GIRLS!

I have a confession to make. I, the Pop Culture Rainman™ who is normally head and shoulders ahead of all TRENDS and everything that is coolio, was late to the party on the HBO juggernaut GIRLS.

Not having HBO was certainly part of the problem, yet it was always a goal deeply baked into my psyche to finally procure the HBO DVD’s, but life as you can appreciate, can often get in the *way*.

Finally this weekend, with Season 1 & 2 in hand, I watched both seasons in less than 24hrs in a back to back GIRLS marathon. The show should really change its title to CRACK.

Yes, I’m in the honeymoon phase of GIRLS fandomania, and I need to spread the gospel of how this show is LEAGUES above any other show on cable tv or otherwise.

At first glance, one might think it’s a kissing cousin of Sex in The City, but it has ZERO in common with the former series beyond the fact that there are 4 main female characters.

GIRLS centers around lead character Hannah Horvath, an early 20-something writer from Brooklyn who may just be the “voice of a generation“. Through her, we meet friends Marnie; supposedly her best friend, but like all female relationships it waxes and wanes into love and then PURE vitriol depending on the scenarios that can often play out within a ‘bestie’ union. Marnie is perfectly ‘imperfect’ and this is part of the allure in watching her wade through the painful trials of getting’s ones ‘shit together’.
There’s also Jessa; a free-to-be-you-and-me jet-setter with a lovely English accent who walks into every room and commands its oxygen, and her younger cousin Shoshanna. Shoshanna is the youngest character and while she “vibrates on a very strange frequency” Shoshanna’s innocent genius can not be described in mere words. Please see exhibit video A Here: Oh Shoshanna….

There are a slew of rich male characters as well, the main stand out being Adam; a sexual deviant whose other past times include playwriting and woodworking. He is painfully socially awkward and a bit of a shut-in. At times he seems absently vacant, and other times exhibits depths of pure genius. By the end of Season Two we see very clearly that he is a man full of heart, and possibly the character with the MOST integrity of all (with Shoshanna & Hannah coming in at a close 2nd.) He is authentically himself, when everyone else is in a try-hard triathlon to fit in and discover themselves. Hannah is also fiercely authentic, and bares not just her-less-than-TV-perfect body with complete abandon and fearlessness, but her inner humility and demons. She is honest to a fault, smart as a whip and is adorably likable.

This show has inspired me to collectively gather up the themes from a book I’ve been writing for over a decade and turn it into the next HBO zeitgeist.

Yes…I plan on giving it my all to make it HAPPEN.

Until then, I am waiting with bated breath for season three to commence and all I can say is Lena Dunham? Between your bravery to OWN your body in ways that television audiences have NEVER seen before, write, direct and ACT in this incredible series…

BLESS YOU MY CHILD. BLESS YOU.

Thank you for taking television to a unchartered new level and keep up the excellent work. And the sex. 😉

XOXO
The Pop Culture Rainman™