I Watched Lena Dunham’s Girls For The First Time At 21 – When I Needed It Most

Earlier this year I went through a period of intense disarray which is fairly standard for an upcoming college graduate. It was similar yet profoundly different from anything I’d ever experienced, and I knew I needed to rally some media to consume before things got too precarious. Something relatable yet outrageous enough to provide a definite sense of escapism.

One evening when scrolling through TikTok, an edit of the 2012 TV show Girls appeared on my For You Page. The comments largely contained a variation of “You don’t find Girls, it finds you.” I was intrigued and it was clear: this show had found me, and I was set on dedicating my attention to it. And so, I did.

Written by and starring Lena Dunham, Girls was released in 2012. It follows Hannah, played by Dunham, as she navigates post-grad life in New York City along with her friends Marnie, Shoshanna and Jessa. The show is a millennial classic, set in prime hipster-New York City, a seemingly simpler time for young adults.

Hannah as a character is largely autobiographical. She is a writer who in the pilot episode is financially cut-off by her parents. Being financially supported by your parents after college is a privilege known by few of us, especially in these financially precarious times.

@editsldr just finished this show and it changed my life. #girls #girlshbo #lenadunham #hannahhorvath #allisonwilliams #marniemichaels #jemimakirke #jessajohansson #adamsackler #adamdriver #zosiamamet #shoshannashapiro #edit #edits #hbomax #max #sexandthecity #carriebradshaw #10s #2012 ♬ original sound – henrique

Something that stood out to me majorly was the friendship between the four girls. Their dynamic is fragmented and often fraught with tension. From an outsider’s perspective it’s hard to understand why exactly these four are still friends’ post-college. Each girl seems so different, both in personality and life aspirations.

Hannah wants to be an established writer with a book deal, Marnie works at an art gallery, Shoshanna is still in college and Jessa is mostly unemployed, either travelling or spending time in rehab. It appears to me that the girls are mainly in each other’s lives due to past connection and proximity rather than genuine interest in one another.

Still, there is no denying the extreme entertainment that these characters provide. They are equally as obnoxious and insufferable as each other, albeit in different ways, and this makes Girls a highly amusing watch.

As much as Gen Z makes fun of millennials, I think a lot of us secretly envy the hope embodied by their generation in the early 2010s. Primarily, everyone and everything was less monitored. Sure, they had Facebook, Twitter and YouTube but social media wasn’t as invasive and ever-present as it is today. I get the sense that young adults felt freer to make mistakes and be ‘cringe,’ a sentiment that the characters on Girls fully embrace.

Shoshanna is overtly bubbly and upon her embarkment into adulthood, and treats job interviews as practice for the ‘real thing.’ Jessa lives her life without any thought about long-term employment or ‘getting real.’ Marnie is comically serious and perfectionistic in nature, but her life decisions don’t reflect this at all: she sings a parody of Kanye West’s ‘Stronger’ at her ex’s office party and has an affair with a man in a relationship before getting married to him.

Undoubtedly, Hannah is the ultimate embodiment of this unabashed ‘cringe’: At the end of the pilot episode, she proclaims to her parents, “I think that I may be The Voice of My Generation… or at least a voice of a generation.” It’s a self-assured yet comedic sentiment, and it’s hard to tell whether she really believes it or is just saying it to persuade her parents into continuing to support her financially. Regardless, it provides a fantastic introduction to Hannah as a character.

Another pivotal and inspirational Hannah moment occurs in episode three of the first season. In the final scene, Hannah returns home after discovering that she’s contracted HPV and that her ex-boyfriend from college is gay. She is clearly distraught and opens Twitter to tweet something cryptic; despite her stressful day, she settles on adopting a positive outlook and tweets: “All adventurous women do.”

It’s a simple line but one that perfectly captures the essence of the show: Nothing is embarrassing unless you give it the power to be. Everything is an adventure as long as you choose to frame it as such. It’s a perspective that I’ve been trying my best to adopt and one that I believe my generation could benefit from.

So, overall, watching Girls was enjoyable and surprisingly enlightening experience. It truly found me when I needed it most.

Words by Sarah Hanrahan