Lena Dunham

[fictionista]

She's a classic hipster racist. Can't stand her ass.

[squeakyclean]

I know I'm late on this observation, but I saw her on The Daily Show and I thought she bombed. She came across as unintelligent and it seemed like she thought she and Stewart were part of some special "I'm funny and cool" club. It was a bit painful to watch him try to come up with things to talk with her about. That's how you know you're not worthy of The Daily Show - when Jon-I'm-super-smart-and-incredibly-funny-Stewart has a hard time making conversation with you.

[margojata]

Wait now, why is she racist again? Because she didn't include a black cast member until people started mumbling about how there were none? Well, then can't you call almost all of TV racist?

[bklynred]

I'm confused on the racism too. I can--and have--seen a lot of types like her with zero minorities in their circles of friends. Is the lack of diversity in her show why she's considered racist? Or something in her personal life?

[incognito]

I know she tweeted something stupid about a burqa, plus her response to the criticisms re: the lack of diversity, while perhaps well-intentioned, showed her to be racist in the microaggressive, ignorant way that so many others like her are. It doesn't mean she's an OMG AWFUL BURN HER AT THE STAKE person, but I also think it's understandable that people are fed up with that.

The problem is that "racist" is such a loaded term that it feels like it's not okay to call someone that if they're not being malicious about it. But I think that most racism today is born out of ignorance, not malice. Acting as though POC are aliens to whom you can't possibly relate or write for (which was the general implication of Lena's defense) is a form of subtle racism, IMO.

[magazinewhore]

She didn't tweet something; one of her writers tweeted a stupid comment about "how there's no reflection of her in the movie Precious." And Dunham did tweet a picture of herself in a shawl that looked like a burqua saying that she was feeling like a goth or something. It was foolish and insensitive but I'm not sure it can be called racist.

[bklynred]

Thanks for clarifying, magho. I'd say that was ignorance at work there. The Precious comment is obviously absurd.

[marmalade]

She actually says, "I had a real goth/fundamentalist attitude when I woke up from my nap."

[incognito]

Jan 23, 2013 21:17:48 GMT -4 magazinewhore said:

She didn't tweet something; one of her writers tweeted a stupid comment about "how there's no reflection of her in the movie Precious."

?? I didn't say she had tweeted anything in reference to the show. I'm very aware that Lesley Arfin was responsible for the Precious crap. But Lena did respond to the criticisms in various interviews, and her response was essentially a cop-out where she made WOC out to be incomprehensible aliens. Even if she has no WOC in her circle of friends, there's this thing called research. Or even the radical possibility of adding a WOC to her writing staff.

[magazinewhore]

I agree that she should have more diversity on her staff and show; I'm surprised she overlooked that. I just find it interesting she's getting hammered for it, while say, The League, a show about a bunch of white guys in Chicago (or Workaholics) doesn't get the same criticism. And I agree that her the few portrayals of people of color on her show have been problematic. She seemed to say that she didn't want to cast someone out of tokenism, which seems true. Yes, she should have thought that through better, but I don't think she's racist. More like unaware of her white privilege, although two of the girls are Jewish on the show.

Dammit, I'm posting here again. I'm not trying to be an apologist. I just think she's very talented (and being recognized for it in the media) and isn't worthy of the vitriol.