girls and the evolution of whimsy
So I finally got around to watching the pilot of the new HBO show "Girls." Girls is a must watch because it's an all female cast that is written and created by a woman. Yes they are all white women. Yes they are all middle to upper middle class white women. But baby steps guys. Baby steps.
I actually felt quite underwhelmed by the pilot. It's partly because the show was hyped up way too much and also partly because I felt extremely annoyed with most of the characters. Mostly for the same reasons I felt annoyed with everyone in Avenue Q. Am I just turning into a giant buzz kill? I don't think so. Ok, so this is the problem I think and it was the same problem that arose with Avenue Q. I go in thinking I'm supposed to expect a certain thing, something subversive and insightful and worthy of critical thinking and then I watch it and employ the lens I use for those exact things and find that the material is lacking. I don't even know where I got the idea that Avenue Q was meant to be the Coen Brothers but with puppets but that's what I thought. So I was disappointed and annoyed. I do however know why I got the idea "Girls" was supposed to be an insightful comedy about women my age living in the city and dealing with life.
Because that's what all the fucking reviews say! Like this one from AV Club and this one from HitFix.com, two of the media sites I frequent the most. Jezebel and Gawker had less favorable things to say but I only perused any number of them since I didn't want to go in totally biased.
Clearly it didn't work.
I went in thinking I was going to love it and that it was going to be hilarious and that it was really going to be about ME. Can you imagine? A show existing in the 21st century that actually relates to me as a twenty-something woman? Realistically? Inconceivable!
Unfortunately the material didn't quite click with me. There are several reasons why that might not actually be the fault of the show but the ideas of life and things which I brought in with me while viewing the show. The first was that it didn't 100% sit with me that this was how girls my age acted. I understand that I don't act like a "typical" girl and my having to point that it annoys me to no end. Apparently to be a "typical" girl I have to be insecure about my body, think about relationships constantly, and obsess over food while lamenting all the exercise I need to do in order to consume said food I obsess over. I also need to love guys who treat me like shit and only use me for sex while failing to develop any passionate feelings for someone who clearly loves me and treats me like a human being. Because I'm 23 and I'm stupid.
Or whatever.
The show at least acknowledges that. It acknowledges that that is something that happens with girls my age and honestly who wants to see a show where people have their shit together? Half the beauty of comedy is taking fucked up people and putting a giant spot light on it.
So what was the issue I had with "Girls?" I guess because I felt like I was the level headed friend Marnie and all of Marnie's friends were my friends, the ones I am constantly trying to talk out of doing stupid shit. Usually with guys. And man I have to deal with that shit enough in real life. I don't want to watch someone else do it in fakeland. So maybe I don't want a show about me after all. Except every time Hannah bugged her parents about giving her more money and suggesting she be given $1,100 a month for two years I just wanted to punch her. No you fucktard. Get a goddamned job. Tons of starving artists and struggling writers have day jobs. Join their numbers and suck it up. Also your parents work really hard and they deserve to not have to support you well into your thirties.
Then again Dunham isn't saying Hannah's behavior is ok. In fact she's saying the opposite. That didn't stop me from being annoyed anyway.
I don't know. Maybe I just expect all people two years out of college to have an idea of what they want and for them not to be floundering like baby seals. Because I guess that's what all my friends are like and actually compared to them I'm the aimless one. So I have this skewed view of how college grads actually live. I get that not everyone gets a job directly out of college. I get that finding your footing is hard. So why doesn't the show click for me?
It's frustrating actually.
I kept wondering as I watched it, "is that really how I sound when I talk to my friends?" Because if that's true I actually just hate people my age because this is all very annoying."
I think I'm going to try and watch the season and then make a decision. Most shows take a few episodes to find its footing and voice and I'm sure "Girls" is no different. Plus most of my complaints are over whether or not this is actually an accurate portrayal of how girls my age act and behave. Maybe it's just how upper middle class white girls behave. Or at least girls who majored in NOT biology and finance.
Which is another thing.
Could we maybe have something where young people majored in stuff other than journalism and photography and literature? There is actually an overwhelmingly small number of twenty-something FEMALE characters on television who do things like biology and physics and economics and accounting. But if you look at the college landscape, a lot of those majors and especially the graduate programs are populated by women. Do writers think those sorts of people are just boring? Or maybe it's a case of writing what you know. Either way I'm feeling very left out, and not just as an Asian. Because that goes without saying.
Science people can be cool too, ok?
Edit: Ok. I think I get a little bit now why I'm so annoyed by the show. It's not a matter of race, though that's been brought up A LOT. It's a matter of socioeconomic status. I had a lot of friends who had to get jobs in high school, not just because their parents made them but because their parents didn't have the kind of money to buy them cars AND pay for their car insurance AND give them an allowance so that they could go to the mall and get a new dress for every school dance. I don't have friends who have the luxury to get "cut off." They know that their families will support them if they hit hard times but it's generally an unspoken assumption that once out of college you need to support yourself. Because you have younger siblings your parents need to worry about and really it's nice being able to buy your own shit. So I look at Hannah on "Girls" and she just comes off like a giant baby. I can't really relate to that because it feels like the way someone would be if they grew up spoiled and well-off. Watching it feels about as distancing and alienating as talking to someone like that feels.
Also, I am sick of this stereotype perpetuated by 40 and 50-somethings that all people my age are useless money sucking leeches with no real values or depth. Because that's just not true. We're not the ones repealing fair pay laws and making single-parenthood child abuse. All the twenty somethings I know (and I know a shit ton of them) work hard to either support themselves or get an education to further their careers. So let's quit with this bullshit.
