Andrea
Press speaks about the history of television in her article “Gender
and Family in Television's Golden Age and Beyond”. She states that
“the ethnic and diverse representations of women early in
television's history were replaced by a plethora of white, middle
class families showcasing very simple problems- the happy people with
happy problems” (141).
While
Lena Dunham's Girls does not
depict a white middle class family that showcases very simple
problems, it does depict a close group of white middle class girls
living in New York City. Their “white girl problems” are made fun
of in a Saturday Night Live parody commercial. This parody commercial
mimics a season 3 promotion. The narration states “Girls
returns with all new problems”. Immediately after there is a shot
of the four girls walking, the character dressed like Shoshanna
states in a concerned manner: “Today
an old man on the subway told me to shut up. I mean omfg, I don't
think i talk too much. I mean you guys would tell me if i talked too
much. I mean I don't think i do right?”. The ridiculousness of
Shoshanna's “problem” is furthered when the narrator announces
that there will be “an all new girl, from Albania”. Tina Fey,
dressed in traditional Albanian clothing, is then shown. Her first
line is “I have roof over head, for this i thank God”. Her
gratitude for a roof over her head makes the other girls' problems
truly seem petty. Later in the parody, the actress playing Marnie
complains “my ex-boyfriend is an internet millionaire”. Blerta,
the Albanian woman, replies “my ex-boyfriend, is buried in shallow
grave. On windy days the dirt covering him blows away and you can see
skull." The juxtaposition between the Girls
characters “problems” with Blerta's problems allows for a playful
satire.
I
love Girls.
The show dives into serious problems including abortion, sexually
transmitted diseases, self esteem, adultery, and sexual identity. The
show also covers simpler problems. It is interesting to look at
Press' statement and see how problems in various shows get
interpreted. Perhaps its the comedic air of shows like Girls,
Modern Family and
New Girl that
make their problems seem less valid.
As aforementioned, Press states that “the ethnic and diverse representations of women early in television's history were replaced by a plethora of white, middle class families showcasing very simple problems- the happy people with happy problems” (141). I have to agree with you that one, I love the show for as you mentioned its diversity of problems from abortion to simpler issues and that the show is a character analysis of white middle-class post-college graduates who live in New York. However, what interests me in terms of this discussion is the showrunner and actor Lena Dunham.
ReplyDeleteLena Dunham has been harshly criticized for many things. For one, she has been criticized for the lack of racial diversity as well as lack of class diversity, something that can equally be argued as the same for its commonly compared show Sex and the City. Even basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar chimed in on Dunham’s lack of racial diversity in his article "Girls Just Want to Have (White) Fun.” (Copied here is the article for those of you interested in reading it http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kareem-abduljabbar/girls-review_b_2593756.html).
Secondly, and the issue I want to address is how Dunham has been criticized for the amount of nudity she displays on the show and her body image, an image that she has even admitted does not conform to societal standards. If you are a fan of the show or have seen at least one episode, you will be aware of the fact that Dunham isn’t the only actor on the show who has multiple nude scenes yet those actor’s aren’t being penalized or even talked about over the amount of nudity they show on screen. The reason I presume they aren’t being criticized is because of the fact that they hold typical female body images that are often viewed on the screen. I often think that commercial audiences forget that women’s bodies come in all shapes in sizes for the fact that only one body time is generally showed – the thin, perfectly in shaped, perfectly dressed woman. That being said, I think that there is something to be said about Dunham trying to almost normalize woman’s body type in that often times, normal body types aren’t seen in a sexual way. Problematic though is the fact that Dunham’s body is at one point seen as comical in an episode in which Adam (Adam Driver) allows Lena’s character Hannah to come over in which she grabs her stomach in a joking way and asks her why she doesn’t loose weight. While progress over the normalization of body types is being made, work still needs to be done in order to progress a healthier societal standard.