Writer Crush: Lena Dunham

"I think if you feel like you were born to write, then you probably were." 

I wish Lena Dunham was someone I knew, so I could just listen to her witty ramblings all day and just gawp at her loveliness.                                   But, instead I can be content in the knowledge that she has created some of the most beautifully written and flawed characters that seem so relatable; it's like Dunham has been listening in to my midnight conversations with my best friend about all of our mishaps and hopes. She is my writer crush and this is my attempt to articulate how wonderful and inspirational she is.

Brave. Just one of the ways to describe the raw energy of her writing, that exposes the inner insecurities that every young person, trying to find themselves, goes through. It's this energy that so many critics have spoken out against but this is what writing is, to write about the ugly and the painfully embarrassing; creating something that is brutally honest but also a poignant piece of writing that tells the collective stories of so many people being a-young-grown-up.
 A big and unavoidable aspect of Dunham's writing is feminism, she has herself identified as being a feminist and her writing is to me- an iconic example of modern feminism. She not only writes about the lives of women but she illustrates an un-airbrushed approach to the depiction of women in Gossip Girl era,     Dunham's use of nudity has been criticized and it baffles me that the visceral reaction to her naked body (in GIRLS) is one of disgust. The notion that people are enraged only outlines the damage that the media has caused with unrealistic views of women's bodies and this is why Dunham has become a feminist icon (well, to me); her ability to be laid bare in the physical and emotional.            

Let's talk about GIRLS, it's finally a show that is truly about women and their friendships that are not vapid or cliche but a show of value that explores the familiarity of growing into the person you will be and the self doubt that quickly follows. The character's; Hannah (Played by Dunham), Marnie, Shoshonna and Jessa who are all (hilariously) discovering the trials of being financially independent, sexual adventure and the finding of themselves. Through this, she has created characters that are not varnished over to create comfortable stereotypes like many other shows that are cliche ridden in defining who these characters are but Dunham illustrates that they can be funny and intricately developed in their own story lines. The familiarity of the many quotable Hannah-erisms; 'I have work and then I have dinner plans. Then I am busy, trying to become who I am.' Just shows how Dunham has created a character that delves into the outright ridiculousness that we sometimes feel.         

Tiny Furniture (2010) was her first feature and revolves around Aura as a recent college graduate trying to find her place in the world, arriving back home to her mother and sister (her real life relatives). Words cannot describe how much I adore this film, it marks my first discovery of Dunham and her endearing mumblecore style that delves into a fragile world which Dunham delicately uncompromising  performance of a character who is unfinished and seeking to define herself. As you watch Aura reconnect with childhood friend; Charlotte (Jemima Kirke) and meander through the existence of a life not yet started-the solitude and self awareness that is scattered within all of Dunham's writing.             

So here's to you Lena and your boundary breaking writing and Wednesday night dancing.