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7 Reasons You May Think Girls Is Bad, And Why You’re Wrong

Good on HBO for pushing Girls into the forefront of topical culture discussions. It's quite a clever publicity tactic: get everyone weighing in on your Sunday night show, from James Franco to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (seriously), and then all of a sudden it seems like everyone is talking about it, and your ratings soar. Even better is if there's backlash and controversy, so that not having an opinion on the show is a sign of really being out of the loop. Whether or not you like it, you have to at this point be aware of Girls. Right now it's probably the most talked about television show, although Enlightened is starting to enter more and more conversations.

[h2]7) The guys in the show are more interesting than the girls.[/h2]

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Again, I’m not sure how this point, even if it were true which I would dispute, serves as a criticism. If anything, it’s a strength, that as is so often the case in excellent shows and movies, the supporting players are as strong or even stronger than those featured more heavily. The fact that characters like Ray and Adam are fully rounded and realized people is one of the show’s great strengths. This is where Girls diverts from a show like Louie, which is basically all about one guy, and how he sees things. Here, we don’t get that singular character perspective, but we gain all these interesting individuals who we are constantly learning more about and being surprised by. Also, that male viewers respond to the male characters more than the girls is predictable. But maybe extend that level of interest to the females in the show (I’m looking at you, Kareem!) and you’ll find yourself rewarded. They’re every bit as layered and complicated and fascinating and hilarious.

The complaints leveled against Girls range from the serious to the unserious. There are some qualms people have that I think are mostly fair, even though I disagree. Tastes are not meant to be uniform. What grinds my gears is when people apply one standard to one show and then another completely unachievable standard to another that seems purely based upon who is behind the show’s creation. This I cannot and will not abide. Ignore and dismiss the show as much as you please; you’ll be the one missing the fun. Try to argue that it’s bad for spurious reasons though, and you’re going to have to prepare yourself to be called out.

In conclusion, Lena Dunham is a babe.