i hate lena dunham because she stole my life.
26-years-old and already an acclaimed, successful and clever as shit writer, director and producer. oh and actress. FUCK YOU, LENA. i say that with a lot of love and a bit of obsessive anger.
the new HBO original series GIRLS was created by dunham’s ovaries (and genius mind) and judd apatow’s fierce and efficient semen. together they spawned the best new show about 20somethings losing their minds, their diginity and the will power to just say “NO” to mindless drama – in other words, entertainment for days on days on days. the show takes place in Brooklyn, NY (obviously. i mean where the hell else are you going to portray lost and anxiety-ridden 25-year-olds trying to figure out life? it wouldn’t be as believeable in, say, nantucket or minnesota) where four girlfriends face life as we know it – a few years out of college when you suddenly realize that life kinda sucks and shit’s expensive.
like with everything else daring and new in the world of entertainment, the show has already received a lot of naysaying and heckling (check out dunham’s response to the shit talking on NPR). some people feel it doesn’t represent more than your middle-class, white culture. they are appalled by the graphic sex and vulgar language. they believe it’s ridiculous and completely unrealistic, over dramatized. well, as a 25-year-old, highly emotionally charged lady who sees bits of her in almost every character portrayed on the show, i can assure you…
YOU’RE WRONG.
i don’t mean to sound so final in my statement, but the majority of girls my age (at least the ones i choose to associate with) love this show and GET this show. and ya know what? guys do, too! and ya know why? because bitches are crazy and that’s exactly what dunham is portraying here.
that’s not to say that i don’t understand how those lucky few cannot and will not ever relate to this show, and their reasoning for disliking GIRLS is valid. i refer to them as “lucky” because not being able to relate to horrifying sexual encounters, poverty or prolonged anxiety attacks is a wonderful way to experience life, i would imagine. these fortunate souls could be your grandma or grandpa. they could be incredibly pious. they could be a child who hasn’t yet learned to speak. they could be one of those annoying people who found the love of their life when they were between the ages of 15-22 and never looked back (you know who you are). they could be like my good friend who happens to be a lesbian.
besides not having to deal with men in general (lucky bitch) or shamefully having to purchase an EPT while it feels like every pair of eyes in walgreens watch you, my friend has had it pretty good thus far in her 20s. lucky her, she met her partner years ago, fell in love right away and it’s lasted. they’re now engaged and live in a big, wonderful city with a lot of money and sushi every weekend. needless to say, she hates this show. well, HATED. she’s finally coming around to understanding where all the humor lies within dunham’s writing. her initial thoughts to me were: “do girls REALLY stoop that low for sex and get in bed with douchebags?” “no one is THAT dramatic” and “this is the worst show i’ve ever seen.” my responses to her were: “yes,” “do you KNOW me?” and “really? worse than house of payne?” for these “lucky few,” if you just open your mind and don’t take the show SO literally, you might be entertained. instead of trying to relate to it like the rest of us, treat it like another series. you didn’t really relate to 24, did you? alias? LOST? desperate housewives? but you still watched them and enjoyed them.
as for the rest of us who can fully appreciate, relate to and are in love with GIRLS, dunham is making the worst and most complicated moments of 20something existance pretty hysterical. she somehow makes me feel normal and okay with admitting that, in my darkest moments of singlehood, i’ve been known to make completely irrational, melodramatic proclamations such as: “i’m just going to stay in my apartment, in bed, under the covers and wait for whoever my future husband is supposed to be to walk through that door and retrieve me” and i’ve meant it.
GIRLS dares to ask “who HASN’T…”:
slept with a psycho asshole?
gotten cut off from your parents financially?
HATED your job?
worked an unpaid internship?
worked an unpaid internship full of empty promises of moving on up and actually getting paid, then having to quit because they never had any plans of giving you money?
had a pregnancy scare or maybe even a real pregnancy?
lived with a best friend?
judged your best friends’ relationships? or judged everything for that matter?
cringed at the touch of and ultimately had to break up with your college boyfriend?
realized halfway through sex that you’re not in love with the guy on top, underneath or behind you anymore?
tried to tell off the jerk you’re sleeping with and ended up sleeping with him again that night?
found out an ex-boyfriend or ex-SOMETHING was gay?
MOVED TO NEW YORK WITH HOPES AND DREAMS ONLY TO END UP CRYING ON THE FLOOR OF OUR 5 SQ.FT. X 5 SQ.FT. BEDROOM WITH NO FOOD, NO MONEY AND NO BOYFRIEND?
i think it’s safe to say this show takes our youth’s angst and portrays it in such a way, you can’t help but sigh with relief after each episode and think, “so i’m not the only one in this? THANK GOD.” GIRLS provides a level of comfort that no pint of ben and jerry’s or late-night taco bell ever will. it’s a bottle of vodka, wrapped in a warm blanket, carried in to you by a puppy and served with an orgasmic pinterest dessert – that’s right. it’s PERFECT.
i’d like to leave you with my favorite dunham tangent thus far in the series. it resonated with me in ways i can’t put into words, so just read hers instead.
“i don’t even want a boyfriend. i just want someone who wants to hang out all the time, and thinks i’m the best person in the world, and wants to have sex with only me. and it makes me feel very stupid to tell you this because it makes me sound like a girl who wants to, like, go to brunch. and i really don’t wanna go to brunch and i don’t want you to like sit on the couch while i shop or like even meet my friends. i don’t even want that. “
watch GIRLS. sunday nights, HBO, 9p.
- emma
