I speak of course of the HBO comedy Girls not of, like, girls in general (although there is a truth to that connotation as well, but that's a different topic for a different time). Anyway, if you're a frequent user of the Internet, or have taken part in any pop culture related discussion in the past three and a half month, you've probably heard mention of the show. Although, perhaps not lately seeing as the first season ended about a month ago. But, as I said, we have a complicated relationship and it has taken me a while to compile my thoughts on the topic, so here goes nothing.
The creation of Lena Dunham, a twenty-six-year-old writer/director who first earned major indie cred with her depressingly relatable film Tiny Furniture (available on Netflix instant for those interested), Girls presents a similar dark humor and easily strikes a chord with the post-grad, twenty-something, "what the fuck am I doing with my life" crowd. For this reason, I am simultaneously drawn to and made horribly uncomfortable by the show's blunt realism. And although I did watch Girls religiously while it was on the air, I just can't shake a certain aversion I have to the show as a whole. An aversion that I believe stems directly from my lack of sympathy for the four main characters.
Now, not only is Lena Dunham the show's creator, she has also taken on the task of portraying the show's lead character, Hannah Horvath, an aspiring writer, two years out of college, who is "cut-off" by her parents in the show's opening scene. Due to her generation Y characteristic entitlement, Hannah's forced independence results in a season-long self-destructive adult tantrum of sorts, wherein Hannah consistently sabotages her chances at both steady employment and any kind of healthy relationship. Though Hannah's behavior is frustrating, her own egotistical, entitled mindset is, perhaps, somewhat less irritating than that of her roommate Marnie (played by Allison Williams, daughter of NBC Nightly New's Brian Williams), whose constant hot and cold feelings toward her unbelievably loving and devoted boyfriend, Charlie, drain what little charm and sympathy Marnie ever possessed from the character by the end of the season. Rounding out the Girls are the resident "comedic relief" characters, Shoshanna (played by Zosia Mamet), the hyper, naive, desperate virgin and her cousin Jessa (played by Jemima Kirke), the sexy, British traveler of the world who exudes an "I do what I want and don't apologize for anything" mentality. Together, these two provide some of the best moments of the show and keep things from delving too far into the depths of self-pitty created by Hannah and Marnie. But, that being said, Jessa and Shoshanna still exude a similar privilege, egotism and entitlement that seems to characterize the show as a whole, which 1) starts to wear thin after a while, and 2) becomes a problem when you decide to call your show "Girls". I mean come on, if you choose a title that suggests you're portraying an entire demographic, you probably shouldn't be surprised when your criticized for your narrow scope. But, all politics aside, let's continue to focus on the show itself.
Even though it might seem that I have nothing but harsh criticism for Girls and the way it portrays women of my generation, that's not really the case. I told you we have a complicated relationship. Of course I realize it's meant to be a satire and in many respects I think it really does provide a fitting and sadly accurate portrayal of post-grad life with wonderfully honest, dark humor. I also realize that the characters aren't meant to be sympathetic and I actually think they're very well written in terms of depth and consistency. But, that being said, by the end of the season it seemed that Hannah and Marnie had become so unsympathetic that I no longer cared what happened to them. To be completely honest, by the end of the season I was so over their bullshit I was actually rooting against them, which is never what something I want in a lead character. Now, I realize there are many, many people who will disagree on that. In fact, I have a lot of friends who adore the show and the characters. I've been told on several occasions that Hannah perhaps the most realistic character on television, which might be true (though I would argue that Louie does realism far better), Hannah could definitely be a real person. Unfortunately, she is not someone I would ever want to know, which doesn't really motivate me to watch a show about her. I'm not saying characters have to be likable or sympathetic, but at the very least, I want to want them to prevail. Once I stops caring about what happens to the characters, you've lost the me. I'd have to say, I think the show peaked at episode seven "Welcome to Bushwick a.k.a The Crackcident." Up to that point I was fully on board, I was still entertained and I kind of looked forward to it every week. Then episode seven came along and it was hilarious. There were great new characters, great dialogue and wonderful twists, everything I had come to expect from the show right down to the intriguing episode title. Seriously, that is a genius title and if you've seen the episode you know it's true. But then came episode eight, then nine and ten and things just got progressively less enjoyable until the last shot of the season left Hannah sitting on a beach and me thinking, "I don't think I'll be back for season two." As much as I love Lena Dunham's dialogue and the golden, hilarious, sometimes wonderfully shocking moments she creates, the truth is, when I have to wait a good seven months to find out what will happen with your characters, please don't leave me in a place where they forget why I ever cared.
No comments:
Post a Comment