Wednesday Shit Talk: When Will Carrie's Feet Finally Get The Opening Credit They Deserve On AJLT?

Does her shoe fetish anchor her character or is it enough with the feet already? Also, a few things worth seeing/hearing/reading.

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One constant characteristic we've come to count on in all seasons of SATC/AJLT is Carrie's unadulterated passion for shoes—she even has a cat named Shoe—and season 3 is proving no different. In fact, Carrie's/Sarah Jessica Parker's feet are a legitimate supporting character, deserving of an opening credit. Shoes have always been both a means of survival and self-destruction for Carrie, serving as her addiction, armor, and identity. But, other than Miranda and Charlotte, is Carrie’s penchant for shoes all that’s left of the SATC-era Carrie? And is that a good thing? After decades of having to take in SJP's dainty dogs, I can't help but wonder—is this character quirk delivering us into Tarantino territory? How much of Carrie's shoe fetish do we still need to be fed?

Let me state my case: The obsession with shoes is legit theme that's played out over the seasons, with countless examples and quotes about Carrie’s obsession with heels; Carrie got pissed when she had to take her shoes off to go to her friend's (Tatum O'Neal) apartment and they got stolen, she’d blow all her paychecks on them, blue Manolos were basically her engagement ring/glass slipper in her committing to Big. It even spilled over to Charlotte, when she ran across a foot fetishist (played by James Urbaniak) who gave her free shoes in exchange for a hard-on.

Today, In "Apples to Apples," episode 4 of this season, a lingering close-up of Carrie's bare feet in Aidan’s guest room bed pans slowly upward, toward her visage, giving us a shoeless Carrie to illustrate her vulnerability. An early scene of the following episode, "Under The Table," features a 17-shot close-up montage of Carrie's feet walking across her apartment in various sets of sky-high heels to the tune of "These Boots Are Made For Walking" as a plot device to introduce her cantankerous downstairs neighbor.

As is evidenced by Sarah Jessica Parker's real-life SJP shoe line, we know the woman loves a good shoe—and who could blame her? Plenty of women love their shoes—39% of women consider themselves "a shoe person" and, as the popularity of FeetFinder and OnlyFans can attest, foot fetishes are fairly common. But as far as younger viewers are concerned, feet have fallen hopelessly out of favor. Plus, it's almost like the writers are leaning on this Carrie quirk to anchor us to who she used to be versus who she's become. Isn't maintaining her pattern of longing for a man she can't totally have enough to do that?

Since AJLT began, Carrie has proven to have changed, as is wont to happen when a woman is gliding toward 60 at breakneck speed. She’s seen some shit. She’s a widow and an heiress. She’s successful in her own right (though how rich a writer can get from writing can be woefully exaggerated by the series). It’s unrealistic and ridiculous to expect a character in her late 50s to be the carefree gadabout she was at 32, or even 42. But the thing about being in your 50s is that who you’ve always been still resides within you, and Carrie’s shoes remind the viewer of the saucy, louche sprite we’ve come to love that still lives within. The things we're obsessed with or enjoy in our 20s and 30s—however frivolous—don't dissolve in our 50s. They lay dormant until we draw on them as oxygen bags of joy when life (with the deaths of parents, cancer, and issues with older children) gets heavier.

Carrie's shoes help her hold onto who she was, who she is, and who she will be. Like prayer beads or a meditation practice, perhaps shoes are Carrie’s talismen, each a sacrosanct artifact of her past, present, and future. After all, whatever we worship rewards us with its reflection of ourselves.

Oh, and hot take: Miranda is this season’s MVP. Fight me.

Shit I’ve Been Into

The Bear’s Gen X Soundtrack Pilfers My Playlist

I finally got to episode two of the new season of The Bear (because I live with people who don’t understand the healing power of binge-gluttony) and couldn’t help but notice the brilliant use of deep 80s classics I love like Talk, Talk’s “Life’s What You Make It,” “The Chosen One” from Bryan Ferry, and “Mystery Acheivement” by The Pretenders as needle drops. Ferry and Chrissie Hynde are my spiritual parents, so showrunner Christopher Storer and executive producer Josh Senior, who also serve as co-music supervisors, must be Gen X (indeed, Storer is a Xennial, age 41). Of course, as I drafted this here Substack, The Hollywood Reporter ran their own observance of this phenomenon, but it’s worth noting and enjoying nonetheless.

Jenn Romolini’s Extended Scenes interview with Samantha Irby

I dig these two pals, and they refreshingly kept it real about staying sane as a sensitive creative, leaning into your strengths, and where they hold the bar professionally. Highly recommend.

There Is No Better Allegory Of The Moment Than Trainwreck: Poop Cruise

This is where we are, people! The prospect of being stranded in the middle of the ocean with a group of party people scares the FCK out of me as much as, well, everyday life now, so I couldn’t help but find this gem quite the horror story to behold. Vanity Fair’s Eve Batey did a marvelous job of pointing out the irony of its release at this time in our lives.

That’s it for now! Enjoy your long weekend. May we all survive.

xx

MF