The media loves to hang on every word a celebrity says, often ignoring the fact that famous people can change their minds, too. During Girls’ PaleyFest panel, moderated by Judd Apatow, outspoken creator Lena Dunham aptly addressed the evolution of the series by using her own growth as an example.
I don’t regularly reread interviews with myself, but I found something on my computer and I reread it and I said the words, “I’m not a very political person,” which is something that I really can’t relate to anymore. It’s amazing how much you can grow and change in five years because I don’t relate to that sentiment in any way. I think I thought that’s what you’re supposed to say, and “I let my art speak for itself.” But the fact is we do care deeply about politics, we do care deeply about things in the United States right now, particularly to women, to women of color, particularly reproductive rights. We don’t set out to be didactic or to turn our show into a Trojan horse for all things that you should vote for. The natural truth of our politics comes through in what we’re doing because we tell stories not just about the world we live in, but about the world we want to live in…
I love to see in pop culture where people publicly say, “I didn’t understand before but now I do”…”I didn’t identify as a feminist because I didn’t know what it meant.” Or, “I’m sorry I said something ignorant about Ferguson, I hadn’t done the proper research.” I think it’s a really big gift people give to the world when they show that changing your mind…is a natural and very healthy part of human development.
Additionally, when an audience member asked Dunham how she strikes a balance between having realistic female characters while pushing feminist views, Dunham gave this answer: “We have the central belief that being complex, annoying, and multifaceted is the right of women on television…It’s a form of representation we’ve been lacking for some time.”
The crowd erupted in applause after Dunham’s remarks, which also got the support of fellow panelists Andrew Rannells, Allison Williams, Alex Karpovsky, Bruce Eric Kaplan, Ilene S. Landress, and Jenni Konner.
See what kind of advice the Girls stars would give their characters.
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