'Sow a smear of roses'

The world is not a scary place. Not a cruel place. Not a happy place. According to Candace Bushnell, "The world is a very, very commercial place."\nAnd I guess I shouldn't have expected any less.\nThe HBO series "Sex in the City" has received mountains of praise from critics, bringing a new libertinage to the public sphere that would make the good ol' Marquis beam with pride. Surely, the enlightened artist who birthed this TV phenomenon would have something interesting to say.\n"I have on a pair of Manolo Blahniks, just so you know."\nNo wonder the tickets were free.\nWhat became obvious to me was that Bushnell was there not to engage the implications and curiosities of her work, but to promote herself -- make IU a "very, very commercial place."\nAs if we needed any help.\nWaving the banner of women's liberation, she dodged questions about reproductive rights and read a selection from her new novel where one of the central characters battles with her insipid husband over wearing a white, patent leather mini-dress to a WASPy cocktail party in Greenwich, Conn. -- only to bring the event to a head by witnessing the wife voluntarily suck the will of argument out of her paper maché beau.\nAh, the political struggles of the white upper class. \nIt brings into question, who exactly is responsible for "Sex in the City's" success? Bushnell revealed herself to be nothing more than someone with a good idea -- albeit to her credit. Her life story, which is really the source of any "creative" impulse she might possess, is a representative one. Much like Nia Vardalos' "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," what made it successful was not the original author's artistic superpowers, but rather coincidence. Vardalos and Bushnell just happened to be individuals whose lives resonated with a certain market demographic. \nShe's just lucky sex and shoes sell right now.\nBut what was most deflating about the Bushnell talk was that neither her, nor her audience, seemed to miss the intellectual debate this campus witnessed when another pop-entertainment guru, Kevin Smith, came to speak about "the industry."\nSubstantive questions were greeted with muffled giggles by the 18-22 year olds that seemed to create the bulk of an audience for a woman whose work is about New Yorkers in their late 30s. When a middle-aged woman put Bushnell to task regarding how the show might influence the young, the group hissed, "these old ladies should just get out of here." \nThankfully, their thirst for knowledge was quenched when Bushnell paid them their due respect, allowing them to shed light on this audience that lay in darkness. \n "So who do you think Carrie is more compatible with -- Aiden or Big?"\n Well worth the venom, ladies. Well worth it.\n "Sex in the City" works wonders by allowing women to witness that being single and powerful isn't the great sin of womanhood our past has offered in older narratives. However, Bushnell's tirade on the politically dulling effects of commercial entertainment fell on deaf ears. She's not a genius, she's just an example. If the road to excess does lead to the palace of wisdom, then maybe Bushnell can put herself up there with Blake and have a giant orgy of discourse to which I'm not invited. However, I think that might be pushing it.\nI can't fault her for cashing in on her tale, but I can fault her for thinking she's special. In truth, I suppose it makes sense that her work is simply a thinly veiled retelling of her life story. Because when it comes to "Sex and the City," it really is all about her.