Television Review: Girls

[ed_rex]

Girls gone funny

The older I get, the less patience I have for ideologues of any description, whether of the right or of the left.

No matter what their intentions — whether it is to combat racism or to combat other races — anyone who believes there is but One True Way to do things, or think about things, has the soul of a fascist.

And so, rather than just recommending you rent or otherwise get a-hold of the now-completed first season of Lena Dunham's Girls, I found myself struggling with people who seem to seriously believe that cliquish exclusion and nepotism is worse than the Holocaust.

My essay is a long one, so I'll put it plainly here. I enjoyed Girls an awful lot and eagerly await its second season. Dunham is an excellent young writer and her show is a bloody good professional debut — even if its principals are all privileged white people.

Am I blind to my own privilege as a white guy? As I said, my review is a long one, but I welcome your comments. Also, please note: it is not safe for work! You've been warned. Click here for Privilege and prejudice: The unbearable whiteness of being Lena Dunham.

Comments

[evilawyer]

Don't know the show (thankfully; I've come to realize I'm too old and cranky to want to waste my time on a show about four young chicklets of any creed or color making their way in the world and find it laughable that everyone elevates every little thing to a Matter of Great Importance), but I agree with your underlying point that sometimes entertainment should just be entertainment.

And yet, maybe you should reconsider

[ed_rex]

I almost feel hypocritical in urging you to give it a try. In my review I acknowledged that we all have only a limited amount of time amid a huge amount of material available, and so arbitrary decisions are perfectly fine.

But it is (at least) a very clever piece of work. On the other hand, if you're not interested in the premise, who am I to insist you give it a try?

Carry on ... :)