I have watched all 3 seasons of Girls. It came highly recommended. Here are my thoughts:
Fuck this show, I hated it.
Girls is a soap opera about a bunch of self-obsessed, whiney, twenty-somethings trying to make their way in New York. I'm not going to say that you can't tell a good story using nothing but horribly unlikable characters, but you probably want to be telling a really compelling story, or telling it in a really compelling way; you want to be having some sort of meaningful exchange with your audience. Girls does none of this. The characters do nothing but bob around in circles; breaking up and making up with each other over and over again. Whenever a story element gets introduced that looks like it might cause some sort character growth -- different job, rehab, new character, etc -- that element invariably gets chucked out within about three episodes so we can get back to more pointless bitching and rooting. There are no real plot threads. More like a bunch of prickly little plot nubs that go nowhere. The show is like a plot cactus that's somehow managed to grow up its own arse.
Fuck this show.
The episodes go for half an hour, but each one feels like it lasts half a day. Over the course of the first season, I went from being passively bored and disinterested to actively resenting the characters. The highlight for me became any scene in which a primary character got some sort of comeuppance, or got told off by a secondary character for being a selfish twat. It got to the point that I was hoping for horrible things to happen to them, and then I'd feel cheated when the bad things that happened weren't as horrible as I'd hoped. And maybe that's part of the problem. Nothing that bad ever really happens to anyone. That, and there never really feels like there's that much on the line. Adam gets $1100 a month from his grandmother so he can fart around acting and building boats and being a twat. Hannah can always go back to her home town if things fall through. Sure, maybe that means she won't make it as a writer, but she seems more interested in partying and rooting anyway, so why would I care? Yes, she craps on a lot about her writing career, but then she chucks in the perfectly good job at GQ, and does it in such an uppity fucking way, how do you end up feeling anything but contempt for her? Ditto the rest of the characters.
Fuck this show.
I read somewhere that Girls is based on Lena Dunham's real life experiences. Maybe that's true. Maybe this is the most realistic depiction of life for young people in New York that's ever been put to screen. That still doesn't make it a good yarn. On the other hand, I also read that this show was an attempt at making Sex & The City for young folk. That I can believe. I couldn't find a single thing to like about this shit.
... Actually, that's not true. I did get a little bit caught up in the drama of Shosh and Ray. At least those two were fucked-up and eccentric enough to be half-way interesting. That, and they had the closest thing to character development throughout the course of the whole miserable ordeal. Whenever they were on the screen, I found myself wishing they were characters in a better show where they weren't doomed to be trapped in unbearably irritating and cyclical storylines.
In summary, Girls sucks balls. Fuck this show, I hated it.
...
Then again, maybe I'm wrong. If I've completely overlooked some magical ingredient that makes everything click into place so that it's perfectly enjoyable, I'd be happy to know about it.
13 comments :
Why did you watch 3 seasons? We are going to have to just disagree about this one Alex. I love it as you know. I'm not going to try to argue w/ you because everything you say is true. It's just that I have a different response.
I love it.
I love it.
I love it.
I hope we can still be friends.
Actually I will say I don't think it was meant to be a YP Sex and the City. I think it was meant to be an answer to the unrealistic manner of that show, if anything. And Shoshana and Ray - probably my least favourite characters. There you go. We are so different, but we knew that right?
I watched all three seasons because (a) It was only 32 half hour episodes and (b) I hate leaving these types of things unfinished; because sometimes I reach a point where everything just snaps into place and I "get it". And you spoke so highly of it that I was sure that was going to happen at some point here too. That's why I was hoping for an explanation of what was great about it. Part of me thinks I must still be overlooking something.
It's true that I had a really, really strong negative reaction to this, but I don't want it to seem like I'm having a go at you personally. There's no way I'm going to think any less of you because we disagree over a bloody television show. Also, I wouldn't have discovered Orange Is The New Black or Game Of Thrones if it wasn't for you. And sitting through this was well worth it to have been brought on board with those two.
