BROOKLYN — Can we have too much freedom?
Page Two
Posts written by the IHT’s Page Two columnists.
That’s the question behind my latest Currents column, where I discuss what “Downton Abbey” and “Girls,” two wildly popular television shows set 100 years apart, have to tell us about ourselves and our society — especially when it comes to personal freedom and its consequences.
What begins on ‘‘Downton’’ as a new liberty to follow your heart, to dare love that others find unwise, has culminated in ‘‘Girls’’ in romantic pursuits that are dully mercenary and often unwise. The daughters of the sexual revolution are depicted without much agency: far from being conquerors, initiators, even equals, the girls of ‘‘Girls’’ are reactors, giving in to an ex who changes his mind, or a gay man wanting to try something, or a financier seeking a threesome that he manages to upgrade to (traditionally twosome) marriage.
I discussed the dangers of today’s freedoms with Rendezvous’s editor, Marcus Mabry, in this video, here and below. (I also argue that today’s India is “Downton.”)
Do you agree with my analysis of the drawbacks of what we call Western-style freedom? Is there a happy medium between the strictures of “Downton Abbey” and the ceaseless longing of “Girls”? In the video, I suggest Latin America is a modern society that, in places, has found the balance between personal freedoms and a collective sense of belonging. What society or country or group would you nominee?
IHT Rendezvous: 'Downton Abbey' vs. 'Girls': Who's Happier?
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IHT Rendezvous: 'Downton Abbey' vs. 'Girls': Who's Happier?
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IHT Rendezvous: 'Downton Abbey' vs. 'Girls': Who's Happier?
