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Girls, GirlsHBO, HBO, Lena Dunham, New York City, NYC, Shaolin
For those of you who watch HBO’s “Girls” – or at least follow the criticisms of it – you might have heard about last night’s episode. Titled “Boys”, it followed two of the male characters, Ray who is Hannah’s boss and Shoshana’s boyfriend, and Adam who is Hannah’s ex-boyfriend. Because Adam had a dog he stole or borrowed or whatever, the two decided to return the pooch to it’s owner – who lives on Staten Island.
Click here to see a local reaction to that “Girls” episode via SILive.com
Ah, Staten Island – my hometown. Some people here love it, others hate it, while the remainder are neutral. We are the Forgotten Borough in so many ways, and only received national attention when Hurricane Sandy ravaged us last October. So when the Island gets lengthy mention on the news or even a movie or TV show, I take notice – which I did last night during “Girls”.
At first I was tickled pink to see Adam and Ray enter Whitehall Terminal to take the ferry. But as I watched their adventure on the Island, I raised raised one eyebrow sometimes, but other times it was both. Here is my reaction:
Watching Adam and Ray bring a big dog on a leash onto the ferry made me raise one eyebrow. I’ve been taking the ferry to and from the city for years, and never once have I seen a dog on a leash allowed on the boat. The most I’ve seen a dog on the ferry was when it was in a crate. So don’t think that because fictional characters on an HBO show were allowed to bring a big dog on a leash on the ferry, you can too.
Adam and Ray’s verbal assault toward Staten Island was…amusing at times. It really didn’t surprise me. Many people who don’t know Staten Islanders or haven’t really been here (using the ferry or driving through via the Expressway does not count) say practically the same things about the borough. We are looked down upon. We are seen as the “armpit” of New York City. Just go to the comments section of the Huffington Post whenever it reports on the Island – the attitudes people have are no different from last night’s episode of “Girls”.
This line from the show, spoken when Adam and Ray are walking down a street after getting off the ferry, speaks some truth: “All these people, they want to live in Manhattan but they end up on this … weird little island watching the city in the distance with this quiet rage burning in their hearts.”
Is that overall true or false? No. There are some Islanders who do wish they lived in Manhattan, or even Brooklyn’s hip neighborhoods of Williamsburg, Park Slope or Greenpoint. For some, and I confess I am one of them, Staten Island is not a good place if you are 30 years old and single. I believe this place is good for those who are married and have kids. It is a more family-friendly borough compared to the other four, but not so much if you are not at that stage of your life. Others may not agree with me, but that is my experience.
But our island is not weird. There is no quiet rage burning in our hearts. Many of us accept our corner of the world as it is, and some wouldn’t want to live in the other boroughs. Seriously, what is weird about Staten Island? Has anyone actually been here? (Again, using the ferry and the Expressway does not count)
Finally, the girl who was the dog owner’s daughter was embarrassing to watch, for two reasons. One, it was pretty lousy for the writers of “Girls” to think we are all shallow, foul-mouthed bigots who do nothing but party at Webster Hall. But honestly…there are some – SOME! – who are like that here. It is sad they give off this image of Staten Island.
But again, that stereotype is not so true. In fact, a lot of what was said about Staten Island was not true. We have a huge mix of people of various attitudes, interests and intelligence here. To say we are all low class fools who envy Manhattan and are trapped on this “little weird island” is unfair. Basically, it is the attitude of New Yorkers who know no one or nothing about the borough, as well as though who don’t live in the area, but heard through the grapevine about our stereotypes.
It really sucks that this is how Staten Island is perceived by others. I hope the way we were portrayed by the media after Sandy will enforce a more positive attitude about us. By the way, that “Girls” episode was written and filmed before Sandy hit – hence the summery look of it.
I mentioned once that I would like to help make my hometown look better through my books. While I have no intention of sugar-coating or using novels as an excuse to portray the Island, I will use my work as an opportunity to let readers know about the Staten Island I know. No, not all my future work will take place here nor will it overindulge in talking about here (my book, The Dark Proposal, partially takes place on Staten Island, but it is not a tour guide). But I will do what I can to give my hometown justice.