Actually, speaking of OITNB, I seem to remember that even though we both loved it, we ended up loving different characters for different reasons. So yes, our tastes are obviously quite different in some regards; no, I suppose there really is no accounting for that; and yes, we're still very much mates, as far as I'm concerned. (:
Wow I wouldn't have finished it but I get what you're saying, expecting it to click. But no. Oh well. We can both like the other two. Me and daughter started re-watching GoT from beginning lat night and I'm reading the books (up to second book so way behind show)- it's so good right from the first episode. But I do remember when we first watched thinking it was weird and unsettling, something about the more supernatural storylines I think.
Yeah, OITNB we like or identify with different characters. Again, me the whitebread girl. I suppose we can step outside of our own experiences and imagine but when things resonate emotionally it's going to be because of what we know don't you think?
It's ok. I know we are still friends. For me with GIRLS, I wish it had been around when I was a teenager. Seeing different bodies (Hannah and Jessa), seeing that kind of diversity would have been affirming for me. So I guess it's affirming now. My daughter doesn't see it that way. She struggles with it, doesn't like it like I do. And That's Okay Too.
Actually, now I think about it, Game Of Thrones is probably a good example of what I was talking about. I think it took me about half a season to get into that. The first thing that put me off was the way it looked. I still reckon the first season looks like it was shot by someone who was used to shooting soaps. Everything looks very flat and evenly lit, and there's a lot of very boring close-up, reverse, double-shot, repeat, cinematography stuff going on. And I didn't find the story lines very compelling, and a lot of the characters seemed interchangeable. But as things got more layered and the characters became more pronounced, and also I guess, as Dinklage started bringing more humour to proceedings, I got sucked in. It's funny that when I go back and look at an old episode now, it seems much more interesting and well done, because I'm bringing knowledge and affection to it that I didn't have on the first viewing.
And I think you're probably right about things that are familiar resonating on more of an emotional gut-type level. See Perseus' last book review as an example. And as you've said before, one of the benefits of having a diverse array of main characters is that you can have something to hook everyone, so long as you're good enough to pull it off. Maybe that was part of the problem I had with Girls -- not close enough to relate? Still, there's no way I can imagine you're as bad as Hannah; like, maybe on your worst day, perhaps, but surely not all the time? Your family would have fallen apart, or died, or something, if that were true. Or do you mean Hannah is you when you were younger?
I do agree that I thought Girls was good in the way that it sexualised different body types. On the other hand, I still thought that about 90% of the characters seemed fairly traditionally "pretty". That, and I got to a point where I felt the sheer amount of on-screen sex was making things move even slower. But still, it's something positive. Actually, it kind of reminded me of movies from the 70s, which seemed to have a lot more sex and nudity with the not-so-athleticy/plasticy body types, as you get today.
When you say P struggles with it, do you mean the show in general, or the sex and nudity in particular? And if the latter, is it just in this show, or others as well? I suppose I tend to think about the younger "internet" generation as having "seen it all" by the time they hit 16; but I guess there's a lot more to it than that, regarding social customs, ideals or mores or what-not?
Interesting you say that about GoT, we are really enjoying the early eps but it is because we know the CHs and know the story. I'm picking up so much more also loving the camera work and scenery shots. Just beautiful. But I do remember not liking it, at the beginning. Thinking there was something really fake about it, or stylised. I remember you making comments about it being flat but I never really got what you meant.
I've never been as bad as Hannah, maybe it's a vicarious thing, not that it's desirable to be like that not at all, but somehow I can't help but admire her sheer self-focus. I actually laugh a lot at what she does and says. To me she is so bad she's funny.
Yes they are still pretty but at least they are a bit more realistic than other shows, in terms of body shapes being different. For me it's just amazing that someone like Lena Dunham, with her body - you know, small boobs but very pear shaped and heavy legs, gets around in her shorty shorts and that scene in the club where she and her friend take cocaine, and she swaps tops with a dude and it's a mesh top, it's just awesome to me. That 'I don't give a fuck' attitude that Dunham had to have to do that. Don't you think? Is either so secure (which is great) or determined to push the boundaries (which is great). Either way, to me, it's great and great for young girls to watch that and see a body that's not fucking conforming. If one girl could see Hannah and go 'I want to be like her' then I'd think: fantastic. Of course it's all about her, but better for a girl to be all about themselves than all about some guy they like. Do you get what I'm saying?
