Comments on: Après le Déluge, Ennui

By: p

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 03:25:54 +0000

The only thing gross here is misrepresentation. Lena Dunham is depicting these social mores to have us see and understand them. Yes, she is also satirizing the absurdity. It seems like people are so programmed and narrow minded after years of lies and crap about society, and about men & women, that they can only frame this in a way that it is moralizing against these things she shows, or that these things are so sad and the generation whos cultural milleu this is are also sad. No, shes showing very specific behavior, and yes its absurd, it is a LOT of things all together…things are not so simple in life and humans are not so pat that you can wrap up their lives or culture in black and white , with a bow on top.

By: Fred

Fred — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 19:25:21 +0000

I’ve never seen “Girls,” but I’m a regular viewer of “Californication” which, from what you’re saying, sounds like it has a similar vibe. The characters constantly engage in casual, meaningless sex (portrayed with almost X-rated graphicness), yet they are mostly miserable, and the few brief moments of happiness they attain is when they are with family (however dysfunctional) and friends (however bizarre) that they love. It also implies that the source of their misery is their unwillingness or inability to remain in stable relationships with those family and friends and their tendency to use sex as a substitute for love. Could this be a trend?

By: Brian

Brian — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 18:10:03 +0000

Hmm. I think you misinterpret the critical reaction. It seems to me that this article, and another one I read last week (in Slate, iirc), are criticizing the show for not portraying promiscuity as being, like, totally awesome, and therefore for somehow advancing the “conservative agenda” (cue scary music).

By: Stephen

Stephen — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 21:28:43 +0000

I note that Judd Apatow is the Executive Producer. He also produced the movie Superbad. While that movie is crass it also has a weirdly pro-abstinence anti-teen drinking vibe. Bad things happen to teen who try and drink or have sex, good things happen to teens who abstain and don’t drink.