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I caught up with it on-demand.
Adam might be one of those break-out characters on here.
Girls (HBO TV series)
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I caught up with it on-demand.
Adam might be one of those break-out characters on here.
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Well, I saw Lena Dunham on The Daily Show. She seems intelligent and fairly realistic about her work (and is really cute in the young-enough-to-be-my-daughter way). Maybe I'll give the show another chance. (Maybe the characters actually grow up a little.)
By the way, there's apparently a prequel Sex and the City show called The Carrie Diaries. You can see how a teenage girl grows into a self-centered, chain-smoking middle-aged halfwit who's inexplicably paid huge amounts of money for her shitty column.
By the way, there's apparently a prequel Sex and the City show called The Carrie Diaries. You can see how a teenage girl grows into a self-centered, chain-smoking middle-aged halfwit who's inexplicably paid huge amounts of money for her shitty column.
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That's what draws me to Lena. Her personality, let alone her work. She seems so familiar and just chill with her humor and all.
The characters are young and self-centered as expected. They'll grow up eventually. Right now, I just identify with them to a T, so...I'm biased.
As for "The Carrie Diaries". I didn't care enough to watch the show's premiere. "Sex In the City" was a little before my time and frankly I'm not a Carrie fan like that.
The characters are young and self-centered as expected. They'll grow up eventually. Right now, I just identify with them to a T, so...I'm biased.
As for "The Carrie Diaries". I didn't care enough to watch the show's premiere. "Sex In the City" was a little before my time and frankly I'm not a Carrie fan like that.
I love Girls... I don't know anything about Sex and the City, but the way Lena Dunham responded to Howard Stern's comments about her recently made me love it even more. It's awesome to me when people can poke fun at themselves but also be clearly intelligent and poised.
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That's another thing I love about the show. There aren't many, if any at all, characters like her as far as body type and size goes. She has a normal girl's body with meat and it isn't a bad thing or portrayed as bad thing. I love the confidence and don't-care attitude about it.
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I appreciate that she is a normal size and all that. However, I think the character's attitude is anything but don't-care and confident.
This is part of what I think is so weak about the writing and the show in general, actually. The whole Hannah's body deal.
The clothing is beyond ridiculous. It's not 'I wear whatever/I have my own style,' so much as it is 'watch this character wear the most ludicrous and horrid things we can dredge up, while both pretending to be oblivious to this and ranting about how self-conscious and self-critical she is.'
The same way Hannah doesn't care, doesn't diet, has tattoos, etc., then has bizarre 'all I do is self-criticize and worry about how I look and sound and etc.!' It might be realistic except that we see exactly none of that from the character except when Dunham seems to need a giant ranty rant, and the character actively behaves and speaks in contrast to the ranty rants, in both private and public.
The whole thing seems to me like there's no overarching concept whatsoever, no narrative ideas, it's just as if episodes are based on them sitting around going 'omg, you know what happened to me in college? This guy said... ' and another saying 'we TOTALLY have to put that in an episode!!' With no thought to any of it fitting into anything. It's a navel-gazing hipster mishmash of pseudo-profound bullshit.
I have a like/hate relationship with this show. The lack of diversity is disgusting and inexcusable for a TV show set in Brooklyn. Then there's the long list of offensive things Lena and her co-writers have spewed on Twitter. But it is nice to see a woman who isn't stereotypically beautiful starring in her own TV show (that's the like part).
Anyway, as someone who lived in the midst of hipsterdom Brooklyn for four years and only recently left, I think it's very hit or miss on the parody of living such a lifestyle. My favorite episode was the one where they went to a party in Bushwick, where I lived. Although, they didn't get it spot-on, I think it was pretty realistic and funny to see the ridiculousness of it all on screen.
Anyway, as someone who lived in the midst of hipsterdom Brooklyn for four years and only recently left, I think it's very hit or miss on the parody of living such a lifestyle. My favorite episode was the one where they went to a party in Bushwick, where I lived. Although, they didn't get it spot-on, I think it was pretty realistic and funny to see the ridiculousness of it all on screen.
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Also, not for nothing, but how was her response to Stern ok?
'I'm fat but I'm not poor midwestern-level fat!' does not seem to me better than what he said, and perhaps worse. He only called her fat; he didn't drag the crap she did into it.
'I'm fat but I'm not poor midwestern-level fat!' does not seem to me better than what he said, and perhaps worse. He only called her fat; he didn't drag the crap she did into it.
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To me the confidence comes from the fact that she's pretty much naked in every episode around others. Not so much in declaration of confidence sort of way.
The clothing is what I see a lot of people wearing, at least of the age group. I have stuff similar to it. It's more thrift-store or vintage stuff with me.
The contradiction in her not caring about anything and yet being her toughest critic is part of growing up. Which she has a lot of to do. The character is trying to find herself.
As for the show, it's on the same level as "Freaks & Geeks," "Undeclared," and "My So-Called Life" (still catching up in reruns) for me and I like 'em.
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I'm fascinated by this now. It's like you can mark off what's true or not as a fellow Brooklyn-er.
That's something I noticed. And they've gotten flack for the lack of diversity thing which is pretty important. I think that's why Donald Glover came into the story this season. There might be more.
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Those were her exact words?? Well in that case it really doesn't sound any better.
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No, her exact words were close to (I don't have it in front of me, but it's close), 'I'm fat but I'm not Detroit fat.'
