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Girls
"I think I may be the voice of my generation...or at least a voice, of a generation," This statement comes from Hannah, the chubby, self- aware, awkward protagonist of HBO's new series “Girls”, after learning that her parents have decided to cut her off. Ironic as it is that a 24-year old Brooklynite thinks her memoirs that have yet to be written- or lived- will define her generation, Hannah's character, played by director Lena Dunham, may just be the voice that Gen Y has been struggling to find.
Centered around four twenty-something privileged best friends in New York, “Girls” - unlike its predecessor, “Sex and the City”- captures the real emotional struggles of trying to make it on your own, all with satirical comments and chuckle-worthy encounters. It tackles heavy subjects, like the economic crisis, and AIDS, breaking more grounds than any show on network television.
But for many, “Girls” is an overrated classic case of "white girl problems", a look into the self-hating lives of the privileged when forced to be independent for once in their lives. Some say that the homogeneous white cast manages only to include a small portion of New Yorkers that dominate way too much of the media. “Girls” is relatable- but could the directors (white themselves) have assumed that including minorities among the actors would lose ratings?
While HBO and Dunham are guilty of media "whitewashing", “Girls” explores the unknown in television, focusing on a physically and emotionally flawed single woman. Male or female, black or white, old or young; everyone can relate to Hannah's insecurities, like her fear of having to skip lunch for financial stability, her too-personal comments in a job interview, and her desire to have an actual face-to-face conversation with her boyfriend, let alone a quick response to her texts. Hannah epitomizes the insecurities that come with almost-adulthood in a time when Carrie Bradshaw's closet of $600 shoes feels outdated. Dunham’s Hannah- like Zooey Deschanel’s Jess on “New Girl” and Tina Fey’s Liz Lemon on “30 Rock”- is part of the modern TV movement proving that women are funny.
“Girls” airs Sundays at 10:30 on HBO. Season two begins in January.
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