By Katerina Valouxi,
“I don’t wanna freak you out, but I think that I may be the voice of my generation. Or at least a voice. Of a generation”. With this line, Lena Dunham defined her TV show ‘Girls’ as a pinnacle of pop 2010’s culture, a series that unapologetically depicted the timeless experience of being a 20-something year old woman with everything and simultaneously nothing to say. Although a heavily controversial figure because of her occasional comments and remarks regarding various topics, such as impulsively defending writer Murray Miller when he was accused of sexual assault or comparing discussing Bill Cosby to the Holocaust, Dunham is inarguably one of the wittiest, most sarcastic and authentic voices of her generation and the ever-lasting relevance of ‘Girls’ proves exactly that.
“Girls” was a product of its time- heteronormative, white, insufferable, but simultaneously groundbreaking and unapologetic; exactly like the early 2010’s Tumblr culture. The show follows Hannah, Lena Dunham’s character, who tries to navigate the experience of womanhood in the big city while dealing with friendships, heartbreak and all the things that life throws at your face when you do not expect it. The show’s success and the reason why it is so beloved after more than a decade lies on its authenticity –dripping realness seeps out of the characters, the relationships and the dialogue, making it seem like the viewer is not just watching but experiencing, invading a certain private space that is asking to be explored and picked at. Lena Dunham does not apologize for her characters’ behaviors– Hannah might be incredibly messy and chaotic, but she is a fleshed out, carefully crafted character, just like every other character in the show.
Aside from the fact that Lena Dunham was an average-body woman who was being dragged by the media for showing her full naked body on HBO during the rise of Tumblr and Instagram models, her character is always insatiable for more; More knowledge, more wisdom, more experiences, more depth. Hannah is an aspiring writer who is so bold that her choices bring nothing but second hand embarrassment, not only to the audience, but everyone that surrounds her. From being open with her OCD, to partying till morning and making a mess of herself for absolutely no reason, to sharing stories about how her ex-boyfriend and her best friend got together, it is obvious why Hannah is one of the most insufferable, dislikeable, but simultaneously relatable and heartbreaking characters in TV history.
Female relationships of every kind exist at the forefront of ‘Girls’ and they are all certainly far from functional, but their dysfunctionality begins from the core of the characters themselves. Marnie is incredibly self-centered and sometimes overly confident, saying things like the, now internet favorite phrase, “yeah, let’s make fun of the girl who took a risk and put herself out there creatively”. Jessa is a recovering drug addict who hangs from the slightest male validation she can possibly get and Shoshanna is a socially awkward 30 year old woman trapped in a 22 year old body.
One would expect that because of their differences in character, ideals and behavior, the four girls would not be able to get along but they would push through, in the way that most coming of age media portrays the against-all-odds female friendships. And it’s true! Their relationships go through tumultuous breakups, misunderstandings and betrayals, and yet they find their way back to each other, however with a twist in the end –”Girls” does not make it easier for the audience to accept the fact that friendships die, relationships crumble and life goes on. Lena Dunham does not hold your hand when Hannah’s dream of being a famous writer is destroyed, when her best friend betrays her, or when she realizes that her future with Adam is an impossible fantasy.
The show lifts you up by showcasing the crazy, adventurous life of twenty-somethings but as the series progress the fantasy crumbles down little by little. Another example of this is Marnie’s realization that Charlie, her ex-boyfriend, is now a drug addict who can not be saved no matter how much she wants to save him. A similar episode is the last of the final season, in which Hannah and Adam try to live in the illusion of a shared future but ultimately realize that it is futile, even after having shared so much of themselves with each other, but it is inevitable –Hannah has ripped so much off her own self for years to emotionally fulfill her boyfriend that she has lost the essence of who she is outside of him.
“Girls” blatantly voices every girl’s thoughts and fears, and that is precisely why it defined a whole generation of adventurous women who wanted to let loose and experience life with all its ups and downs, subverting norms, resisting male fantasies… and sometimes succumbing to them. Honestly, can anyone listen to Robyn’s “Dancing on my own” without picturing Hannah dancing in her little room?
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