Chinese Food and Sex and the City Taught Me Communication Theory

After the two-week anxiety bender called hosting your family for the holidays, I spent this past weekend binge-watching my comfort shows on HBO. As I watched more and more of Carrie Bradshaw and Big's tumultuous relationship play out on the screen, I began craving good Chinese. But as I turned off the tv and put down the remote, I found myself wondering, was it really my stomach that was calling out for chow mein, or was it the media?

Before I even knew it, I found my already food comatosed self was walking to my car and putting it into drive. I argued with myself that Christmas cookies were not a sufficient dinner driving to Le China was not only a good idea but the responsible thing to do. After all, if there is one thing Samantha taught us in season one is life is all about balance. Of course, the egg roll was good, but as I drove back home, I couldn't help but ask myself, "Why did I even get those? You've never found yourself craving pork eggrolls before." I clicked on another episode as I climbed back into bed with my Chinese bounty. Then I saw it.

Carrie and Miranda were gossiping about their sex lives over Chinese, specifically over egg rolls. The wheels in my head started turning as my favorite episodes of Sex and the City began playing in my head. Carrie and Big's first two dates, Samantha's escapades with Smith, Carries 30th birthday party, and countless other scenes with Chinese food acting as the 5th girl, the 5th character.

Miranda's Chinese food order is even a plot point to season three!

Chinese food should have their own IMBd page for being a season regular of the show. I realized just how susceptible to the media I really was at that moment. We all like to think that we are strong, independent, and use our agency to live authentic lives. What if this is a lie. We are products of the media. Well, to an extent.

Yes, yellow may genuinely be your favorite color, and maybe you are one of the rare people who actually enjoy running. But for me, I realized I only ran after seeing an inspirational Nike ad or when the Olympics are happening. I downloaded TikTok after the #FreeBritney movement gained traction on Twitter. I drove to Le China for the first time a year after watching Chinese food make an Emmy-winning performance on Sex and the City. If you are like me and would rather be influenced to be active than eat ten egg rolls alone on a Saturday night, then here is the Nike commercial that I used to watch during my days of collegiate rowing to get pumped up before a regatta.

We don't really know what we want or how we feel until the media tells us. The hypodermic needle theory explains this phenomenon by equating the media to drugs to the masses. If any of you are reading this and feel like you also crave random food after watching tv or find yourself suddenly buying/downloading a new app with no real reason why you should read up on the hypodermic needle theory. Now, I don't know if I fully agree with this as I still listen to Nickleback, and last time I checked, the media was pretty consistent about their feelings towards them. (I mean, who chooses to like Nickleback?) But I believe this theory explains a lot about my life and possibly yours.

To learn more about the hypodermic needle theory, watch the video below!