Girls: Inadvertent Racism or Intentional?

 Although certain movies or television shows portray characters of various races, many are guilty of containing a primarily white cast- most notably sitcom powerhouses Seinfeld and Friends. Thomas K. Nakayama and Robert L. Krizek blame this on a concept known as “strategic rhetoric,” which can best be described as the ways in which the media portray Caucasians as the normalcy of society. HBO’s new(ish) show, Girls, has recently been under fire for this very thing. Girls, created by Lena Dunham (also the show’s producer, writer, director, and lead actress), is clearly guilty of racial exclusion. Despite the show’s Brooklyn setting, virtually all of the characters in the first season are white. Dunham eventually responded to the controversy, acknowledging that she did not provide her viewers with a "truly all-encompassing rendition of young girls in New York” (Fallon). Dunham then promised to involve characters of different ethnicities in the show’s future. True to her word, Donald Glover was cast as her character’s new boyfriend on the second season premiere. Glover’s character was both refreshing and well received, combatting various African American stereotypes. His character, an articulate and poignant young Republican, seemed to provide the show with a different perspective and added some much needed diversity.  However, Glover’s character only lasted two episodes and then Dunham’s replacement love interest was, once again, white. The season is still in progress, so you never know- maybe Donald Glover will make a return. One can only hope, as until then Girls continues to perpetuate a vastly unrealistic viewpoint of Brooklyn. 

 

Work Cited 

Fallon, Kevin. "Lena Dunham confronts the Girls racism controversy: Is she convincing? " The Week. The Week Publications, 09 May 2012. Web. 29 Jan 2013. <http://theweek.com/article/index/227757/lena-dunham-confronts-the-girls-racism-controversy-is-she-convincing>.