YALE DAILY NEWS · FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
WEEKEND GIRL
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TALK
JUST CLOSE ENOUGH TO HOME // BY JOSEPHINE MASSEY
If you are a 20-something college grad, or soon to be one, HBO’s much hyped new series “Girls” will probably hit quite close to home. The pilot opens with executive producer, writer, director and lead star Lena Dunham in the role of Hannah — a writer two years out of college with an unpaid internship, at dinner with her parents who have been financially supporting her. The discussion sounds all too familiar: ‘What are your plans? You need to get a job’ — until her life-providers drop the oh-so-tactful “It’s time for one final push,” also known as “You’re cut off.” Hannah’s reaction is hilarious but also valid. She’s their only child, she points out, the economy is not exactly booming and they should be grateful that she’s not a drug dealer (I’ve definitely used that one before). But her attempts are in vain.
//JOY SHAN
And to think, she used to be one of us “Girls” success is that Dunham isn’t afraid to bare it all, in both a literal and figurative sense. Probably the most memorable scene is when Hannah stops by Adam’s (Adam Sackler) apartment for a booty call and tries to take off her clothes while face down on the couch with her hands clasped behind her back. Unlike other shows, both Hannah and Adam’s bodies are far from glamorous, and instead of skipping from kissing to postcoital lying in bed, the entire interaction is shown, complete with painfully awkward dialogue. The realistic angle explored in “Girls” is one not seen too frequently these days on TV. In the midst of guilty plea-
THE TONE IS ONE OF REALISM THAT IS SO EASY TO IDENTIFY WITH THAT IT BECOMES UNCOMFORTABLE. The mood set in this illfated family dinner permeates the rest of the episode, which follows Hannah, Marnie (Allison Williams ’10) and Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet) through their encounters with internships turned sour, overly nice boyfriends and bad-advice-giving British cousins (Jessa, played by Jemima Kirke). The tone is one of realism that is so easy to identify with that it becomes uncomfortable and the only reaction you can have is to laugh at Hannah and, to some degree, yourself. Dunham masterfully melds trueto-life characters and situations — like Marnie’s inability to break up with her boyfriend Charlie because she doesn’t want to hurt his feelings — with sitcom humor, which has the potential of feeling set up but usually arrives as an unexpected surprise. Part of the success of
sures like “Jersey Shore” and thrillers like “Dexter,” “Girls” comes as a breath of fresh B.A.-delivered air. You can relate to the characters because they don’t live at the extremes of stock or ideal; they exist as patchworks of both likable traits and imperfections, held together but always about to collapse into a pile of post-grad-survival angst. One might think a show that recalls uncouth interactions you want to forget would not be a pleasant experience, but “Girls” avoids this problem by adding humor to the discomfort, making the situation not only bearable but extremely entertaining. I don’t know how long “Girls” will be able to keep up the laughs without making them feel planned, but for now, it’s certainly one to watch. Contact JOSEPHINE MASSEY at josephine.massey@yale.edu .
Allison Williams ’10: One of the ‘Girls’ // BY CORA LEWIS
Allison Williams ’10, Lana del Rey doppelganger and former member of Yale improv group Just Add Water, will star in the new HBO series “Girls,” which debuts April 15. The actress returned to campus Monday to screen the first episode of the show for a group of fans and friends. Afterwards, she answered questions (such as, “How can I watch ‘Girls’ if I don’t get HBO?” Answer: “Find that one friend whose parents get it, and leech off her,” she joked). Below, she talks tattoos, women in comedy and why guys watch “Sex and the City.” Q. Lena Dunham, the show’s writer, has said that a lot of what’s in “Girls” comes directly from her life and the lives of other cast members — A. Right, for instance the tattoos that Lena has, that she shows in the first episode, are all real. It was Jemima Kirke, who plays Jessa, who gave her the one on her butt and who has subsequently given her many more. And she has given them to Zosia [Mamet, the fourth lead actress on “Girls”]. Q. Not you yet? A. I think I’m going to remain un-tatted. Q. It’s not a rite of passage — an initiation into the show? A. It’s not something I’m interested in. And, funnily enough, they encouraged me not to do it. They said, “It’s a slippery slope. Once you have one, you can’t stop.” It’s almost like they’re haggard and on the other side and telling me, “Don’t start, kid.”
F R I D AY
NITTY SCOTT COMES TO TOWN
APRIL 13
Rap Genius’ up-and-comer Nitty Scott is coming to blow up campus with a little bit of her lady swag.
THE GREAT THING ABOUT TELEVISION IS IT’S ONE OF THE FEW FORMS OF MEDIA WHERE PEOPLE CAN SIT DOWN, WATCH TOGETHER, THEN DISCUSS. Q. The media has hyped “Girls” a great deal to be ‘representative’ of young women, and it’s also received some criticism for being another show focusing on relatively well-off, white, metropolitan, heterosexual women. How do you feel about these sorts of expectations and comments? A. I think the media often wants a TV show to ‘say something’ broad. But I think one of the nice things about the show is that it is very specific — it’s specifically Lena [Dunham]’s experiences, summed up. Rather than forming a thesis, it’s showing a number of different lives and alternatives. That makes it broader as a show, because it’s not looking to take a stand and then alienating people. I know, personally, it’s much easier for me to enjoy and ingest something if I know it isn’t trying to argue a point, at least not consciously. If the show makes you laugh, awesome. If it makes you feel angry, great. If you see yourself in it, or if it makes you feel less alone, great.
Q. “Girls” is written for women, by women. What do you think or hope that men will take away from it? A. I’ve been surprised that more people haven’t asked this question, because it feels like a great one. A lot of the people who have seen the show so far are men. The male executives at HBO have seen it, and they are responding to it. It may be because there are nooks and crannies of female friendships that they didn’t know about. There are many men out there who watched all of “Sex and the City.” They will admit it under cover of darkness, but if you make a reference — you say “Smith,” and they know what you’re talking about — you can call them out on it, and I think that’s great. [Williams’s HBO entourage and mother, who are waiting patiently while Allison gives WEEKEND this interview, politely make noises indicating Allison has to go soon. Allison insists she can answer another few questions.]
Q. Are you sure? If you have to get back to New York … A. It’s fine. I’m going rogue. Q. Maverick. A. This is my Palin moment. Q. On “Sex and the City,” there were characters who were “sex-positive” — who would have sex for sex’s sake. At least in the first episode, the sex shown on “Girls” is uncomfortable. Do any of the characters on “Girls” have a good, exclusively physical relationship? A. Yes. Some of the characters do, some don’t. Each of the characters has a different sensibility with regards to sex. Q. “Girls” has already generated articles and opinion pieces in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and New York Magazine. What do you hope the social impact of the show will be, if anything? A. I hope it gets groups of people watching it together — friends of all genders, ages, and backgrounds in a room. I think so much of the digital age, and the way we live and absorb media and culture today, is so individualized. It happens alone and in front of a laptop. The great thing about television is it’s one of the few forms of media left that people can sit down, watch together and then discuss. I hope the show creates discussion, and I hope there are girls out there who see themselves in us. Contact CORA LEWIS at corinna.lewis@yale.edu .
WEEKEND RECOMMENDS:
Fence Club // 4:00 p.m.
Getting a job
If you’re like us, you’re used to doing unpleasant things for free. In the real world, you can do unpleasant things and get paid for it!