Of all the 68 billion words written about Girls since it debuted April 15, the one that seemed to generate the most heat was Jenna Wortham’s bit for The Hairpin that begrudged the blinding whiteness of the show set in Greenpoint. So to address that criticism, Lena Dunham and crew are taking a strategy from comic book tactics: the show’s getting a retcon! The show has already started filming season two in Greenpoint and The Observer points us to this official casting notice posted to Backstage.com, looking for, and I quote, “HIPSTERS.”
Seeking—Hipster Types: male and female, 18-30s, all ethnicities, all types, specifically seeking people with tattoos, piercings, colored hair, and unique looks. Young Adult (ages 18-29), Thirties (ages 30-39). Caucasian/White, African-American/Black, Latin/Hispanic/South American, Asian, Native American, European, Middle Eastern, Indian/South Asian, Other.
You see? Brooklyn was diverse this whole time!
Observer calls it “basically Hipster Idol.” But really it’s probably one of your rapidly dwindling chances to be type cast as a Brooklyn archetype in a teevee show. After all, this whole wave of Brooklyn-obsessed television is strapping on its water skis and speeding straight toward that shark, especially as MTV is dropping I Just Want My Pants Back, and the number of Girls think-pieces on the internet threatens to outnumber the sum total Wikipedia entries ever written.
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A general casting call means they’ll still remain on the periphery of the show. Ho hum.
The diversity concerns about this show make no sense to me. It’s like walking up to a painter and going, “Why didn’t you put red in this painting? Can we hold the show real quick? We need to get some red in this painting. Hey, Steve, can you bring a few cans over here? And some blue. Like a purplish blue. And some pink. We need some pink. I know you’re the artist, but do you mind if I get by you real quick and change this real quick? Awesome. Thanks.”
Let the show be what it is.
For your analogy to hold water, the painter would have to be picked up by a major paintings distribution company that only a privileged few of the painters have access to and then advertised as the voice (or the view) of the entirety of the “modern pallet”. In that case it would be entirely appropriate to raise the questions, if the painter used only a single color, which also happens to be the color of the distributor and of everyone privileged enough to have access to it.
+1 !
No, you’re pretty much wrong about this. What you’re saying is that the show – a singular artistic expression – should be harmed or changed to to the actions of the distributor. Demand that the distributor make more diverse programming. Don’t force the artist to do it on her frickin’ show. The lack of diversity on the show is pretty benign. And that’s what a lot of these diversity critics need to think about before they start demanding retarded crap like this – is the absence of color in this work a problem or is it benign? It’s an important question that should be asked. Diversity concerns are sometimes legitimate, but you pick your battles intelligently and logically. “Girls” isn’t really a great opportunity to do that. You’ll just end up making a perfectly good show self-conscious about crap it shouldn’t be worrying about.
Putting non-whites in something just for the sake of doing it is silly and disingenuous. But these girls ostensibly live in Brooklyn, one of the most ethnically diverse urban areas in the world. To reflect reality, you think they’d let a black guy want on in front of the camera once in a while.
They should grab all those diverse hipsters from the recently mercy killed – ahem, I mean cancelled — How to Make It In America.
Oh, and “How to Make it in America” was a pretty awesome show. True story.