Lena Dunham’s ‘Girls’

Lena Dunham’s hit show has caused quite a stir worldwide. Although it is yet to be aired in the UK, critics are attacking Dunham claiming there are not enough P.O.C (people of colour) in her show. Yes, the series does follow a group of white, middle-class twenty-somethings but I struggle to use this as ammunition against Dunham’s comedy genius. It is her honest, ‘warts and all’ approach to her confessional drama that draws the viewers in and keeps the shows ratings high.

Shows like Friends, Sex and The City and even How I Met your Mother  lack diversity in their lead cast, why is it that ‘Girls’ is being picked on? It is obvious that Lena Dunham draws upon her own experiences when writing. She is, after all, a middle-class Jewish girl herself. She is simply writing about what she knows and from my point of view doing a very good job at it too.

The sex scenes in the show are a stark contrast to most featured in other TV shows. They aren’t  romanticised and often make for awkward viewing. We see regular girls handle all sorts of relationships, long-term, un-official, lesbian, the whole works. There was a real gap in the market for a show aimed at young women that isn’t a rom-com and I am glad Lena Dunham was the one to fill that void.

I really enjoyed the series, 8.5/10

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Suzanne Virdee comes to BOA

We had Midlands Today’s Suzanne Virdee come in to BOA today to talk to us about Presenting and Journalism.  She spoke about how she went on to become a newsreader for the BBC. She decided to go the university-free route and worked for the Solihull Times after she completed her A-levels, she then switched to TV journalism when she worked for Central News. She stressed that it was exceedingly difficult to walk into a presenting job and that you have to work your way up from working as a researcher or runner.

Suzanne has had her fingers in many pies and she even tried her hand as a producing. Suzanne said that it helped her understand what goes into the more technical side of the productions. Since I am interested in journalism alongside production, it was great to speak to Suzanne after her presentation. She gave me some advice about interview techniques and overcoming nerves, to summarise she says as long as you do your research and listen to what the interviewee says your interview should be fine. The nerves never go away because it is always possible things may go wrong with live broadcasting but the key is to know what you are wanting to get from the interview, let your genuine interest in people shine through and keep focused. It has inspired me to look into written journalism in the future.