Lena Dunham

[canuckcutie]

Sorry but I'd still be offended whether it was Seth or say Sandra Bullock who said it. I think Mindy originally suggested they dress as the West Memphis 3. That I didn't have a problem with. If she'd have suggested they dress as the kids who had been tortured and murdered then yes I'd have found that equally as offensive as Lena's comments.

[margojata]

Well, I don't really like her, and can't stand Girls. And while I know that no one should be crying for her for any reason (pretty easy rise, hit show, tons of buzz), this shit pisses me off to no end (and I even LIKE Howard Stern and thought he was kinda done with these things)...

“It’s a little fat girl who kind of looks like Jonah Hill and she keeps taking her clothes off and it kind of feels like a rape. She seems—it’s like—I don’t want to see that.

I learned that this little fat chick writes the show and directs the show and that makes sense to me because she’s such a camera hog that the other characters barely are on. My opinion, if I was a producer on that, I’d say: ‘Honey, you’re a little too close to the project. You need to allow the other characters to breathe a little and let us get invested in them.

Good for her. It’s hard for little fat chicks to get anything going.”

[Deleted]

Jan 11, 2013 12:28:36 GMT -4 canuckcutie said:

Sorry but I'd still be offended whether it was Seth or say Sandra Bullock who said it. I think Mindy originally suggested they dress as the West Memphis 3. That I didn't have a problem with. If she'd have suggested they dress as the kids who had been tortured and murdered then yes I'd have found that equally as offensive as Lena's comments.

Yeah, these are kids who were raped, tortured, and murdered. Kids! There's nothing cool or hip or avant garde or whatthefuckever about it.

I'm pretty sure that the actual tweet (tweeted at Mindy Kaling and BJ Novak) was that they should go as Paul and Karla and she would go as one of their victims. I didn't think it was that funny, but I'm not offended by it either. Serial killers have become such a part of our pop culture, plus it was Halloween and you're supposed to be scary/morbid. To me it's no different from someone dressing up as a celebrity that died that year or something like that. I mean, if you've had a Lifetime movie made about you, I think it's okay for someone to dress up as you for Halloween. I don't think it means that you are glorifying the killers any more than they already have been.

Karla and Paul Bernardo were especially cruel and depraved child killers. But even so they aren't that all that well known in popular culture. Why draw attention to them, positive or negative? I don't get it. I just think it's gross. But I'm someone who gets offended by those Charles Manson t-shirts that are fairly popular, and he's an established pop culture icon, so I guess I'm easily offended.

[kostgard]

Really, Howard? Having to look at someone you consider unattractive is akin to rape? That just about slides him over into the "Dead to me" column.

And P.S., Howard - unless Lena Dunham comes to your house, ties you down, forces your eyes open with those Clockwork Orange-style clamps and strips in front of you, no one is forcing you to look at her naked body. I'm sure your TV has a remote control. Use it.

I'm only lukewarm at best on both Girls and Dunham, but Jesus Tap-dancing Christ, Howard.

I'm with him on the fact that the other characters need more screen time, but the rest he can shove up his hairy ass.

[Deleted]

Jan 11, 2013 12:28:36 GMT -4 canuckcutie said:

Sorry but I'd still be offended whether it was Seth or say Sandra Bullock who said it. I think Mindy originally suggested they dress as the West Memphis 3. That I didn't have a problem with. If she'd have suggested they dress as the kids who had been tortured and murdered then yes I'd have found that equally as offensive as Lena's comments.

You maybe would be, but I can guarantee you that the majority of people and all the blogs, etc. would not be as outraged as they were with it being Lena. And I really think that Lena was not suggesting they dress as victims, she was suggesting the murderers as costumes with the victim thrown in as an afterthought because they needed a 3rd costume. And I agree that the fact that she named a specific person that they murdered does make it somewhat offensive (not to me personally, but to the family). But I don't think the victim was really the focus of the joke and/or costume.

The Howard Stern quote is really, really disgusting, and I think a lot of the criticism of her really boils down to his feelings. I guess Howard is at least saying what a lot of people are REALLY thinking when they try to make other excuses, but yeah. He's so gross.

highondegrassi, Paul and Karla had a Lifetime movie made about them starring Laura Prepon, which is how Lena said she learned about them (and incidentally, how I did too). I think the fact that they are lesser-known serial killers was probably part of the point of the costume.

[Deleted]

I read the book before I saw the movie. Maybe reading the details rather than just seeing a dramatization of them increases my level of disgust. Either way, I don't see how an attempt to make a couple of child killers more well known and "popular" can be anything but offensive and gross.

[Hamatron]

I think that's really gross. Going as a real-life murder/rape victim? Or as a murderer/rapist? Not cool or funny or okay. At all. I don't even like it when people go as a dead/morbid version of a celebrity who recently passed. It's just... tasteless and not fun. But maybe I am over sensitive.

[Deleted]

I don't like it either, and as I stated in my first post, I don't find it funny. However I also don't find Lena's tweet worthy of the public outcry that it received.

[Millis]

She seems to suffer from the same problem many young folks do these days, they don't get that on Twitter they are not having personal conversations with their friends who 'get' their humor, they're having personal conversations with the whole world.

[margojata]

Jan 11, 2013 13:37:58 GMT -4 Millis said:

She seems to suffer from the same problem many young folks do these days, they don't get that on Twitter they are not having personal conversations with their friends who 'get' their humor, they're having personal conversations with the whole world.

Yeah, I think that's the biggest problem. Keep some of your 'edgy' humor where it belongs - to your circle of friends who will appreciate it (or tell you otherwise). Everyone thinks they have to be so public about everything these days (says the old gal waving a cane).

I absolutely still see flaming red when I see anything related to Manson (I think I've alluded in the past to my family member being a victim). But after a tense family evening last night, I believe I made a John Wayne Gacy joke. Guess what? It was probably not funny, and only a few friends heard it.