i missed the golden globes, but the internet tells me that lena dunham (DIRECTOR, WRITER, ACTRESS OF “GIRLS” AND “TINY FURNITURE”) was rewarded for her success. two awards were given out to her but the real awards lie between the sly twitter mentions of celebrities. bands like tegan and sara, who cover the rolling stones in season two episode one, sent their love to lena dunham when her name was announced. to name some more: manic pixie dream girl zoey deschanel, tv talk host ellen, even the fearful lindsay lohan also sent their support to dunham. although many see this social e-verse as a hollow network of celebs circlejerking, a person like lena dunham does deserve to be recognized.
the real question: ‘isn’t this show just a modern version of sex and the city?’
no, it’s not. it’s actually something very different. girls features four girls (same number, got it) living in new york (same place, got it). these girls are twenty-somethings trying to figure it all out after college. drugs, relationships, and hidden stressors about their own personal successes make the show a living, breathing entity. it has the freedom to touch upon any subject it desires to, but all at once. sex and the city was actually attempting to break social and societal barriers. each episode was focused around a theme regarding the idea of sex, gender, sexual orientation, and society’s reaction to those things. it was also in the 90’s with a reminder that the 80’s was not that far back. hopefully when girls does end it is not plagued by awful remake movies that destroy the remainder of it’s existing legacy.
this show is literally about girls who are just living their fucking lives. the four main characters are all changing, failing, transitioning, but still getting on with their lives. embarrassment is a key part of girls. there are awkward moments and things go wrong, and that’s why it hits home for me in a way that sex and the city never did. watching it you’re going to think, ‘fuck, that’s me’ or ‘i feel your pain man’. the two shows share similarities and maybe it is too early to tell where girls is headed. just sayin’, i’d rather be lost in my twenties than be thirty and not have a clue about life.
just watch it. whether you’re a freeloading-off-your-parents art student or a full-time student working full-time at a shitty restaurant, you’ll find a connection to the show. as a reflection of our generation, girls is addressing the fact that a lot of us aren’t as independent as we think we are. all we need is a push or something terrible to happen for us to realize that we have two feet to fall on and if our legs break we’ll learn to walk on our hands. it captures the sadness that creeps in from time to time, exposes the weird things that we do, and prepares us for the reality of nothing, or something after college.
tl;dr
it’s barren outside and you have some time to kill. if you have an hbo subscription, or maybe a great friend who will let you use theirs, WATCH GIRLS.♦