More
- Classifieds
- Cars
- Deals
- Real Estate
- Rentals
- Photos
- Find&Save
- Obituaries
- Archives
- Topics
- Blogs
- WP Wine Club

Why Lena Dunham is a Kardashian at heart

By Katherine Boyle,January 11, 2013

Lena Dunham, creator of the HBO show Girls at right, is essentially a reality-TV… (LEFT: Evan Agostini/A;…)

Katherine Boyle is a writer for The Washington Post’s Style section.

In Season 2 of the HBO series “Girls,” which premieres Sunday, lead character Hannah Horvath gets into a political debate with a Republican. When she says, “You don’t think [my gay roommate] should be able to have, like, a beautiful wedding like all the ones we saw earlier on ‘Say Yes to the Dress’?” the remark might sound familiar. That’s because it echoes a line from Lena Dunham’s Obama campaign advertisement.

Blurring the line between Lena and Hannah, between real life and scripted television, is what Dunham is all about. By mining her personal experiences for material for her barely fictional show, she’s essentially fashioning herself as a reality-TV star. And not just any reality star: Dunham is taking a page from the Kim Kardashian playbook of how to become famous.

Some Americans look down on those who are famous for being famous — unless those people are memoirists writing for New York magazine or telling their stories on premium cable. Go on “The Bachelor” to find fame and love, and you’re a desperate exhibitionist. Tell similar tales of relationship woe in a New York Times “Modern Love” column and — congratulations! — you’re probably well on your way to a book contract.

Dunham and Kardashian personify this contrast. Dunham, 26, is an Emmy-nominated writer, director and actress schooled in feminist theory. Kardashian, 32, is a reality-TV star who spells “classy” with a K. But Dunham is following the Kardashian business model: Overshare, overexpose and become famous for being you.

With Kardashian, the strategy is obvious: She uses a reality show and her strong tabloid presence to sell beauty products and fashion lines. Dunham’s moves are a little more veiled: She appears on a semi-autobiographical show and is hyped in revered publications such as the New Yorker and Time. There are also “Girls” beauty and lifestyle products — and Dunham will soon sell her first book.

Both Dunham and Kardashian have pushed the limits of decency in a tell-all culture: They’re comfortable talking openly about things that most of us wouldn’t be willing to post on our Facebook timelines.

Reality shows come in many forms, and there’s a clear line between scripted autobiography and improvised drivel. Dunham writes a reality show for an audience that’s uncomfortable with the trashy variety. She told NPR that “each character was a piece of me or based on someone close to me”: boyfriends, ex-boyfriends, people who annoyed her once. And the drama depicts awkward sex scenes, discussions of sexual fetishes and friends accompanying each other to the gynecologist. They’re so uncomfortable, they feel too private for television.

But without the witty dialogue and Golden Globe nominations, you’re essentially watching “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.” The highbrow “Girls” characters joke about the perils of sexting, just like the Kardashian women do. The girls mock Hannah’s tiny breasts — and the camera fixates on them — in the same way the Kardashian sisters make fun of Kim’s posterior.

Dunham’s fans might feel smart and in-the-know for catching the subtle reference to her Obama ad in “Girls.” Meanwhile, references to Kim Kardashian’s wider fame — an episode of her show dramatizes her supposedly difficult decision to pose for Playboy, for example — just look like crass, overt marketing. But whether they’re winking at viewers or flashing them, both women are using the same tricks, reminding audiences that these leading ladies are profitable brands.

Kardashian may not be as self-aware as Dunham, but they both understand that, to become a larger-than-life brand, it’s smart to sell more than a hit show. For Dunham, that has involved an eclectic marketing scheme that doesn’t always seem to fit her TV alter ego. For example, to promote the second season of “Girls,” HBO partnered with the salon chain Drybar to offer free blowouts to fans. The demand was so high that Drybar’s Web site crashed the day the promotion was announced. It was an odd marketing choice for a show about broke, 20-something girls in Brooklyn in which the lead character often looks unkempt. Does Hannah even own a hair dryer?

Anna Holmes, a writer and founder of the feminist blog Jezebel, highlighted another promotional partnership that seemed to be anti-Hannah: a “Girls”-themed spin class at studios in Manhattan and the Hamptons. On the show, Hannah isn’t exactly a gym rat.

“I was really shocked by this,” Holmes said. “My understanding is that it is an overpriced exercise experience . . . for 30-something, wealthy women with free time on their hands,” adding that the partnership seems “very off-brand.”