Another dull, hot summer night inside. As I scroll endlessly and repetitively refresh my newsfeed, I receive a notification, “… has tagged you in a video”. Oh no, my time has come. I have been nominated for the stupid ALS Ice bucket challenge. I click the notification, and before I have time to even watch the video I am shrieking in happiness. I have not been nominated (again) for the ice bucket challenge, but instead have been tagged in the promo of season 4 of HBO’s "Girls’, which is to be aired early 2015.
Now to be honest, I am not a big fan of series. Especially American series. I find them too pretentious, over dramatic, and fabricated to enjoy. If you were to find me watching a series it would be British, amongst the likes of Peep Show, IT Crowd and Miranda. Yet there was something about "Girls’ that grabbed my attention. My friend introduced me to the show last summer, describing it as "Sex and The City of our generation’. I was sceptical at first, but found myself watching all of season one in a whole afternoon lying on my friends’ bed.
"Girls’ follows the lives of four best friends living in Brooklyn who are all trying to find their place in the world. Creator, writer and star of the show Lena Dunham, has created a whole new series which is not afraid to talk about love, friendships, sex, drugs, and mental and physical health. Sure, one can tell that this show is fictional and that, at the end of the day, it is all made up, but it feels so realistic that it is slightly uncomfortable. Even after three seasons, we find our characters still lost and unsure of what they truly want (all except our main protagonist Hannah Horvart, portrayed by Lena Dunham herself). Just like the rest of us, they are just trying to understand what they want in life.
All the girls have unique personalities, and it is difficult to pin point which character we relate to the most. I understand when Hannah admits "No one could ever hate me as much as I hate myself okay?’ We are our own worst critics. Many students can relate to Shoshanna, as she has just graduated from school, yet has no career prospects; unfortunately a very relatable situation for many University students, locally and internationally (Also how she speaks in crazy, made up phases and pop culture references, which we see enough of today in our media obsessed culture). At the beginning, Marnie seems to have it all sorted out: good job, long term relationship, yet she slowly loses it all and has to start from scratch. It may seem totally chaotic, but as all new beginnings do, they get better as time goes by. Jessa is the total opposite of Marnie. She is that insane, crazy best friend, who can be totally horrid, yet I would love to listen to her talk about her travels, and explain how the hell her hair is so perfect.
"Girls’ has been highly criticised since its release back in 2012. It has been noted to be racist, to give an unrealistic insight of life in Brooklyn, and too exposed when it comes to sex. In my opinion I find it to be creative, bold, and fresh. The script is quirky, the acting is believable and honest and how can anyone forget an awesome soundtrack, featuring MGMT, LCD Soundsystem, Fleet Foxes and so many more.
Another reason to love this show is because it is written and directed by a woman; a woman who doesn’t fit the stereotypical Hollywood status, and that is one of the many reasons why I admire her. Not many women do their own writing and directing, so to do all that by the age of 27 is truly inspiring. Not to mention being the first woman to have won a Directors Guild Award for Outstanding Director in a Comedy Series in February 2013! She may not be the voice of our generation, but she is one of the few to change the way woman are being portrayed in today’s media. She amongst other brilliant woman, such as Tina Fey, Sarah Silverman and Mindy Kaling are beginning a new era of woman who want to show the world that women no longer belong on the side, but can take charge. Dunham does not care the least what people have to say about her, and I love that. Oh, and have I mentioned, that her first book, an essay collection/ autobiography "Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She’s “Learned”’ is to be published at the end of the month? There are not enough words to describe my excitement.
I cannot wait to see what Dunham and the rest of the girls will get up to in season four. For me "Girls’ depicts the life most early 20s females face today. Juggling studies, relationships, work, and friendships to developing ones understanding of who they want to be. The girls are not perfect characters, but in the end who is? I am excited to see what Dunham has in store for us and I’ll be rooting for her all the way!