Because after all, this is not really that bad of a place 🙂
Megan Cashman 
As a Long Island lass myself, I can definitely understand warped impressions of certain parts of New York. I imagine you know what the stereotypical “Long Island Girl” is, and you could imagine how I wish that entire stereotype would disappear. By that same token, I definitely know the stereotypes about Staten Island and the people there. I had family there and visited often while growing up, and suffice to say, I don’t see it as the “trash heap” it is often purported to be. It’d have been nice if Girls had a better representation of the underrated SI community, but then again, we’re talking about a show built by and for the Brooklyn Hipster culture, which is all about image, and if the image of Staten Island by Brooklynites is negative, so too will be Lena Dunham’s representation.
Very true, Kat re: representation and Brooklyn hipsters.
BTW, I have family in Long Island and my brother-in-law is from there, so I sympathize with Long Island stereotypes.
My husband is from Staten Island. I sort of fondly think of it as one of the few areas in NYC that might be semi-affordable at this point. My family is from Queens and Brooklyn and I was born in Manhattan; I’m still getting used to thinking of Brooklyn as ‘hip’.
It is more affordable than the rest of the city, but more pricey compared to other areas.
People at least 10 years older than me still find it hard to believe parts of Brooklyn are the new Manhattan – they remember those areas as they were back in the 80s and early 90s, which were far from pleasant. Then again, most of NYC was a mess in those days.
I’ve driven through Staten Island a million times but only stopped a few. It doesn’t have the same vibe as the other four boroughs, but that doesn’t make it bad. When I pick people up at JFK who are not from the area, I like to take 440 to the Outer-bridge back to NJ just so I can say, “So what do you think of New York City?” when the only think you can see is trees.
Re: Brooklyn being trendy… 2 miles east of the East River and it’s just another town.
Re: Dealing with people stereotyping you… I live in New Jersey. Need I say more?
Hi Megan,
Just found your blog. And I find this current article about stereotyping and prejudice provocative, because I never knew Staten Island had a bad rep, even when I lived in Manhattan. The New Jersey jokes, sure, but Staten Island?
I can understand race wars, political opposition, urban vs. rural, union vs business, religious confrontations…but bad mouthing STATEN ISLAND? I mean, is there really any significant difference between you and me, beyond our genders?
Is this country, our culture, THAT unhappy and frustrated that we have to point out teeny-weeny differences and then step on them? Are you island people taking jobs away from Real Americans? Do you eat your young?
WHAT is going on? Can’t we all get along?
Irv
teh missed poitn is this: Ray isnt criticizing Staten Island; he’s criticizing himself. At the end, it’s Ray who ends up on this ” weird little island watching the city in a distance with this quiet rage just burning,” in his heart.
Honestly, I happen to agree with the “shallow part. I used to live in BK til I was an early teen, then moved out here and lived here for over 20 years now….the women are very shallow, rather worry more about getting fake tans “snooki mentality” than hanging out with a nice guy. Also, not exactly the most friendly. I really don’t care who agrees and disagrees, this is fact based on my own experience living here for over 20 years. More then enough time to come to a valid conclusion.
Hell, I mean I have 3 close friends. 2 married, one with his girlfriend for over a year now. ALL of them met their significant other OUT of staten island, told me to do the same. What’s that tell you? lol
One thing I will say I like about Staten Island, well besides the S.I. Yankees is that politically it’s not totally blind like the rest of NYC.
I’m originally from the Bronx and grew up in Rockland County until leaving for the Wesgt and college at 17. I stayed in the suburbs or sometimes visited Manhattan with my dad, and never really visited NYC on my own, much less Staten Island or even Long Island for any reason. The city just didn’t really hold any allure for me….always seemed kind of dirty, etc.
Since then, I’ve lived all over the country, including both coasts, the Gulf, and the Mountain West.
Anyway, I’ve recently had to drive through Staten Island a few times (and no, not just the expressway) to avoid traffic on my way from Virginia to visit my wife’s family on Long Island. My impression of Staten Island driving through it has been “ugh…what a hole.” All the public streets with retail space are total eyesores with nothing but broken down businesses and low-class eye pollution (sad signage, torn banners, etc.). There’s zero culture. In the wake of Sandy, the NY Times claimed some of the parkland there is okay with some nature walks, but I haven’t been to them so can’t say if they’re clean or trash-free (knowing NYC, I can guess….).
Moreover, everyone I’ve ever met from Staten Island has been…er….pretty stereotypical. Really just low-information, money-focused, and not too worldly. Unless I’m missing something, Staten Island is truly a hole. I would never voluntarily choose to live there.
Two years ago, I voluntarily chose not to live there anymore!
Pingback: The Working Class Culture of Staten Island | SeegitzWrites.com
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