Lena Dunham, the creator of the HBO series "Girls,"
describes Kanye West's new "Famous" music video as
"sickening" while calling out the rapper for his misogynistic
portrayal of
women.
In a lengthy post on Facebook Monday, Lena calls the
provocative video "one of the more disturbing 'artistic' efforts in recent
memory."
She wrote: "Now I have to see the prone, unconscious,
waxy bodies of famous women, twisted like they've been drugged and chucked
aside at a rager? It gives me such a sickening sense of dis-ease. I know that
art's job is to make us think in ways that aren't always tidy or comfortable.
But this feels different. It makes me feel sad and unsafe and worried for the
teenage girls who watch this and may not understand that grainy roving camera
as the stuff of snuff films."
The ‘’Famous’’ video started with a tight shot of West
resting next to his wife, Kim Kardashian before panning out to reveal a topless
Taylor Swift look-alike. Other unconscious celebrity doubles featured in the
video include Donald Trump, former U.S. President George W. Bush and musician
Chris Brown, while singer Rihanna and Vogue editor Anna Wintour were reduced to
a pair of waxy breasts.
Some are praising the video. Artist Vincent Desiderio, whose
2008 painting entitled "Sleep" inspired the video, called it "a
feat of magic" and praised West's interpretation of his work in an essay
in W Magazine.
Meanwhile, West has defended his latest offering as "a
comment on fame" to Vanity Fair.
"It's not in support or anti any of [the people in the
video]," West said.
Dunham ends her post of "disjointed thoughts" by
imploring West to find other ways to make a statement without glamorizing the
exploitation of women and rape culture.
"Here's the thing, Kanye: you're cool. Make a statement
on fame and privacy and the Illuminati or whatever is on your mind! "But I
can't watch it, don't want to watch it, if it feels informed and inspired by
the aspects of our culture that make women feel unsafe even in their own beds,
in their own bodies."
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