HBO's "GIRLS" Vol. "That Was Way Harsh, Tai"...

[thatdudechris]

Episode 3 and 4 were really good. Episode 3 was just all around a good time, loved my dude Jon Glaser from Delocated as a clean addict. And episode 4 was good with all the character building scenes.

 

[nicelikechrist]

Jessa vs Thomas-John's mom

 

[executive76]

Jessa's back

 

[big j 33]

Haven't seen episode 4 yet, but saw 3 tonight and it was ok. No Shoshanna sucks. I don't like this guy and Marnie at all. Hopefully they show her hitting a low with her self esteem and she picks up.

It had it's moments, but it wasn't funny enough.

 

[hymen man]

Alright good, I'll catch up with when it's aired.

 

[shogun]

This was a better episode than the previous one a bunch of randomness things going on. Elijah seems like a cool guy likable like Adam. They are never going to show Marnie naked

Adam seems like a creep or serial killer. Not likable at all to me. Elijah seems cool though and he got to penetrate Marnie. Him and Hanna need to do coke more often. Jessa's boobs look delicious . The conversation they had during Hanna's dinner party is similar to stuff my friends and I would talk about . Allison Williams is so damn beautiful .

 

[soccerty]

i laughed so hard when Shoshanna asked "Oh my god, do you live with me?" after she came to the realization that Ray, who has spent the better part of a month at her place, was indeed living with her

 

[omgitswes]

Episode 4 was pretty good.

Can someone tell me if it's normal for girls to just jump in the bathtub with their friend when they are said

 

[thegr8blkhope]

hope i dont get sniped for this...

 

[25thhour]

Catching up on this season. What is Lena's obsession with showing her awful body on camera jesus. :x Jemima Kirke is just

Don't know if it's been mentioned yet but you guys should check out Lena's movie tiny furniture, not the best but still pretty dope & witty.

 

[executive76]

I don't get this obsession with 3rd place Shoshanna...she looks even worse with lighter hair :x

What is Lena's obsession with showing her awful body on camera jesus

She probably was just doing it at first but now that she knows everyone hates it she's trolling

 

[big j 33]

Shoshanna is the best character.

And Lena getting naked is because she can. Most of the time it's not contributing to the plot but she's the creator and can say deal with it.

 

[bayyrd]

because she is "brave"

when in reality she is a fat slop :x

 

[executive76]

Shoshanna is the best character.
.

This season? Maybe. I'd give the edge to Elijah. But I was talking about appearance wise.

 

[dt43]

Did anyone see this critique of the show by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? Some interesting commentary, based on the episodes I've seen I can certainly see where he's coming from:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kareem-abduljabbar/girls-review_b_2593756.html

Girls Just Wants to Have (White) Fun
Posted: 01/31/2013 5:26 pm

Clearly on an emotional high from her Golden Globe wins, Lena Dunham, Creator/Writer/Director/Star of the HBO series Girls, recently gave an interview in which she dismissed criticism of her show as coming mostly from 58-year-old men who didn't understand -- and I'm paraphrasing and reading between the lines -- the show's new-generation originality and youthful exuberance.

That's odd considering that Vulture reported that the show's single largest audience, 22 percent, is "white dudes over 50." In fact, 56 percent of the show's audience is male. Some say it's because of the frequent nudity and graphic sex. That doesn't hurt. But the main reason to watch Girls is because the show obviously is struggling to be a voice of its generation, just as The Catcher in the Rye, Go Tell It on the Mountain, The Naked and the Dead, On the Road, Beloved, Generation X, The Joy Luck Club, Slaves of New York, Less Than Zero, and Bright Lights, Big City were voices of their generations.

Girls wants to tell us something important about twentysomething females of the 21st Century. And, as the elders of our society, we should always be listening to those new voices crying out.

But what are they telling us?

1. Their world is mostly white.

Last season the show was criticized for being too white. Watching a full season could leave a viewer snow blind. This season that white ghetto was breached by a black character who is introduced as some jungle fever lover, with just enough screen time to have sex and mutter a couple of lines about wanting more of a relationship. A black dildo would have sufficed and cost less.

I don't believe that people of color, sexual preference, or gender need to be shaken indiscriminately into every series like some sort of exotic seasoning. If the story calls for a black character, great. A story about a black neighborhood doesn't necessarily need white characters just to balance the racial profile. But this really seemed like an effort was made to add some color -- and it came across as forced.

