Have an idea for a story or review? Contact the editor at arts@theotherpress.ca By Savis Irandoost, Contributor BO’s fabulous hit show Girls has been my favourite show since it first aired in early 2012. I actually have long, drawn-out, analytical debriefings with my friends after every episode, and I know I’m not the only one. Lena Dunham’s (writer, creator, and lead actress of the show) star is rising in the biggest of ways. She’s the only other female that has had the Liz Lemon effect on other females. I remember hearing every slightly quirky girl in my life say to me, “I am Liz Lemon.” Now all I ever seem to hear them say is, “I am Lena Dunham.” “When I think of guilty pleasures, J think of something I never want to be. But with Girls, I feel like this is my life. Like Lena Dunham is writing about my life,” says Stephanie McMaster, a Douglas College student. All my writer friends aspire to be her. “I think for a guy that’s never had a serious relationship, or a younger guy, who thinks that girls are supposed to be models that don’t go to the bathroom and work out every day, the show will be a really big wake-up call, especially from all the porn they’ve been watching. This is what girls are like,” says McMaster. 6 The influence of Girls’ 0 The sitcom is basically Sex and the City with younger, less glamorous women. But don’t let that fool you; this only makes them more real and relatable. A lot of the success associated with the show is due to the fact that this subject matter wasn’t covered much in the past. Everyone wants to know what happens after college graduation; when you’re nowhere near your high school counterpart but farther from your adult self than you'd like to think. These are liberated women. Women who drink, smoke, have sex openly and sometimes strangely, do drugs, and make poor decisions. “J like that the different characters all have a different opinion on what sex is. There’s something there for everyone. It’s great because it’s opening the discussions about sex. People can talk about it and how they want it, where as we couldn’t in the past. It'll definitely be both eye-opening for girls and guys,” says McMaster. So I started thinking about the effect this charming little show could be having on young people, especially young girls, everywhere. Was this a warning / disclaimer on what not to do? In other words, are we living vicariously through a safe haven screen? Do we love watching other people do what we would never dream of doing? Or is this the n girls catalyst to our secret desires? Most importantly, was this influencing a generation who may not know any better? “T don’t think the show is appropriate for girls under the age of 17,” says Cayley VanHemmen, a UBC student. “Sixteen or older because by then you should know what you think is right and wrong,” says McMaster, “If I was 16, it would definitely make me want to go out and try more stuff. It would have sparked my interest a lot more. But people are always going to read and watch things that are older than what they are.” “Ever since the episode with the cocaine, I thought about the influence because it was so random. You don’t really see that often on TV,” says VanHemmen. I feel like when you see something like that, your natural instinct as a human being, is to think, ‘oh this must be what everyone’s doing. I’m a firm believer in that. “But sex is on every single show and that doesn’t make people have sex more,” says VanHemmen. However, the girls make really bad choices and it looks charming and seemingly glamorous on them. But that doesn’t make it okay in the real world. Every single girl on the show seems like a real person that you probably know. “1 think what makes the show so good is that you identify with the characters. You feel their ups and downs. Everyone goes through things. That’s why it’s not a bad influence,” says VanHemmen. Although relativity is good, I wonder if it’s that same relativity that would tempt young girls into a much older lifestyle. That’s the problem because the girls are in their mid-20s and that seems much closer to teenagers than Sex and the City did, but it’s really not the same age group. “ think it does affect people because when you compare it to shows like Sex and the City, it’s a lot more realistic. I've never been able to relate to Sex and the City and how accomplished and glamorous they are,” says McMaster. “Hannah’s sense of entitlement is probably the worst influence.” However, every time somebody does or has done hard drugs, it’s spoken of in an either nonchalant manner or it’s a completely hilarious scene. “Hannah is going out to do things for the story of it. Because she thinks she’s supposed to experience them. This isn’t necessarily a good thing. Plus she usually doesn’t want to change. But these girls always find a way to redeem themselves in the end,” says McMaster. There were times that I watched the show and caught myself being intrigued by something I wasn’t or wouldn’t consider before, but maybe it simply brings out your deepest desires. I worried that young people would be intrigued too at a vulnerable age. “In all honesty, there were elements to the crack episode that were intriguing to me,” says McMaster. “I think when you're young you think you're invincible and that it is glamorous to do those things. So it’s the right time to make mistakes, so long as you keep trying to grow from them.” It’s all just a little disconcerting because it’s not my informed, adult friends that I’m worried about; it’s everyone else. “It’s just like anything else. You have to take it with a grain of salt. But I think the show is promoting intelligence because all of them went to school. Maybe their characters aren’t the best idea of what you want to show 16-year-old girls, but what they’ve done with their lives so far and what they’re trying to do is admirable,” says McMaster. We're intrigued by the possibilities, but in the end, I think the shows saving graces are its vulnerable, bad moments, sheer outrageousness, and constant payoff of consequence. The point is, there’s always another layer, and it’s never face value.