Although Sex and the City, a highly popular US comedy series, has already ceased to be a topic of discussion in America, its influence lingers in other parts of the world. A recently released mainland television production, Wanting to Fall in Love, draws on a similar plot, but minus the sex element in the storyline.
The mainland series contains 32 half-hour episodes. The stories unfold around four women in their early 30s: a nostalgic and intelligent bookstore-pub owner, a TV producer who supposedly has feminist inclinations, a stylist who claims men are like clothes that can be easily disposed of, and a software programmer who hopes to beat her biological clock and have a family.
These four beautiful, well-dressed and well-heeled women seem to be dating men day in and day out. Not only that, the men they meet are all smart-looking, trendy and in reasonably admirable professions. The characters drink lots of wine in the coolest pubs in town, dine in five-star hotels and, of course, display the anxieties and joys of their love lives.
The director and producer have apparently made enormous efforts to keep the production as 'Chinese' as possible, so much so that there are no sex scenes at all. Even kissing is not allowed on screen. However, the comedy somehow still managed to stir controversy.
Critics say the comedy paints a distorted picture of single women on the mainland. 'It is so unreal,' as one viewer commented in an internet chat room. They questioned how young women could change boyfriends as frequently as they changed clothes. Some warned that if a girl lived a life similar to the onscreen characters, she would be condemned in most mainland cities.
But, fans of the soap believe it depicts the modern-day love experience, which could hardly be appreciated by traditional Chinese. It promotes feminism, they argue, and it encourages young women to be emotionally and financially independent. This argument seems to be well grounded.
One woman viewer confessed in a chat room that the comedy made her married life unbearable, and she was prepared to leave her misery behind to pursue happiness elsewhere - alone. She said the comedy taught her to treat herself better.