I think it is time for a much needed revival of the HBO hit “Girls”, one of the best, most vulnerable, shows that’s ever aired.
Whats “Girls” and where can I watch it?”
The show “Girls” is about a group of 4 friends, Hannah, Marnie, Jessa, and Shoshanna, living in New York in the early 2010s. In the beginning of the show, they are all ages ranged to 22 to about 24. Shoshanna is a senior at NYU, while the others graduated college 2 years prior. You can stream this show today on MAX.
Why Watch it?
Something about this show is it is extremely awkward, but don’t let that freak you out. I believe being a girl in her young adulthood might be even more awkward than her teen years. It is filled with school, finding jobs, exploring relationships and just figuring out life in general. Something about this show is it explores it ALL. No matter where you are in life, girl or boy, I think you can relate to this show in some way. But something interesting, is I find myself relating to traits I don’t want to relate to. This show shows it is all, the good and the ugly. It digs into the characters and their flaws in a very raw, unfiltered light. Lets take a quick dive into the characters to explore how these protagonists may relate to you. Don’t worry there are no spoilers ahead, I am only going to really talk about the characters in the beginning of the show.
Hannah Horvath
This character might be the most insufferable, but also relatable character I have ever seen on television. In the beginning, she starts out as a women who recently got financially cut-off from her parents and is trying to presue her passion in writing. Something so interesting about this character is her slight narstacastic tendenicies. The show makes many jokes about how Hannah only wants to talk about herself and her issues. I think that almost anyone can relate to this character wether you want to or not. We have all been so consumed in our own lives and relationships, that even our own friends can’t deal with it. This can cause us to go cycles of losing friends, and even ourselves. In this series you can see Hannah going through a on again, off again relationship, that is another situation I think many people can relate too. This character also shows very raw experiences of mental health struggles such as OCD and depression.
Marnie Micheals
Marnie is a very complex character that seems like she has it together, but doesn’t. Her character can be described as very type-A. In the beginning of series, it seems like she is very responsible and independent, as the character develops we see that she struggles dealing with her own personality. Something interesting about this character is she says that she doesn’t want to be the way she is, which I think is a very relatable thing about her character. I think a lot of girls feel like they put on a persona of being “put together” all the time, but that just isn’t super realistic. This character really demonstrates the internal struggles many young adults face as their life begins to derail right in front of them.
JessA Johansson
Jessa is a character in the show that I think really represents a sense of freedom, being almost the total opposite of Marnie. In the beginning, Jess shows up back in New York after awhile of traveling around the world. You can tell how the characters are envious of Jessa since she seems to be confident in herself and her life. As the show progresses, we can see the flaws of Jessa. A big personality trait of her in the beginning is self-destruction, which I believe almost everyone has done. When things get to deep or personal, she finds herself running away. She is also known for exploring very controversial relationships throughout the first couple seasons. She is aware that almost all of these relationships are wrong, but she can’t stop herself. We can quickly see that this “free spirit” persona is all a strategy to run from her issues. This character also explores drug addiction issues that many adults face today.
Shoshanna Shapiro
Finally, we have Shoshanna as the last of the girl group. Personally, Shosh (her nickname throughout the series) is the best and most relatable character. When watching the show, I find myself saying “thats something I would say” at my TV screen about 100 times. In the beginning, she is by far the most innocent character in the group. She is the most innocent when is comes to life experiences such as sex. Something fascinating about her character is she is pushed as this little kid compared to the rest of the girls, but we soon see that she’s intelligent in her own ways. Yes she makes countless mistakes through the show, but she actually seems the most self aware in the first season. Something about her is she will show up for her friends, even if it’s not in the right way (such as bringing Dylan’s Candy Bar to an abortion). I believe she is one of the only characters that develops positively in the beginning. If you are someone that feels behind or more naive, I think you can really relate to Shosh. I also like how she demonstrates that the “airhead” persona that media forces on girls is not always accurate. Even behind her bubbly personality, she has important things to say.
Something about these characters is they are all extremely flawed, but so is everyone. Wether you are dealing with friendships, romantic relationships, mental health issues, navigating college or post-grad life, so are these girls. The biggest take away from this show is that you’re not alone. You may think you’re the only only one dealing with certain issues, but you’re not. I am aware that many of these situations are dramatized because it is a fictional show, but I found so much of it relatable. Something I’ve learned is that everyone has flaws and don’t let them take away from your character growth. We all face set-back it’s just apart of growing up, the more uncomfortable you are, the better.