Off-Topic: "Girls"

Pardon my diversion from the normal update on expat life while I go on a little rant that may only be relevant to Americans.

Folks, I'd like to take a moment to talk about the TV show "Girls."

While my opinion of the show itself isn't actually all that important to what I want to discuss, here it is:  I think the show is okay.  I've been watching it more to see what all the buzz is about than because I particularly care.  It's really not a show that I look forward to each week, but it hasn't turned me off to the point where I won't watch more of it when it's on.

What I'm more interested in talking about is this idea that the show is making some kind of groundbreaking move to show normal, non-Hollywood types naked in order to shift the perception of beauty in the media.

Now, I'll start by saying that I think that's a noble goal.  Most women out there have body issues of some kind, and the media is to blame for a lot of it.

But here's my issue:

I'm just not convinced that the people who enjoy watching the show are the kinds of people whose minds need changing.  I could be wrong, and I haven't seen any breakdowns of the demographics of the shows audience, but it very much seems to be a show aimed at left-wing, hipster-leaning 20-somethings, who are already fairly open-minded about these things in the first place.

What I'm saying is that I think the show is preaching to the choir more than it's breaking any ground.  There's all this media buzz around it, about how Lena Dunham is fearless about showing her normal-girl body without shame, but I do worry that once the buzz dies down (which it will, and quickly), she'll be left with an audience of like-minded people, but without the social change that so many are expecting.

It's a lot to ask of people, to change their perceptions of what's beautiful by watching one TV show.  The media buzz puts a lot of weight on one show in which most, if not all, of the characters are vaguely unlikeable and fairly unrelatable.

And now, back to your regularly scheduled expat blabber.