Forgive the tongue in cheek title, anyone who knows me will know that it is totally false! Girls is a HBO series created, written, produced and directed by Lena Dunham, who infuriatingly is 26 and recently signed a book 4 million dollar book deal with Random House. The series follows four new yorkers in their twenties as they attempt to navigate the world of dating, sex and work. The series mainly follows Hannah, a 24 year old from Connecticut struggling to make her mark on the world. Hannah is a writer who near the end of series two signs a deal to write an e-book. During the series premier Hannah is financially cut off by her parents, she is fired from her internship at a law firm and quits her job due to perceived sexual harassment from her boss.
The series takes inspiration from another HBO series; Sex and the City, a fact which is referenced in the pilot episode. Dunham described on Letterman how the characters were probably inspired by SATC to move to New York, and yet discovered a very different world. The show differs entirely from SATC in both tone and energy. The jaunty lounge inspired soundtrack is replaced by a more subdued, indie soundtrack, and the characters snappy retorts are replaced by very real conversations, where characters say things that sound utterly ridiculous. One of the real attractions of 'Girls' is that it is real. The characters are developed and three dimensional, and feel like real people, rather than mere representations. The show presents twenty-something life as we know it, the shows characters are deeply flawed, and the relationships between the main characters are not perfect; there is no eternal friendship and no perfect relationships, the characters are self centered and are not always there for their friends, and the show doesn't present the idea that your friends will always be there for you no matter what.
The show is also noteworthy for its frank depiction of sex. The characters actually have sex, there are no negliges, the characters actually get naked. The show is unafraid to show characters in an unflattering light, double chins and all, and Dunham herself often appears naked. Scenes featuring the character playing ping pong naked and having sex doggy style show the characters looking at times ugly and real. The show features a character who has some very dark sexual practices and fetishes, anal sex, masturbation and dirty talking are all analyzed and explored. Hannah herself proclaims that it is her greatest sexual fetish to have sex with herself, 'and also her worst nightmare. The costuming is also very real, he characters clothes are not always perfectly tailored, the characters are often costumed from thrift shops and from chains such as H&M. The characters often wear clothes that look frankly ridiculous, such as Hannah's 'shorteralls'.
The show also depicts sexuality in an interesting way, the second season premier shows Marnie having sex with Hannah's ex boyfriend, Elijah, now a gay man. The casting of Elijah is interesting, as he is played by Andrew Rannells, who by the way is really camp. The interesting thing about this casting is that it tells us a great deal about Hannah, in that she is so self involved that she doesn't realize that her boyfriend is gay, even though he is really camp. The shows opening shot is also interesting, as it shows two heterosexual roommates in bed together. It is this kind of sexual ambiguity which is really practiced these days, and characters in the show are rarely defined by sexual labels but by sexual expression, just as Samantha predicted on Sex and the City.
'Girls' is a show which portrays women as they see themselves and as other people see them, not in the glossy, smart way they would like other people to see them. Characters are self involved and selfish, and entire episodes are dedicated to really trivial problems, whereas actual problems are brushed over. 'Girls' is honest, frank and real. The characters are complex, delicate and realistic, and not always likeable. 'Girls' is essentially a tribute to our generation, fucked up and wasted as we may be, we're still important.
Hannah: I could be the voice of my generation. Well, a voice. Of a generation.
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