Lena Dunham and Girls
(2020)- Abstract
- When the television show Girls premiered in 2012 it reverberated far and wide in the media landscape of the Global North. It was equally celebrated for its body positive message and critiqued for its whiteness and privileged blindspots. The show's creator and star, Lena Dunham, became an essential part of its paratext, her persona as hotly contested as the show itself. Often compared to the “ur-postfeminist” text Sex and the City, Girls differs starkly from its predecessors in its focus on failure and disappointment rather than empowerment and choice. A precarious job market and insecure future prospects are obvious backdrops for the stories being told, which is one reason why the series seemed to resonate so well with young millennials... (More)
- When the television show Girls premiered in 2012 it reverberated far and wide in the media landscape of the Global North. It was equally celebrated for its body positive message and critiqued for its whiteness and privileged blindspots. The show's creator and star, Lena Dunham, became an essential part of its paratext, her persona as hotly contested as the show itself. Often compared to the “ur-postfeminist” text Sex and the City, Girls differs starkly from its predecessors in its focus on failure and disappointment rather than empowerment and choice. A precarious job market and insecure future prospects are obvious backdrops for the stories being told, which is one reason why the series seemed to resonate so well with young millennials coming of age in a socioeconomic climate heavily affected by the financial crash of 2008. Girls received plenty of attention for its portrayals of sex, which were often uncomfortable and sometimes disturbing. Dunham was often at the center of controversy because of her willingness to put her own “nonconventional” body unclothed in front of the camera. The show also received a significant amount of critique for its lack of racial and ethnic diversity, which Dunham and her collaborators countered in flustered and sometimes offensive ways. This, coupled with Dunham's presence as creator and as a “new” kind of millennial feminist, contributed to consistent media attention being given to the show throughout its six season run. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/bf5182df-8edf-48d5-885f-1b13fb7ca7ec
- author
- Thelandersson, Fredrika LU
- publishing date
- 2020
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- host publication
- The International Encyclopedia of Gender, Media, and Communication
- editor
- Ross, Karen
- publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISBN
- 9781119429128
- 9781119429104
- DOI
- 10.1002/9781119429128.iegmc289
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- bf5182df-8edf-48d5-885f-1b13fb7ca7ec
- date added to LUP
- 2021-08-31 14:32:37
- date last changed
- 2023-04-18 22:32:27
@inbook{bf5182df-8edf-48d5-885f-1b13fb7ca7ec,
abstract = {{When the television show Girls premiered in 2012 it reverberated far and wide in the media landscape of the Global North. It was equally celebrated for its body positive message and critiqued for its whiteness and privileged blindspots. The show's creator and star, Lena Dunham, became an essential part of its paratext, her persona as hotly contested as the show itself. Often compared to the “ur-postfeminist” text Sex and the City, Girls differs starkly from its predecessors in its focus on failure and disappointment rather than empowerment and choice. A precarious job market and insecure future prospects are obvious backdrops for the stories being told, which is one reason why the series seemed to resonate so well with young millennials coming of age in a socioeconomic climate heavily affected by the financial crash of 2008. Girls received plenty of attention for its portrayals of sex, which were often uncomfortable and sometimes disturbing. Dunham was often at the center of controversy because of her willingness to put her own “nonconventional” body unclothed in front of the camera. The show also received a significant amount of critique for its lack of racial and ethnic diversity, which Dunham and her collaborators countered in flustered and sometimes offensive ways. This, coupled with Dunham's presence as creator and as a “new” kind of millennial feminist, contributed to consistent media attention being given to the show throughout its six season run.}},
author = {{Thelandersson, Fredrika}},
booktitle = {{The International Encyclopedia of Gender, Media, and Communication}},
editor = {{Ross, Karen}},
isbn = {{9781119429128}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
title = {{Lena Dunham and Girls}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781119429128.iegmc289}},
doi = {{10.1002/9781119429128.iegmc289}},
year = {{2020}},
}