Girls: Season One (2012)

Creator: Lena Dunham

This show about a mid-20's aspiring female writer living in modern-day New York City initially caught my attention due to its refreshing authenticity. The main character, Hannah, was slightly overweight who was definitely not your average Hollywood starlet. There was sex, and it was not glamorous and wild. The cast of characters were people who I could imagine meeting in the real world, flaws and all. Much of this is because creator/writer/director/actor certainly brought much from her own life into the show and that brings a lot of authenticity and honesty into the characters and situations.

Hannah is by no means the greatest person and is certainly not very "likable," and that's not a flaw. It's actually a strength. Hannah is self-obsessed and she believes that the problems she has in her life are unique to her, even though clearly they are not. This self-obsession is the main constant of the season. It's the reason she has most of the problems in her life, and it's the reason she can't solve most of those problems. While Hannah and her friends represent a small slice of humanity, this theme is what enables it to expand into other facets of culture and different types of people. The show does comment on society occasionally, but it's above all about individual problems (if it could do both it would be as good as Mad Men). As good as the show is, there is definitely room for improvement as well. The momentum of the narrative could be done better, and there are lots of moments on the show that could have a greater impact with a better visual eye. But Dunham is young, and if she is someone who learns and improves from the past, then she is definitely going to be a filmmaker to watch.

Grade: B+