Sex and the City, a show about four white women in New York has a separate space in TV and pop culture history. And it wasn’t a good time in history for diversity, to say the least. When the show was rebooted in the form of And Just Like That with three members of the original cast returning, apprehension among modern audiences was high. And now, it looks like fans were right to worry. In a recent episode titled ‘Diwali’, the show manages to offend Indians in many ways, proving that SATC’s representation problem remains after all these years.
Sex and the City’s reboot was going to be more inclusive and aware. Attempts were made to get the show out of an era where racism and sexism prevailed on TV. Only for those attempts to backfire.
In episode 6 of the show, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) emerged wearing a lehenga for a Diwali party as ‘Humma Humma’ played in the background Watching a longtime fashion icon don a desi outfit was exciting for fans except she insisted on calling the dupatta-less lehenga a “saree” Did I mention Carrie had to be told what Diwali is by her friend Seema (played by Sarita Choudhary)? Turns out she was unaware of the most popular Indian festival in spite of living in New York, a big diverse city She’s 55 BTW
And just like that, the reboot drew backlash from fans from India and around the world
Carrie has lived in NYC for over 30 years and she has never heard of Diwali!?!?
No way she’s that out of touch with the world She use to write for a gotdamn newspaper
Who are the writers!?!
— Lioness Jessica (@JessicaSimone) January 9, 2022
Are we supposed to believe that Carrie has lived in one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world for decades and knows nothing about Diwali? #AndJustLikeThat
— Stephanie Pelley (@StephaniePelley) January 8, 2022
when Carrie had to learn what Diwali was after living in NYC for decades I died inside
— Olivia Rania Bowden (@OliviaBowden__) January 7, 2022
ok i hate the way that “and just like that” holds white ladies’ hands thru wokeness lmao it was like not annoying me til this diwali episode yikes
— nü aarushi (@aarushifire) January 8, 2022
and just like that has a scene where they go into a lehenga store and you can only see lehengas everywhere and they still call them saree 👍🏽
— A (@begumdukhtar) January 8, 2022
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The fact that Carrie Bradshaw has lived in NYC for thirty years and is only NOW learning about Diwali means she only really has white friends and has never bothered to venture to Queens
— Sruti Nadimpalli, MD MPH (she/her/hers) (@SrutiNadimpalli) January 8, 2022
It doesn’t end with the lehenga mislabeling The problem of representation runs deeper as Indian characters in the show are only placed as learning points for the white characters In fact, the episode also suggests that Seema’s parents and Indian parents, in general, are obsessed with arranged marriages for their children
It also ends up buying into the stereotype of an Indian woman rebelling against her parents with a white boyfriend as Carrie is grilled about Seema’s partner Quite a few stereotypes of Indian cultures like restrictive social norms were reinstated to seemingly remind Carrie of how good she has it
And in the end, nothing really resembles a typical Diwali in it
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Cover image: HBO Max, Twi
