Urban Myths in "Sex and the City"

In this blog I am going to apply the situation of discourse to an episode of "Sex and the City" that discusses urban myths, and the fact that we have made up modern-day urban relationship myths just so we can bring ourselves to date. Let me explain. Our four friends in the show broach the subject on fictional fairy tale stories that have been concocted by women. These tales are about men who have kept their promises to women, and have become the true, dependable hero and life long provider that we all hope for but can never quite seem to attain. It provides the hope that there is that one perfect man and great relationship just around the corner. Carrie then asks the sad question "Do modern-day singles need modern day myths just so they can date?"
The implied author in this case is someone who understands the frustrations of women in their need to find men they can trust. Apparently there seems to be a shortage. Also, maybe the author has been, or has friends that have been burned by men's unfulfilled promises and lies. In discussing the idea of myths to keep hope alive, the author implies that even though we live in a modern world, we are not unlike the ancient Greeks or other peoples, who also used myths to help explain their sometimes unhappy lives. The authors names in this case are Patrick King and Cindy Chupack. I think the ethos of the authors is believable. These writers write from personal and researched knowledge and experience, while at the same time built credible reputations as TV producers.
The target or implied audience is women, and maybe more specifically single, dating women. From the show it is obvious that this debate is about women's perceptions of men. These stories or myths are supposedly made up by women in an effort to stay positive in today's world of dating. The goal of the creators is to show women the lengths to which they can go to believe in that happy ending, and to decide whether or not they feel they need to believe these kinds of stories anyway, in order to lead a normal, happy, optimistic life. As a female audience member I can understand why these stories are prevalent, and I think they are good for some women to believe in. I include myself as the implied audience (even though I have been out of the dating scene for some time), because I am a woman and if nothing else I can empathise with the trials and tribulations that women face in today's dating games.
The message of this text uses specific language that women of today can understand and relate to. For example one of the myths told in this episode involves a man who tells his lover he will leave his wife for her. He actually gets a divorce, marries his lover, they have two kids together, and they all live happily together in the quiet suburbs. The reality of divorce and adultery in today's lifestyle is commonplace, so the use of this kind of language to tell a story is normal in our modern environment. The emotional and logical appeals of this episode are evident in the subject matter of women wanting more out of their relationships with men, and the fact that it seems logical to make up fairytale myths in order to keep the faith.
The script presumes that women want to, or even need to believe in these types of stories in order to be happy or fulfilled. This may lead one to think maybe women are perceived as somewhat weak? Of course not all women need to or want to believe in these tales. The occasion of this particular work is probably to identify with a current audience who it believes experiences and questions these events acknowledged. TV shows in general provide entertainment and information, which in turn may lead to reflection and thought on the part of the audience. Thus, we can presume that the audience itself can potentially benefit from any certain exposure to the TV. Of course what we see all goes back to the motives of the many producers and writers etc., who hopefully most of the time recognise topics as stuff that we want to know about.