I actually felt quite underwhelmed by the pilot. It's partly because the show was hyped up way too much and also partly because I felt extremely annoyed with most of the characters. Mostly for the same reasons I felt annoyed with everyone in Avenue Q. Am I just turning into a giant buzz kill? I don't think so. Ok, so this is the problem I think and it was the same problem that arose with Avenue Q. I go in thinking I'm supposed to expect a certain thing, something subversive and insightful and worthy of critical thinking and then I watch it and employ the lens I use for those exact things and find that the material is lacking. I don't even know where I got the idea that Avenue Q was meant to be the Coen Brothers but with puppets but that's what I thought. So I was disappointed and annoyed. I do however know why I got the idea "Girls" was supposed to be an insightful comedy about women my age living in the city and dealing with life.
Because that's what all the fucking reviews say! Like this one from AV Club and this one from HitFix.com, two of the media sites I frequent the most. Jezebel and Gawker had less favorable things to say but I only perused any number of them since I didn't want to go in totally biased.
Clearly it didn't work.
I went in thinking I was going to love it and that it was going to be hilarious and that it was really going to be about ME. Can you imagine? A show existing in the 21st century that actually relates to me as a twenty-something woman? Realistically? Inconceivable!
Unfortunately the material didn't quite click with me. There are several reasons why that might not actually be the fault of the show but the ideas of life and things which I brought in with me while viewing the show. The first was that it didn't 100% sit with me that this was how girls my age acted. I understand that I don't act like a "typical" girl and my having to point that it annoys me to no end. Apparently to be a "typical" girl I have to be insecure about my body, think about relationships constantly, and obsess over food while lamenting all the exercise I need to do in order to consume said food I obsess over. I also need to love guys who treat me like shit and only use me for sex while failing to develop any passionate feelings for someone who clearly loves me and treats me like a human being. Because I'm 23 and I'm stupid.
Or whatever.
The show at least acknowledges that. It acknowledges that that is something that happens with girls my age and honestly who wants to see a show where people have their shit together? Half the beauty of comedy is taking fucked up people and putting a giant spot light on it.
So what was the issue I had with "Girls?" I guess because I felt like I was the level headed friend Marnie and all of Marnie's friends were my friends, the ones I am constantly trying to talk out of doing stupid shit. Usually with guys. And man I have to deal with that shit enough in real life. I don't want to watch someone else do it in fakeland. So maybe I don't want a show about me after all. Except every time Hannah bugged her parents about giving her more money and suggesting she be given $1,100 a month for two years I just wanted to punch her. No you fucktard. Get a goddamned job. Tons of starving artists and struggling writers have day jobs. Join their numbers and suck it up. Also your parents work really hard and they deserve to not have to support you well into your thirties.
Then again Dunham isn't saying Hannah's behavior is ok. In fact she's saying the opposite. That didn't stop me from being annoyed anyway.
I don't know. Maybe I just expect all people two years out of college to have an idea of what they want and for them not to be floundering like baby seals. Because I guess that's what all my friends are like and actually compared to them I'm the aimless one. So I have this skewed view of how college grads actually live. I get that not everyone gets a job directly out of college. I get that finding your footing is hard. So why doesn't the show click for me?
It's frustrating actually.
I kept wondering as I watched it, "is that really how I sound when I talk to my friends?" Because if that's true I actually just hate people my age because this is all very annoying."
I think I'm going to try and watch the season and then make a decision. Most shows take a few episodes to find its footing and voice and I'm sure "Girls" is no different. Plus most of my complaints are over whether or not this is actually an accurate portrayal of how girls my age act and behave. Maybe it's just how upper middle class white girls behave. Or at least girls who majored in NOT biology and finance.
Which is another thing.
Could we maybe have something where young people majored in stuff other than journalism and photography and literature? There is actually an overwhelmingly small number of twenty-something FEMALE characters on television who do things like biology and physics and economics and accounting. But if you look at the college landscape, a lot of those majors and especially the graduate programs are populated by women. Do writers think those sorts of people are just boring? Or maybe it's a case of writing what you know. Either way I'm feeling very left out, and not just as an Asian. Because that goes without saying.
Science people can be cool too, ok?
Edit: Ok. I think I get a little bit now why I'm so annoyed by the show. It's not a matter of race, though that's been brought up A LOT. It's a matter of socioeconomic status. I had a lot of friends who had to get jobs in high school, not just because their parents made them but because their parents didn't have the kind of money to buy them cars AND pay for their car insurance AND give them an allowance so that they could go to the mall and get a new dress for every school dance. I don't have friends who have the luxury to get "cut off." They know that their families will support them if they hit hard times but it's generally an unspoken assumption that once out of college you need to support yourself. Because you have younger siblings your parents need to worry about and really it's nice being able to buy your own shit. So I look at Hannah on "Girls" and she just comes off like a giant baby. I can't really relate to that because it feels like the way someone would be if they grew up spoiled and well-off. Watching it feels about as distancing and alienating as talking to someone like that feels.
Also, I am sick of this stereotype perpetuated by 40 and 50-somethings that all people my age are useless money sucking leeches with no real values or depth. Because that's just not true. We're not the ones repealing fair pay laws and making single-parenthood child abuse. All the twenty somethings I know (and I know a shit ton of them) work hard to either support themselves or get an education to further their careers. So let's quit with this bullshit.