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The thing about the clothing, again, isn't that it's some weird pieces, it's all, like every single thing the character has on, the absolute worst-looking, most ill-fitting, most ridiculous outfits they can find. When it's gone that far it moves from characterization or quirk to caricature and joke.
I'd take it as trying to find herself if it ever hung together or made any sense. As it's seemingly random, nonsensical, and utterly bereft of connection, I don't. It's a television show. Whether she likes it or not, it's meant to be a form of storytelling, not random, disconnected moments that form a disjointed character with no seeming point.
Nothing drives Hannah. I have zero idea what that character is meant to want, at all. Which you may say lots of people her age don't know what they want - great, that's not a television show. Lots of people go to work, come home, eat a tv dinner and go to bed. I don't want to watch that either, no matter how much 'truth' it may speak.
She and her little pals seem to miss that entirely.
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/slight derail
Kill me now. I didn't think so-called intelligent people were still this fucking stupid. This is why I cannot stand Bret Easton Ellis either. Upper-middle class white hipster douches are so fucking annoying. At least Pretty Little Liars tried. Representational of a generation, yes. A small annoying entitled segment of a generation.
Ironic racism is getting pretty damn old. But I forgot, it's just so damn hard being rich and white—at least attempting to introduce a non-white lead in New York of all places would take too much effort. This is probably why I'll never be a screenwriter. I'd strangle half the board on my show.
/end derail
If the show ever comes to Netflix, I might check it out. I've been reading a lot about it and it'd be good to see what actually wins Golden Globes now. I (sort of) liked My So-Called Life, despite the annoying MC. I hate Orson Scott Card, but I've managed to ignore half the shit he spews, too. His work is pretty racially diverse, though... odd.
Kill me now. I didn't think so-called intelligent people were still this fucking stupid. This is why I cannot stand Bret Easton Ellis either. Upper-middle class white hipster douches are so fucking annoying. At least Pretty Little Liars tried. Representational of a generation, yes. A small annoying entitled segment of a generation.
Ironic racism is getting pretty damn old. But I forgot, it's just so damn hard being rich and white—at least attempting to introduce a non-white lead in New York of all places would take too much effort. This is probably why I'll never be a screenwriter. I'd strangle half the board on my show.
/end derail
If the show ever comes to Netflix, I might check it out. I've been reading a lot about it and it'd be good to see what actually wins Golden Globes now. I (sort of) liked My So-Called Life, despite the annoying MC. I hate Orson Scott Card, but I've managed to ignore half the shit he spews, too. His work is pretty racially diverse, though... odd.
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This is what bothers me more than anything....with any form of entertainment -- let alone literature. I may be wrong, but I feel like the world is ready for a non-white lead. Apparently diversity has to take a backseat to other uber important problems.
I know there are a number of us out there working to change that.
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Not really. I haven't seen the show. Rhonda has and she likes him, so your call is moot. I'm simply commenting on a tweet by one of their fucking idiot writers—who's like the epitome of white entitled hipster stupidity. Unless Easton is a closet case ironic douchebag hipster, too.
Do you like John Mayer?
I can't help but feel there's a big human element in both their works that goes beyond upper-class white hipster douchebags. Otherwise, I'd have a hard time identifying so well.
Maybe I'm just an upper middle class white hipster douchebag and never realized it.
ETA: Well, I guess I'm probably upper middle class, but I'm only half white.
I don't listen to him much, but from what little I've heard, his music's okay.
I like Gackt?
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I don't think you get what I'm saying.
I think Orson Scott Card is a homophobic douchebag. I, however, enjoy several of his books.
I think one of the writers of Girls is a white hipster douchebag. I have not watched the show, therefor, I cannot assign a value judgement upon it. I will not let what I think about her bias me towards the show if it ever makes it to Netflix.
Me not liking Easton has nothing to do with me liking or disliking Girls because I have not seen Girls. However, the attitude displayed by Easton's characters reminds me of that displayed by one of the idiot writers of Girls. I don't really care for Easton's writing because I couldn't care less for anything happening in his stories.
There's plenty of "deeper meaning" in Easton's writing, I'm sure. I've never read beyond the poor privileged whining of about 25-50% of any of his books I've picked up. And I've tried to read nearly all of them because I'm a fan of his premises. Just not the execution.
John Mayer is also an ironic racist white hipster douchebag who's pretty sexist half the time. However, he's a pretty good singer, IMO.
Also, maybe it's because I'm 23, but I don't remember their outfits being weird. Their clothes looked like what lots of people my age might wear.
I don't particularly remember the racist parts. I remember the lack of PoC characters.
Could you give an example?
Could you give an example?
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I don't remember any racist parts from his work. Nor do I remember saying his characters were racist. Her comments and her attitude and her status remind me of his characters.
She is an entitled ironic racist white hipster douchebag. They were simply rich entitled white hipster douchebags.
What I said:
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It's not their outfits - the other characters are dressed like people. It's just Dunham in the 'check it, she looks ridiculous and she like, doesn't know it! Or she doesn't care! Or she thinks it's funny! Or she's making a statement about some shit! Or she's poor! Or we have no idea, we just think it's really hilarious that she looks really bad all the time, isn't that like, totally hilarious? It's meaningful, right?' outfits.
I still don't get it. She dresses like lots of people I know dress.
I didn't think she looked bad.
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*ahem*
There is no "n" in my name. It's an alias, yes, but it does not contain an "n." R-H-O-D-A. Not "Rhonda."
/rant
As you were.
(Although I'm a little mystified by the folks complaining about the costuming too--the clothes didn't strike me as remarkable in any way.)