For the past three weeks HBO has been airing True Detective at 9 p.m. followed by Girls at 10. The former casts its net over an audience that not only wants the crime, sex and McConaughey-Woody interaction, but is at this point hooked on the ongoing discourse between the lead detectives and truly intrigued as to how things work out. Girls, on the other hipster hand, has created out of myself and others out there an audience that wants the majority of the cast to have their lives ended on a desolate Brooklyn street. Preferably in broad daylight so that we can get a clear idea as to how it all went down.
How Lena Dunham, the creator of Girls, has come up with a cast of mostly female characters who are so easy to despise is miraculous. The existence of a show that revolves around the lives of people you would have no problem watching cry for hours is rare. There is no possible way these characters are derived or extracted from breathing human beings. You cannot be as unaware of the workings of reality as Marnie and make it past 17 without accidentally drinking industrial waste or becoming addicted to a vast array of drugs, or both. I usually find myself patiently waiting for her to roll down a set of stairs. At the bottom of my merciful stairs waits her future self, probably rich via marriage at that point, covered in a thick film made up of all the tears she has shed throughout her life. But I wait in vain while she finds a way to pay for a studio apartment while WORKING AT A COFFEE SHOP. She has no roommates and she is living in New York, paying rent in New York, and eating food purchased in New York with the money she makes from WORKING AT A COFFEE SHOP. New York's homeless population is going to increase thanks to Lena Dunham's portrayal of an alternate reality in which it is possible to survive sans roommates in one of the most expensive cities in the world while employed in the service industry.
I watch Girls with two other people who are like myself too stunned to change the channel. Maybe by 10 p.m. we are still digesting our dinner and in full on sloth mode. Maybe we just want to see how the other, new to New York half allegedly lives. But we have all come to the unanimous conclusion that the only likeable beings in the Girls universe are the two male characters. And they're unusually insane exaggerations of humans who have no business living without someone to care for them.
 |
| This is Jessa from Girls. She loves drugs and pretty much just exists. |
True Detective is probably worth your while. The show invites you to a familiar but interesting interaction between McConaughey's and Harrelson's characters. One is a family man who wants nothing more than whatever not being a family man can offer, the other is an extremely intelligent Big Town detective who embodies his job and summons nihilism from the passenger seat. They constantly clash, creating a separate and, in my opinion, more interesting storyline than the main thread that is the investigation. These are well developed characters come together against their will in the eerily desolate boondocks of Louisiana. Life is dissected and lived out by each detective accordingly while you pick a side, which is a good way to gain viewership.
 |
| Martin Hart (left, family man, somewhat religious, pretty regular) and Russ Cohle (right, questions things, questions Hart, opinionated). |
When it comes to pairing these shows side by side it's as if HBO allows you a glimpse at genius and then pulls it from you to make way for whatever a half hour of Girls is supposed to be. With the comedic attribute dripped dry there aren't many excuses to continue watching, even after Lena Dunham revealed her character's true form (Satan) in the most recent episode. But I'll still watch both because Sunday nights are as good a time as any Knicks game to question everything.
- Alex Moran (@MoonbeanMarcos)
No comments:
Post a Comment