T.V. Review: Girls (HBO)

There are so many well-rounded opinions/reviews of the show so I will be only covering the scope that catches my attention. This review works best if you are minimally familiar with the show.

Post College Indecision. For those of us who are “lucky” to have graduated in this economy, we’ve adopted foolish dreams followed by actual nightmares during this time in our lives. I personally feel that the job aspect of post-college is overplayed in the national dialogue, but to be fair to them this economy is all I know. The T.V. show Girls covers this time in a person’s life where indecision runs deep and not just on the career front. The simple question, “what do these women want?” is asked and never answered in every episode leaving the audience in the same confused state as the characters. In that respect the show strikes the right tone and scope of real life when dealing with this aspect of uncertainty.

Hipster Entitlement. The characteristic that bothers me the most with these characters is the sense of entitlement that these women have. More specifically the characters of Hannah, Marnie, and Jessa drive me a little crazy with this characteristic. Maybe I’m defensive because I assume people believe entitlement is a characteristic of this generation, but I disagree. Maybe it’s just my group of friends, but post-undergrads in general do not have this sense of entitlement the way the show would like you to believe. They are definitely spoiled characters, but that characteristic is not a result of being in this generation. It is a result of their personal life where they struggle yet adapt being away from their parents.

Adam

Hannah

This is the first show on T.V. that really incorporates the post-modern hipster ideal. I know what I just wrote sounds like an over analysis of a young sub-culture, but believe me when I say that show covers the ideal. I can’t tell you what this ideal is because like culture it cannot be defined. It is a sub-personality of a generation that each individual defines. The unflattering traits of hipsters are easy to see and easy to hate. The women (minus Shoshanna) use people for their personal experience. I’m not saying that it should have no place on the show; it’s actually quite entertaining. This flaw in the personality of the women is presented and served to the audience for them to judge. I believe the flaw in these characters works because it gives us a window into the lives of the hipster personality.

Jessa

SPOILER ALERT: S2 E4

Here is a small cut of dialogue from my favorite scene in the series when Jessa is arguing with her non-hipster finance husband:

Husband: “You’re just some dumb fucking hipster that’s munching my hay!”

Jessa: “I’m embarrassed when we walk down the street because you are so fucking average. I tell my friends that you were born a test tube baby, so you have a little edge…you are ridiculous."

Husband: “And you’re just a whore with no work ethic.”

Marnie

SLAP

Real Good. Realism. These characters don’t have sexy/exciting personalities like network television and I believe it works for the show. I don’t think the female audience wants to be like these characters, but the female audience actually pities them. An unsatisfying life is the real drama/comedy in the series covering the reality of life in the mind of a confused young person. The show hits really good marks in that respect.   

Real Bad. Structure. Some of the episode structures get under my skin some. The show really tails off when an episode focuses on one or two characters only. The show is a lot better when we are following the whole group as opposed to only Hannah. Maybe I feel this way because Hannah, Marnie, and Jessa are truly annoying to my sensibilities, but centric episodes make me hate them even more.

Shoshanna

Girls. Verdict. Girls is a god way to describe these women who play victims of their time, like eccentric artists stuck in the 21^st century. There are plenty of post-undergrads in New York so why are these women special and represent the rest of our generation? This is the main question I ask myself pondering why this show is so popular. I can’t personally relate to the show, but why is it perceived as being the “voice of a generation?” I believe that I’m not the right demo for the show. I swear I have an open mind towards the show, heck I watched the whole first season before any of my friends who are now avid fans of the show. I find it a little pretentious and an exaggeration of post-college boredom. It’s a different kind of show I’ll admit and maybe that’s why I can’t fully wrap my head around it. GRADE 7.0