2. They like to talk about (and sometimes engage in) sex.

It's like a checklist of being naughty: masturbation (check), sex during period (check), oral sex (check), anal sex (check), virginity (check), etc. The show is actually at its most engaging during these awkward, fumbling, and mostly embarrassing (for the characters) scenes. The characters talk boldly about sex, but their actions are often shy and unsatisfying. The contrast of the generation that's been taught that pretty much anything goes sexually trying to act cool while struggling with their vulnerabilities is generally fresh and original and insightful about this generation.

3. They're too self-conscious, too cutesy, and not that funny.

We're supposed to find these girls somehow charming because of their flawed characters. Their intense self-involvement is meant to be cute and it can be... at times. But not enough to overcome our impatience with their inability to have any personal insight. They're all educated but fatally ignorant.

This isn't all Girls fault. It's unfair to put so much of a burden on what is basically a standard sitcom. Some of the fault lies with the audience's desperation for a generational voice that they turn to a sitcom to express it rather than great literature. Filmmaker and short story writer (and Dunham fan) Miranda July is more accurately a voice of a generation adrift in the rough waters of Great Expectations and a Great Recession.

When it takes itself seriously is when it stumbles. I just wish it would express its seriousness by being funnier. Seinfeld made it a point to ridicule the characters' shallowness and self-involvement, raising it to a level of social commentary. And it was funny. Two other girl-centric shows that reached these same heights to be voices of a generation were My So-Called Life and Wonderfalls. Both funny, yet also insightful and original. Perhaps that's why they both only lasted one season before becoming cult hits. Girls, a safer more mousy voice, has already been renewed for a third season.

4. The guys are more interesting than the girls.

Adam, Hannah's (Lena Dunham) abrasive boyfriend, is a wonderful character whose quirkiness never diminished his depth of character. The episode in which he performs in the one-man show is brilliant. Charlie, Marnie's ex-boyfriend, is a complex mix of too stable and too nice. The fact that he's dumped by a girl who is actually more boring and shallow than she claims he is, makes for some excellent social commentary, although that seems like an accidental byproduct. Could it be that Dunham actually is better at writing guy characters than girl characters?

Girls' heart and mind is in the right place. It wants to be more than the sum of its familiar parts. And sometimes it is. Maybe this season its voice will be louder and clearer and have more to say. It's worth listening for.

 

[dt43]

dbl

 

[25thhour]

Finally caught up. When Hannah's in the crowd at the rave and screams get on my level

After reading Kareem's critique I kinda look at the show different, he made some very valid points and it just screams pretentious now.

 

[mytmouse76]

\But not enough to overcome our impatience with their inability to have any personal insight. They're all educated but fatally ignorant.

i think this is what bothers me the most...

the pretty one is always whining about something

i never liked Jessa or whatever from the beginning

and Shoshanna is so naive its hard to watch...

together they go well but watching their individual lives i just roll my eyes at the nonsene...

 

[executive76]

People in general don't have much self awareness. I don't see how that's much of a stretch.


Hannah being naked > any other issues people have brought up about the show.

 

[sn00pee]

Finally caught up. When Hannah's in the crowd at the rave and screams get on my level

After reading Kareem's critique I kinda look at the show different, he made some very valid points and it just screams pretentious now.

I'm just blown away that it was written by K.A.J. lol. but yea, number 4 is definitely true...

 

[mr marcus]

like the basketball player right?

how ******g random 

 

[diego]

Finally caught up. When Hannah's in the crowd at the rave and screams get on my level

After reading Kareem's critique I kinda look at the show different, he made some very valid points and it just screams pretentious now.

So you changed your view of the show because of someone else's opinion?

I think the problem is people expect way too much from these shows. Take it for what it is and enjoy it.
If you expect social commentary about topics like using butt plugs...I kinda feel bad for you.

And LOL at people griping about Lena being naked. Like most of you haven't done way worse.

 

[25thhour]

Try again. As I said Kareem made some very valid points and entertainment is always up for critique. I feel bad for you being so caught up in your pseudo arrogance that you can't realize that other's opinions will differ from your own. Now carry on.

 

[diego]

Try again. As I said Kareem made some very valid points and entertainment is always up for critique. I feel bad for you being so caught up in your pseudo arrogance that you can't realize that other's opinions will differ from your own. Now carry on.

I don't need your pity though.
You clearly said it changed your views.

Like what specifically did he say to make you change your views? You said it screams pretentious "NOW".
I just don't follow the thought process.

 

[executive76]

And LOL at people griping about Lena being naked. Like most of you haven't done way worse.

One would have to try hard to find chick shaped much worse than Hannah.

Her face is tolerable...she looks better with short hair and clothes on.