P struggles with Hannah as being how she is. She doesn't like her, and gets frustrated and pissed off with the way she behaves. It's not the nudity though it might be Hannah's nudity - let's face it, it's confronting when all you're used to are the perfect bodies. (I can't believe that I just said that about my 17 year old daughter. That the explicit sex and nude scenes she's 'used to' all have those homogenised bodies. But it's true. Just for that I reckon it's groundbreaking.
A lot of the popular animated shows I've seen feature horrid characters: The Simpsons; South Park; Futurama; Family Guy; etc; and I used to really enjoy Married With Children, back in the 90s. So it's not even uncommon to make shows that revolve around those sorts of characters. But Hannah never seems to learn or grow in any substantial way, which seems like a problem in such a drama-heavy show.
Of course it's all about her, but better for a girl to be all about themselves than all about some guy they like. Do you get what I'm saying?
On the subject of body image, I do agree with you. On the subject of guys, I'm not so sure. Remember at the start, Hannah and her friends are always talking about the bruises she has from Adam and the things he does to her and how she has to stand up to him? I thought that was going to lead to ... something ... and then it didn't. Not really. I mean, they broke up for a bit, but that wasn't over that. And then they got back together, and the lesson of the whole ordeal seemed to be "if you put up with a bloke's shit for long enough, he'll eventually start loving you and treat you better", so, what the fuck?
P struggles with Hannah as being how she is. She doesn't like her, and gets frustrated and pissed off with the way she behaves.
Yep. Totally get that.
I reckon I see what you're saying about the homogenised bodies thing. I think we've talked about something similar with the way porn can warp young people's idea of what sex should be. I think Girls handles that pretty well, too. I like that Hannah always uses condoms AND thinks about things that can get around condoms. And I like the scene at the start where she said "no" to anal sex.
Yes. I like those things too. With her and Adam and how he was a douche, then he started liking her, but I got the feeling that was because she started pulling away a *little*, you know that old thing when you like someone they don't like you the same, but when you start going off them they increase their like. It can happen and I thought that's what happened there, and he broke his leg and she went off him a bit but kept going and visiting, partly I think cause she had another guy but also felt guilty (rightly?) that he'd gotten hit by a truck while they are arguing, about how selfish she is/was? I can't remember exactly. AND THEN she starts getting her OCD back and then he gets stalky and then they are back together again and then he gets into theatre and starts pulling away and seeking 'artistic space' which was reasonable and he said it in a reasonable 'mature' way but then she gets funny, and then she gets into the writing school right at the end. So will she (for the sake of 'art') do what he did and expect him to be supportive? I think the whole thing is about double standards and I think the playing out of their relationship is quite realistic in a way. I think Adam says, about those early days when they were just fucking (and he was treating her weirdly/badly) and she was taking it, she questioned him about that and he said 'but that was before I loved you' or something like that. You can see that from the beginning she thought they were 'together' but in his mind, there were gradations to the relationship.
Maybe I'm reading too much into it, I don't know. But I see more nuance in the thing, and yes there's angst but I find it all so amusing as well. Entertaining. Maybe that says more about me than the show...
I cheered when Adam was hit by that car and cursed when all he got was a bung leg.
Maybe I'm reading too much into it
Or I'm not reading enough. Which was my original point. I look at what you've written in your comments and everything you've described is factually correct, and I can see why the praise is justified, but there's still no click. Not even a slight one. It's frustrating, but even after all this, I don't think there will be. It's like a maths formula where I understand what all the variables are, but I still don't grasp how it functions as a whole (I hate that). I'm grateful that you've taken the time to go over it with me, though. Really, cheers for that.
I get that Alex, I really do. It's like the equivalent of 'chemistry' when two people are together. Things click or don't. And an example of just how much we differ on this show: I really LIKE the Adam character too.
But yeah good to chat about it.
I'm going to watch that thing you linked above, looks interesting. Will get back to you later.
I'd just like to chime in three years later and I say I absolutely agree with Melba
And wow I didn't even realise the girl who wrote the show was actually Hannah or rather that Hannah was actually Lena
Thanks Squib. I'm regretting digging this page up already. S;^D)
I will admit that 95% of the show's music is shite, if that makes you feel any better
Ta Squib. It's better than nothing.
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