Lena Dunham, two-time Golden Globe winner, lead actress and producer of the hit HBO series “Girls,” is shattering the image of the perfect Hollywood starlet. With her guileful wit and irresistible charm, it’s no wonder “Girls” has become a success.
If you haven’t seen “Girls,” do so as soon as possible. It’s hilarious, heartfelt and pushes the envelope on a number of levels. Lena Dunham is phenomenal as lead gal Hannah Horvath, but at first glance she does not look like the average size zero actress. And of course, people have noticed. The show is filled with sex scenes and nudity, most of which involve Hannah. She swears, drinks, does drugs and has tattoos.
In other words, Hannah does not give a flying fuck what anyone thinks, and that is commendable.
What makes Dunham so outstanding is her ability to relate to 20-something-year-old girls who are just trying to get through life. In perhaps the most sympathetic and heartbreaking scene, Hannah says, “No one could ever hate me as much as I hate myself. So any mean things someone’s gonna think to say about me, I’ve already said to me, about me, probably within the last half hour.”
It is Dunham’s realness that makes her a complete and total badass. Though the show has often been compared to “Sex and the City,” Hannah is no Carrie Bradshaw. While both reside in New York City, Hannah’s life is nowhere near as glamorous as Carrie’s. In actuality, Hannah is a struggling post-grad who has failed to find a real job with her English degree and whose love life is in shambles.
Dunham, who is also one of the writers for “Girls,” perfectly captures the dysfunctional reality that is the life of a young adult in today’s society. No, she is not spectacularly beautiful or thin, and that is why we should love her all the more.
Lena Dunham proves that contrary to popular opinion, you do not have to be the epitome of physical splendor to be successful. She shows that women can make a name for themselves in Hollywood, regardless of their body type.
In a society that strives for the “thin ideal,” we need more women like Dunham who aren’t afraid to showcase their talents despite the critics calling them “short and pear-shaped” or “less than model-ish.”
Dunham is by no means the first Hollywood crusader in the feminist movement, but she’s one of the ballsiest.
