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By Drew Grant 10/15/12 5:21pm

girls

The new cast of 'Girls' is much more culturally diverse

Mark Your Calendars: Girls’ Second Season Premiere Date Revealed

After months of biting our nails in anticipation as we await the second season of Lena Dunham’s HBO comedy Girls, we can almost see the home stretch! According to a hot-off-the-press-release from the network, the Sick, Sad Trials of Hannah Horvath & Friends will be returning to the air in only 100 days, which is around the same time we’ll all be sick of talking about Ms. Dunham’s $3.7 million book deal.

Great synergy, everyone! Keep up the good work! Read More

By Drew Grant 6/25/12 2:26pm

girls

Mike loves Lena! (Edward Reed/Mayor's Office)

Mayor Bloomberg Huge Fan of Girls, a Show He’s Never Seen

As mentioned in our morning round-up, Mayor Mike Bloomberg gave a nice little soundbite to The New York Post about Lena Dunham’s New York-centric show, Girls. He is such a superfan!

“We love the show for inspiring people to move to New York City and become the ‘voice of a generation,’ as Hannah would say,” Mayor Bloomberg apparently gushed at some point in time. He’s even looking to cameo! (Hope he knows how to unicycle.)

Meanwhile, the rest of the quotes don’t come from Mayor Bloomberg, but from Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson, with lots of descriptive details about how City Hall employees talk about the show incessantly. The mayor himself, it’s noted, doesn’t actually watch TV in his house.

So the real question is: Has Mayor Bloomberg—who hopes that Girls will inspire legions of young women to move to the city, Carrie Bradshaw-style–actually seen an episode of the show? Read More

By Drew Grant and Aaron Gell 6/11/12 9:13am

girls

"Your boyfriend should die. You deserve that." (HBO)

GIRLS: Five Essay Writing Prompts (Episode 9, ‘Leave Me Alone’)


These questions regard last night’s episode of HBO’s Girls. Please answer the prompts with specific examples from LAST NIGHT’S EPISODE, though supplementary material will be accepted as a secondary source. Please write legibly. #2 pencils only. You have an hour to finish this test. See below for questions and example responses.

1. Michael Imperioli, best known for his role as Sopranos capo Christopher Moltisanti, plays Hannah’s former college writing professor. Compare and contrast the New York literary scene with the Italian crime syndicate, La Cosa Nostra. Read More

By Drew Grant 5/22/12 5:22pm

girls

Lena Dunham tweets to new cast member, Donald Glover (Twitter)

Donald Glover, Comedian Who Happens to Be Black, Confirmed for Season 2 of Girls

Now that Dan Harmon is out as show-runner for Community, one of the show’s is heading back to New York.Comedian/writer/actor/Childish Gambino performer Donald Glover, who began his comedy career UCB as part of the viral troupe Derrick Comedy while still attending NYU, and was plucked directly out of college by Tina Fey to write for 30 Rock (and win an Emmy in the process), has been confirmed by Lena Dunham as the latest cast member of Girls. The second season of the show is currently filming at Steiner Studio in Brooklyn, which is where the New York Post first snapped a picture of Ms. Dunham and Mr. Glover hanging out; wunderkind to wunderkind.

Yesterday, Ms. Dunham confirmed that Mr. Glover would be joining the show. Read More

By Drew Grant 5/21/12 5:45pm

girls

Our generation, on an off-night. (HBO)

Five Essay Prompts for This Week’s Girls: Episode 6, ‘The Return’

These questions regard last night’s episode of HBO’s Girls. Please answer the prompts with specific examples from Episode 6 (‘The Return’) only, though supplementary material will be accepted as a secondary source. Please write legibly. #2 pencils only. You have an hour to finish this test. See below for questions and example responses.

1. At home in Michigan, Hannah denies her physical needs to her parents, declaring, “I said I wasn’t hungry. You don’t know about me.” But in a private moment, she binges on food. Discuss nutritional sustenance as a metaphor and the body of the woman-child as a site of generational conflict and shifting power dynamics.

Hannah would do well to change her iPod from Robyn and Alanis once in awhile, because this guy named Bob Dylan once wrote a song about her. Read More

By Drew Grant and Aaron Gell 5/14/12 9:15am

girls

Ira Ames is so confused (HBO)

GIRLS: Five Essay Prompts (Episode 5: ‘Hard Being Easy’)

These questions regard last night’s episode of HBO’s Girls. Please answer the prompts with specific examples from LAST NIGHT’S EPISODE, though supplementary material will be accepted as a secondary source. Please write legibly. #2 pencils only. You have an hour to finish this test. See below for questions and example responses.

1. Lena Dunham has been described as “the voice of her generation.” Her generation’s other contributions to American culture include artisanal house-made infused vinegars and responsibly sourced small-batch chocolate bars. How is girls Girls the premium-cable equivalent of a pizza from Roberta’s, and how is it not?

Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines the word ‘generation’ as, “A body of living beings constituting a single step in the line of descent from an ancestor.” That doesn’t really seem to apply to Girls, since Hannah is an only child. Marnie and Shoshanna are cousins, so perhaps that’s it.

In this essay I will compare and contrast Girls to a pizza from Roberta’s near the McKibben lofts in East Bushwick (Slogan: “What, your restaurant doesn’t double as a radio station?”), using examples from both real life and the show. I will also compare and contrast Girls to the general aesthetic of what our culture defines as quote-unquote hipsters. Read More

By Aaron Gell and Drew Grant 5/06/12 11:00pm

girls

Just chatting about 'Girls' (HBO)

GIRLS: An Intergenerational Dialog (Episode 4: ‘Hannah’s Diary’)

In which the voices of their generations (or two voices…of two generations) discuss The World’s Most Important Show, seeking common ground on the series’ hot-button issues. Like that stuff that comes up around the sides, etc.

Back to Races; Meditations on Creepy Father Figures

Generation Y:  I’m so glad we didn’t jump the gun with accusing the show of racism before Lena Dunham got herself some Mexican eyebrows.
Generation X: We also had a black nanny. And maybe a Tibetan nanny.
Generation Y: And a gay redhead nanny…
Generation X: And Jessa very eagerly taking up their cause.
Generation Y: We’re learning a lot more about Jessa, I think. Because how creepy is that dad that she’s always digging? And why do really beautiful, confident women always end up with daddy issues?
Generation X: Jessa’s confidence has always seemed a little thin.
Generation Y: Though it does round out her character. She’s now more than just “snobby Brit.”
Generation X: And if I may speak for the creepy dads out there. We’re people too.
Generation Y: Aaron, I see you as more of the best friend of the creepy dad. So: what is with your “ass like Rihanna” comment? Do old people know about Rihanna’s ass? Is it great?  I feel like Shakira would be a better, more outdated reference.
Generation X: I think Rihanna is a beautiful woman. but yes, I’m a devotee of Shaki. I interviewed her once and remain wholeheartedly in love. Partly because she was wearing a Psychedelic Furs t-shirt and, well, they were this band that like, in the 80s… Drew, I imagine you’ve done some babysitting. How creepy are these dads? Read More