Miranda revels in the luxury surrounding her, while Carrie befriends her manservant, Gaurau (Raza Jaffrey), and learns of his long distance marriage - he can only afford to see his wife back in India once every few months.
While out shopping at the local souk with Miranda, Carrie runs into her former lover, Aidan (John Corbett). He proposes dinner à deux at his hotel, but she is noncommittal. The next day, however, she is crushed at reading a negative critique of her new book in The New Yorker, and decides to meet Aidan for dinner, although Charlotte cautions her not to play with fire. The dinner is very enjoyable, with the two discussing old times. Aidan remarks on the ways Carrie is "not like other women", pointing out that when they were engaged, she would only wear her engagement ring on a chain around her neck; now that she's married, she still isn't wearing a diamond on her ring finger, only her wedding ring. In a moment of remembered passion, they kiss. Carrie runs away in a panic and returns to the hotel.
Meanwhile, back at the hotel, Miranda and Charlotte have drinks together and discuss the difficulties of motherhood. Miranda admits painfully that being a mother is not enough for her and that she misses her job. Charlotte confesses her guilt at enjoying her time away from her daughters and her frustration with trying to be the perfect mother at all times. She drinks so many cocktails to bolster her courage to be honest with Miranda that she becomes very tipsy.
At this point, Carrie bursts into the room, crying, "I played with fire!". After summoning Samantha, she tells her friends about the kiss, and asks them whether or not she should tell Big, as she says they have no secrets between them. Miranda reflects on the events of the previous film, when her husband, Steve (David Eigenberg), told her about his affair and how in retrospect, while it helped clear his conscience, she is not sure that knowing was worth the pain she went through. Charlotte is too drunk to be any help, but Carrie already knows where she stands. Samantha counsels Carrie to wait and sleep on it before deciding anything.
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