Girls

[Mutagen]

Apr 19, 2012 12:45:39 GMT -4 jmc said:

The creator's and writers' responses to the backlash to their show has turned me off more than anything. Not that I was interested in watching a bunch of privileged jackasses "struggle" in some whitewashed version of Brooklyn anyway.

IA. The Precious joke by one of the writers really was gross.

[incognito]

And then there was Lena Dunham's patronizing response when someone asked her about WOC, where she said something like, "I've been told from people that they want to see WOC. You know what? I do too! And if we get a second season, I'll address that." Um... okay, except why couldn't it have been THIS season? Because the show is based on her life and in her real life all of her friends are white? Does that mean that she's planning on grabbing herself a token WOC friend within a year since she plans to ~address the lack of POC next season? It's just such insincere, pandering bullshit IMO.

Mutagen, that writer who made the Precious joke also once compared Obama's skin to poop. Yeah, she sucks.

[Deleted]

I read another quote from Lena Dunham where she said the lack of diversity was an oversight and she would address that if there was a second season. Now I like Lena Dunham. She comes across as smart and thoughtful in interviews. But that response is willfully naive at best. She has made a big deal about how the apartments on the show are fairly small because she wants the show to be as real as possible. And yet there is this large blindspot. And the thing is she should have anticipated these questions. Every show that is set in New York that is whitewashed is asked about diversity. I remember when Friends started to get really popular it was criticized for that. Didn't Oprah even make some comment about wanting them to have a black friend? Same with Sex and the City it got criticized for that too. 2 Broke Girls which only debuted this year also got a ton of backlash because of that. It was just a few months ago that the creator was eviscerated at a press conference for the racial stereotypes on his show. Now mind you that is a different issue but I think it falls on the same spectrum. So the Girls producers should have been prepared and come up with a reply that was not either snide or naive.

Having said that I agree with incognito. I don't need some token on the show. I would have preferred her or Judd Apatow just to say that the girls on the show think they are worldly but in reality they are really sheltered and spoiled and therefore don't really like to interact with people who they see as different then them. Now I am sure that response would catch some flack too but at least it would be more honest. And I think that direction would be interesting. The show could address what happens when they are forced outside their little cocoon.

[butternut]

This post is pretty great.

[magazinewhore]

The second episode was much better. Although having the pregnant one miscarry is sooo lame. Seriously if any show is going to have the balls to have a character have an abortion, it should be this one. The sex was hilarious.

[Deleted]

I tried, I really did...but I couldn't make it past the first five minutes of this episode. I'm done.

[Sunnyhorse]

Roisin, I'm eyeing the door myself -- the show is alternately awful and fantastic, but right now the awful is outweighing the fantastic pretty decisively. The Hannah sex scene was offensive to me simply because I knew that even I, as a sheltered, unpretty, and relatively inexperienced Midwestern 18-year-old, would not have put up with that shit, no sirree Bob, so why would a twentysomething New Yorker who apparently doesn't take shit from other people? The job interview scene wasn't much better -- really, would anyone be stupid enough to make a rape joke in an interview?

[Deleted]

What also got me was that I found out that all four of the leads are the daughters of famous people: the girl who plays Marnie is Brian Williams daughter, the girl who plays Shoshanna is David Mamet and Lindsay Crouse's daughter, Jessa is played by Simon Kirke's daughter, and Lena Dunham's mom is Laurie Simmons. I know it's probably not fair of me to think this way, but I can't help feeling like the show is Nepotism Central. Plus I've read some very uncool comments amde by Lena Dunham that makes me think she's a bit of a twat.

[magazinewhore]

Yes, I'm turned off by the nepotism of the casting as well, but I think the sex scene has authenticity. She didn't seem really degraded by how he treated her so much as curious about what he found sexy. I definitely had moments like that in my youth. Lots of cringe-worthy moments.

[carrier76]

This whole ep was cringe worthy. I found myself cracking up at certain points, and then thinking, "Should I be laughing at this?"