I think it’s safe to say Girls is one of my new(ish) favorite shows. It gets a lot of criticism, which is actually fairly well-reasoned for the most part, but I just can’t stop watching.

I think the problem is that it’s so goddamn relatable.

Every one of the characters either reminds me of myself or a close friend, or both, I guess, depending on the context. Mostly one, though. I am a whiny wannabe writer ignoring her privilege most of the time. Hannah is me.

This is kind of awful because I also kind of hate Hannah. She’s so whiny! She routinely makes the worst possible decision! She’s a drama queen! (Oh, wait…) She’s only self-assured in the weirdest situations possible, which is at once compelling and repulsive and familiar. She’s everything I’m uncomfortable with about myself.

Recently I downloaded all my old tweets. A sampling:

• ughhhh took a nap. now my tummy hurts. and i’ve regressed about 15 years. so i’m gonna say that’s a symptom. waaaaaah
• checking out orientation schedule. hillel is having a bagel-brunch. wondering if i’m allowed. “oh i’m not jewish, i just really like bagels”
• question: why do i keep eating these goddamn hard caramels? answer: don’t fucking question me.
• WTF WEIRD WEIRD WEIRD NIGHT I AM SO ANGRY why do people always want to replace me with bad rhyming substitutes
• Phil: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA your life is a huge mess  ….. thanks, phil

Basically the moral of this story is that I am also a literate but whiny drama queen (and my current enmeshment with Brown’s Jewish life is obviously the hand of fate).  Therefore, when people criticize Hannah, or Girls in particular, maybe I take it kind of personally.

The thing is, Lena Dunham isn’t the voice of our generation. The people who think that are wrong. The people who think that she thinks that are wrong (and don’t understand irony). She does happen to be the voice of my particular demographic though, and that’s actually somewhat unsettling. I’d rather not have all of my shallow bullshit flying around in the public eye like that.

Maybe that’s my self-centered Gen-Y self talking. Maybe everything isn’t about me.

But, like, it probably is though.

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