Sunday night saw, not only the return of HBO’s “Girls” to our television screens (or America’s television screens at least), but also the show winning two awards at the Golden Globes ceremony that evening. Despite the honours and largely positive critical reviews for “Girls”, there is a huge amount of hatred and vitriol directed towards the show and its creator/director/writer and lead Lena Dunham. The show has been accused of being many things including elitist, racist and degrading for women. Not only that, but the appearance of the girls, particularly Dunham herself, has been the source of much criticism for failing to fit into the mould of what is commonly seen on mainstream television. As a fan of the show I can identify where some of the controversy is coming from but can also see how some of what is written is misguided and, in some cases, misogynistic.
As a brief synopsis, “Girls” centres around Dunham’s lead character Hannah, a struggling writer in her early 20s who has just been cut off from her wealthy parents and is forced to go it alone in the big bad world of New York city. Joined in her journeys by her three equally privileged friends Marnie, Jessa and Shoshanna the series follows these women as they gauge their way through life, love and everything in between. To the casual observer the links with another New York based, HBO female-centric series must be overwhelming but, to me at least, “Girls” is a superior and less infuriating offering that, despite the social standing of its main characters, succeeds in offering a level of relatability that more often than not alluded Sex and the City.
The primary criticism leveled at “Girls” is its representation of solely white, entitled, middle class women. As writer Dustin Rowles points out in an article examining the hatred many people had for “Girls”: “I think the source of consternation for most viewers is socioeconomic in nature. It’s not that we can’t enjoy unlikable people doing unlikable things, it’s that these characters are unlikable in a specific way that revolves around money and class and entitlement. It has less to do with the way they look, the fact they’re unlikable, or nepotism (which isn’t even a real issue) and has most to do with our disdain for privileged white people” (Pajiba).
And this has been a huge problem for viewers of the show, particularly in the early days (those watching the season two opener will have noticed Hannah now has a black boyfriend – hopefully this is more central to the plot than just a token to silence dissenters) The world inhabited by Hannah and her Brooklyn peers does indeed seem to be almost solely white and upper middle class. This is the world that Lena Dunham has chosen to represent and has said in more than more interview is partly inspired by her own experiences growing up. As a writer and child of privilege she has chosen to write about what she knows, however I don’t feel that it is done without criticisms of this society. Dunham does not write these women as wholly sympathetic and is often darkly comedic about their struggles in the city. Such scenes as Hannah convincing her parents that if she “slums it” she could get by on $1100 a month and her unwillingness to sacrifice her artistic spirit in menial jobs are not written to garner sympathy but to point to the ridiculousness of these women and their “struggles”, something many critics appear to be missing.
With regards the accusation leveled at Dunham for her “whitewashing” of New York, it is true that the show features solely white characters. Do I believe that this shows an elitism or racism on Dunham’s part? No, I do not. Seeing as how many of the actors are friends of Dunham and worked with her on many of her previous projects it seems more reasonable that she hired friends she trusted and felt comfortable working with for her cable network debut. But if people wish to read further into it that is their prerogative. I would suggest, however, that if a show revolving around upper middle class twenty somethings does not feature more people of varying ethnicities that this is perhaps more reflective of the flaws in American society as a whole that immediately pointing to inherent racism on the part of the writer.
Finally I would like to quickly address the repeated attention garnered by the girls themselves, particularly Dunham. It’s no secret that the show is quite flippant with its portrayals of sex scenes and nudity, and Dunham herself is more than game to strip off in many of the episodes. However the audacity that she do so while not being conventionally beautiful and a size 6 appears to confound and enrage many a critic. In her article on the “Girls” season one pilot, writer Andrea Peyser refers to Dunham’s “dimpled ugliness” (New York Post). And just last week, self proclaimed “shock-jock” Howard Stern described Dunham as “a little fat girl who kind of looks like Jonah Hill” and likened her sex scenes to watching a rape (Huffington Post). Although since apologising, it is a continuing trend that Dunham is written about more for her looks than her extraordinary achievement of directing, writing, producing and staring in a successful and critically acclaimed cable television show. It’s worrying that many articles written on her are keen to belittle such achievements by pointing to her wealthy background and “unconventional” body shape (I stress to point out that only in Hollywood would Dunham’s physique be classed as the unconventional one in the tv show).
As a fan of the show I am looking forward to seeing how the new series will play out. The wins at the Golden Globes will hopefully allow it some breathing space and quieten the detractors. The show may not be perfect but neither are the demographic it is looking to represent. So while it may be the show that everyone loves to hate, it is also the show that I unashamedly love to love .
Works Cited:
“Howard Stern Says He Loves ‘Girls,’ Apologizes To Lena Dunham.” Huffington Post. N.p., 15 Jan. 2013. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.
Peyser, Andrea. “You Go, ‘Girls’ – Far, Far Away.” New York Post. N.p., 16 Apr. 2012. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.
Rowles, Dustin. “HBO’s “Girls” and Our Resentment Toward Privileged, White America.” Web log post. Pajiba. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.
edelhenry 
I watched the first three episodes. I didn’t get the jokes.