Flavorwire: Most people are pretty comfortable with the idea that what happens on a TV show should be treated differently than what happens in real life. Throughout its four-year run, Girls has proved particularly resistant to this concept. From the get-go, critics and viewers conflated its creator with her creation, as if Hannah Horvath could have possibly achieved half of what Lena Dunham did by the age of 25.
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Girls is a show that I do not watch often, however, on the rare occasion that I do watch an episode I am always entertained.
Dunham has received both praise and lash-back from viewers of her show. I think this is because it depicts a world that is very similar to our own. Nothing is perfect. Her characters are real, with real body shapes, and real emotions that use real curse words. She depicts sexual experiences with different people who live different lifestyles, and so on. Because her show covers so many bases, and is so realistic to our lives I think that people become uncomfortable and shy away. What Lena does so well is writes a television program that talks about and addresses many issues and ideas that we all have. I am always left wondering if her art is imitating life, or if we imitate her art? In terms of this article attacking another, I think that everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. Mine is that a feminist can show his or her feelings about feminism however him or her chooses. Therefore, the article attacking Dunham for having her characters use words that are derogatory is wrong. Thought the terms are derogatory, many people are not willing to address the words, and how they make each of us feel when we hear them. By Dunham having her characters use them she provides us the opportunity to discuss and react to how those words sound. She is pushing the bar and peoples ideas, which make people uncomfortable. She writes a great TV show, and stands for even greater ideals.
I am an avid Girls watcher, and when I first started watching the show it took me a little while to adjust to the language, and the sex, and how honest the show was. I haven't watched the 5th season yet but as I watched the fourth a few months ago I realized that I was no longer uncomfortable watching the show, and that to didn't feel strange to see someone who didn't have a "perfect" (and probably fake) body on screen. I think Lena Dunham is a really interesting person, I read her book over winter break, and I learned a lot about the way that she writes, and why she writes that way. My take away from reading her book, and most everything she has ever written, I think she wants to desensitize the world in respect to women, sexuality, and the way we talk about those topics. Language about women that can be seen as "disrespectful" can be used in a way that is offensive and it can be used in way that is just nothing, much like most other curses. Lena wants to make people aware of what they are saying, but she also wants people to stop caring so much about shit that doesn't matter. Feminism isn't about what word I use, AS A WOMAN, ABOUT ME, OR MY BODY, it is about me being equal to my male counter parts. On tv if a man doesn't have a *perfect* (and probably fake) body we don't care at all. But when a woman isn't 7 pounds we freak out, and Lena Dunham is changing that with every episode. So honestly I don't care what this lady says about Dunham's work because she's got me, and thousands of other women that it is FINALLY okay to be human being, and not the *perfect* (and probably fake) woman we are convinced we need to be, and so she has made an incredibly substantial contribution to society, one I'm sure this woman will never even come close to.
I find myself disagreeing with this article and show a lot. I agree that it is art, and who cares if the characters say "bitch" or "cunt" or any other word, because that's lending itself to the reality of the show. I used to watch Girls, and was actually really excited about it when it premiered. Thus, I watched the first few seasons. And the problem for me wasn't the nudity, sexuality, or the language used at all. I thought those were all very real parts of the show. But, I think it's the fact that Lena somehow, in her effort to write a feminist show, makes all the men have the most power in the show, at least in my point of view. The girls themselves are written to be dumb, and fail at many things, and are often portrayed as dumber than the men. For instance, the character Marnie is really what drove me away from the show. Instead of showing strong women, they choose to portray her as whiney and yearning for her boyfriend to come back. Actually, that's how I found all the characters- whiney. For me, the characters don't convey hard-working, independent women, but flighty women. Also, the fact that every character on the show is white and comes from a privileged background does not seem very progressive to me. The narrow story it tells drove me away from the show. Maybe it's also because I know floundering privileged kids in their 20's and they bug me in real life.
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