Girls

Before I launch into today's post, it's important to develop context. I have been vomiting from some sort of food poisoning since 7:30 this morning. It's been a rough day. This has however, allowed me to watch the entire third season of Girls in one continuous sitting - with the exception of bathroom breaks to empty the contents of my stomach.

I want to support the making of the show Girls because I do believe it shows women in a very raw, unabashed light. Where some of the cast look like very real women and their lifestyles are supposed to be a closer reflection of real women living in the city during their 20s. During the first two seasons,   I could really stand behind this and I felt like I could connect a bit more to these archetypes, but now not so much.

This season, although compelling and intriguing in it's storyline, I felt portrayed the main female characters as self-centred, narcissistic, selfish jerks. The relationships they had with each other never showed any love, support or compassion. There was no sympathy for one another and any conversation they had focussed solely on themselves and how they were doing at that moment in time.

Whatever, I get it. Who as a girl (and I'm sure guys), hasn't had completely selfish periods in their lives? They sometimes talk to their friends only to use them as sound-boards for their shit and can rarely ask questions about the other's life. But I feel Girls was deeper than that. They weren't trying to show that these were the phases in their lives, but more so that all of these women were actually too self-involved overall to care about other people.

The problem I have with this is this show is supposedly representing raw (read - real) women. When the show first came out, it was so unique and adored because it was meant to be seen as honest and a breath of fresh air. This was cutting edge television and almost a movement for women in Hollywood. Whereas Sex and the City showed glamorous women, living well beyond their means in a very rich and famous way, Girls was women working in cafes.

So when I watch an entire season of what I would classify as bitches being bitchy, I think it reflects poorly on women. Are real women so dense that when their father mentions he's just had an operation, they sweep over it to talk about their latest piece of news? Do real women not ever call their friends who are going through hard times, just to check and see if they are ok? Do they listen to their close friend tell them they've not been able to graduate because they've failed a class, then chirp in with a stupid anecdote about their boyfriend in college? I hope the f*ck not.

Like I mentioned before, ya there are times when I've been self-centred. In fact, one of my closest loves called me out on it a few months ago but we move past it. It is not the foundation of all of our relationships and at the heart of my interactions with other women.

When you see quizzes online about Which Girls character are you? I feel that young women or any women, see these characters as archetypes we can cling to or tie our lives with. For years and years, women related to the women of Sex and the City. I was a Samantha in university and now more of a Carrie. When I thought I knew I was a Samantha, my life followed a very similar pattern to hers. I wasn't afraid of being bold and crass because I had a famous role model who was still adored by women everywhere. Is Girls following a similar pattern? Will our lives mimic those of the self-involved jerks?

I guess I am just annoyed that I wanted to see women who were portrayed honestly but also not completely negatively. I am surprised that women spearhead this show when they seem so anti-female at times. Anyway, that's my rant for the night; perhaps it was the sickness that made me hope for something more Disney to pull me out of my pit. I did still enjoy the storyline of all that happened but just wished the show was more of something I could look up to.