Discussing
Is it OK to judge the women of ‘Sex and the City?’

These characters represent everything that’s wrong with our society. They are vain, conspicuous consumers, sexually promiscuous and proud of it, shallow, men-abusers, selfish cougars who live for pleasure. I really don’t care if their conversations seem authentic, that doesn’t redeem the movie for me. I would feel better if the characters came to some kind of moral insight or gained a wiser perspective. But that is not going to happen, the Broadcast network has their franchise to protect and the raunch-fest must go on. These are fictional characters created for entertainment purposes and they pander to our lowest urges. The goal is actually to sell lots of products for their commercial sponsors. If we are being judgemental (a politically-correct, loaded term if there ever was one) it is about fictional characters created for entertainment and sales purposes. Which of the new Testament writers, including Jesus, wasn’t judgemental at times when the situation or behavior warranted it? We were not created to be uncritical consumerist sponges. There comes a point where even secular society can’t put up with some kinds of egregious behavior and this is one case.

We, as Christ followers, are told to "judge rightly". Imagine if Jesus had never made judgments about anyone. He came to seek and save the lost. How would he know who 'the lost' are if not for making judgments?

But we must follow his example. Yes, we should make good and fair judgments, but we should not allow those judgments to give us justification to act with anything other than love towards ALL people.

Unfortunately, your "positive review to the movie" is a disgrace to the Church. Is it OK to judge - NO - however Jesus said (Matt 7:15&16) "By their fruit you will recognize them." Judging is sin; acknowledging & avoiding bad fruit (movies, journalism, etc) - is wisdom and discernment. When are "Christians" going to say enough to glamorizing immoral behavior, sadly it may be no time soon if "Christian" sites continue to give such "positive reviews" to such Biblical immoral material.

I've never heard anyone question the ethics of judging fictional characters before. I agree that our reactions to the movie may say as much about our character as the morality of the subjects in question, but we're not called to be in a relationship with art. Exhortations to compassion -- or generosity, love, forgiveness, etc. -- don't apply to the (non-living) things we create. Judging our art and entertainment is not just permissible; it's obligatory. I think our culture expects good art to "delight and reflect" rather than "delight and instruct," making it easy to forget its influence on our attitudes and behavior. I haven't seen the Sex and the City movies and can't comment on its merits, but I thought the show was, at its best, art that was well done but bad (i.e., a bad moral influence).

I think you shouldn't even have dedicated a full blog post to this topic. After reading the post, I didn't get why a full post was written about good/bad reviews on Sex & the City. Does it matter whether we give the movie good or bad reviews? Reviews come from personal standpoints of individuals. As Christians, the most important question should be "what exactly are we promoting?" If it's a movie such as Sex & the City, then the younger church generation is in big trouble.

Wow, you seem to know a lot about this movie. Did you see it?

You were talking about judging their outfits, right? ;-)

As a woman living in the metro area who is in her 40's, I would surmise that "Sex in the City" is nothing more than an outrageous attempt to glamorize the inevitable process of aging, therefore ensuring that our large population is not ignored in the movies (meaning more money for everyone involved in the making of a movie). None of my friends will go to see "Sex in the City" and come out wanting any one of those girls' lives, nor will we allow life to imitate art (I'm not even sure if we would want any of their clothing -Carrie's outfits can be a bit bizarre). It's just two hours spent in a movie theater, the ulitimate fantasy venue of all time. Just because a man watches Tom Cruise perform incredible feats of non-human proportion in the "Mission Impossible" movies doesn't mean he is going to run out and jump off a train. It's just a movie.

In reality, women (and men) with extremely shallow ideals exist, and I'm sure they can be funny, exciting and entertaining. And guess what? God loves them, too. It's up to us to be an example to those people, not the other way around. Those of us strong enough in our faith will not be threatened by them; instead we will be challenged to help them rise higher. Isn't that our mission as Christans?

Critiquing a film is not judging. It is giving an opinion.

Hebrews 13:16
Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

Believe those words and head on over to www.hybridhondas.com. Click on a link or two to help a fellow brother out so he can continue helping others.

Spread the word to other brothers and sisters.

It's interesting to ask if it's okay to judge these women, since they aren't even real people. Sure, they're based on people who must be similar, or at least share something in common with the people who love them. But still, they aren't real people. Seems even the most non-judgemental Christians could get a free pass on this one.

DISCLAIMER: My wife and I used to watch the show. Haven't seen either movie.
I think that rather than judge the characters, we should judge the society that idolizes the characters. $100 million was spent creating this movie. $45 million has been spent so far on tickets to see it. What does it say about our values as a society that we deem it worthy to spend $145 million on 4 characters that are morally reprehensible (imho)? Let's look in the mirror and judge ourselves before judging fictional characters.

This is a clear instance of why being judgmental isn't bad because it's harmful to the target of judgement (as the targets are fictional characters), but because it's harmful to those who make the judgement. The point that Josh was making - that some posters aren't getting, it seems - is that the characters in this movie are being hated to a degree that is extreme.

In contrast, take a look at the recent film Inglorius Basterds. One of the major villains, Hans Landa, is a thoroughly reprehensible character. And yet, as seen from outside the movie, I don't notice nearly as much hatred of this fictional character as the hatred aimed towards the Sex in the City team. Landa is a frightening man, and yet extremely compelling to watch. While I can get the fact that he is complex, and I keep watching this movie for that reason (among others), it would make perfect sense if this character was subjected to the same level of personal hatred that the Sex in the City characters were being subjected to. And yet, I haven't noticed such an anti-Landa hatred.

This probably sounds like a strange and nonsensical comparison;it is, of course. Landa, and similar characters who actually have a sinister nature are meant to make us feel repulsed. The Sex in the City women aren't; they're part of a movie TV series that is basically trite and shallow. (You're mileage may vary; some find it to be a good, entertaining show, but it's pretty odd for someone to put it in the same league as Citizen Kane.) So, getting enthusiastically enraged at Carrie and Miranda makes so little sense.

To answer the question:Is it OK to judge the women of Sex and the City? I don't see why not, for the same reasons that JL gives. However, why judge them at all? It's just a waste of time!

In Matthew 7, Jesus is condemning a hypocritical judgment that presumes that oneself is perfect while condemning another. The act of judging is not inherently wrong, as Jesus implies when he continues after the exhortation, "then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye." Further, he does not rebuke the Pharisees for judging him, but rather for judging him with the wrong standard (John 7:24). Paul likewise assumes that believers will judge each other in a proper ecclesiastical sense (1 Cor. 5:12).

It is not wrong to judge the characters in Sex and the City, as long as three things are true:
1. Our standard is Scripture, not man-made regulations.
2. We are not doing so to make ourselves seem superior.
3. We also recognize the seriousness of our own sin.

As far as judging the movie itself (the last question you ask), that is a different question than that of judging the characters, and it falls under a related but separate set of biblical guidelines, that of discernment. While we may be able to recognize an element of common grace in the wit or content of the dialogue, it seems that Christians ought not to be promoting the movie due to its degenerate moral tone. Rather we ought to graciously and fairly point out its dangers. As Paul said, "Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them" (Eph. 5:11, written in the context of ribald entertainment, cf. v. 4).