Girls is produced by cringe veteran Judd Apatow, but its voice is primarily that of creator/writer/director/star Lena Dunham. In typical cringe fashion, self-awareness is rare among Dunham’s Hannah Horvath and her three galpals, since they’re all still young (Dunham turns 27 on May 13) and still trying to figure out who they are and what they want. Of course, Hannah’s the least self-aware of all, with her Brooklyn bohemianism and her literary pretensions, which so far have not yet required Hannah to prove she has any actual talent or artistic vision.
Spoiled and undisciplined, all she really has going for her are wit, passion, youthful energy, and a willingness to take her clothes off if given the slightest excuse.For Dunham, nudity is one more weapon in her cringe arsenal, one that makes literal the cringe trope of embarrassing self-exposure, and one that offers an additional challenge to viewers. If Hannah/Dunham isn’t embarrassed by her naked, plain-looking body or even finds it funny, why should we react any differently? Fans and critics may argue over whether Season 2 failed to live up to the promise of Season 1, or whether Hannah has simply become a worse human being (and therefore, arguably, a funnier character). Clearly, viewers have a lot of emotional investment in the fates of these Girls, so Dunham must be doing something right.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTptKhATg5w]