5. How Do You Solve A Problem Like Lena?
The criticism that Girls has received is tough but fair and it has put Dunham in a difficult position: with this season it will be interesting to see how Dunham fares under pressure. So what is the criticism? Well, there is a big fat race issue hanging over Girls like a thundercloud on a beach - simply put: our girls live in New York city yet everyone who inhabits their world is white. Season 2 already jumps straight into this dilemma. In Hannah's second scene we see her milky white breasts rubbing all over Sandy (aka Donald Glover from community aka Childish Gambino) to the soundtrack of some classic Regina Spektor tracks. Later on at her house party Hannah's selection of friends are noticeably more mixed. Will this be enough to redeem Dunham for alienating a large group of people who are already underrepresented on our television screens? Maybe, maybe not. In response to a tweet asking Dunham to portray more men and women of colour she stated that if she got an opportunity to do a second season she would. So at least she's keeping her promise. However, by acknowledging the criticism she also opens herself up to more of it - she's sort of in a lose-lose situation. I do hope that diversity will find its way into more of this season's episodes and stay there for good. What we can say is that the casting of Donald Glover isn't just an easy way out: Dunham is going one step further by using his character to inject some politics into the show. Because Sandy isn't just black, he's a black republican. The last scene of the first episode has Hannah borrow a copy of The Fountainhead from Sandy's library as he addresses her as "Lady" - remember how Adam couldn't stop calling her "Kid?". It will be interesting to see what this new boyfriend will do to Hannah: where he will change her, and if he can accept Hannah's reckless, casual sex and pro-choice friends. Time will tell.