SNL: "Biblical Movie"

Eve arrives in Paradise and surveys the scene. Talking animals—a bonus! And the weather is ideal, so you don’t need clothing. (In this way, Paradise resembles the Perpetual-Summer-in-New-York-City in which Dunham’s “Girls” is set.) Problems arise, though, in this New Land—an abundance of problems, particularly for someone who likes clarity. One: Should the animals really be in dialogue with Eve? (“A snake just talked to me; is that, like, normal?” This makes me think of some of the many times when “Girls” asks what “normal” is. “I mean, of course there’s human shit in the street. Are you trying to tell me you’ve never taken a shit in the street?” “If you think breast milk is Liquid Gold, then I’m not sure why I have to keep asking you to try my breast milk—and why you keep turning me down.” “I’m pregnant; does that mean I have to start drinking water now?” Oh, come on, it’s fine to smoke in a bar; Giuliani let us do it.” “It’s totally acceptable to wear a bikini at the grocery store. This is a beach town.” “You’re in dungarees at an engagement party—which, knowing you…I’d say this is totally fitting.” Shoshanna, sneering at Hannah’s NYT piece: “Well, that is not ladylike.”)

So no one knows what is and is not acceptable in Paradise—and, worse yet, the nature of Eve’s romantic relationship is undefined. “I just want to know if we’re exclusive—or, like, will I find out from one of the animals that there are a million other girls or something?” (That casual second reference to the talking animals—this is why people repeatedly call Dunham a genius.) Adam can’t fully entertain the thought of Eve’s doubts; he can’t entirely hear her; brusquely, he says the matter is resolved. They’re together; after all, “God made you from my rib, kid.” (We can empathize with Eve here. Is Adam giving careful thought to the situation? Hannah Horvath went off to Iowa once with the sense that her relationship would survive the jump—and Adam then dumped on her a big pile of surprises.) Eve can’t hear the sweetness behind Adam’s protestation, and instead jumps on the idea of unjust subordination: “Made from your rib? That is so patriarchal. Damn it. I mean, take a Women’s and Gender Studies class already!” (We can sympathize with Eve’s thoughts while recognizing that her mode of delivery—a whiny voice, a stubborn refusal to hear genuine love in Adam’s words—is less-than-ideal. Eve is practicing the fine art of self-sabotage. Another major theme of “Girls.”)

Given all the uncertainty in Eve’s world, it makes sense that she’d want to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. (“That apple will make you really smart,” says the Shoshanna Snake, “and, no offense, but I feel like girls like you really need to be very smart.” It’s striking that Shoshanna—the stealthy genius, far wiser than her general presentation would suggest—takes on the role of Satan. “I know God said no, but that was just a suggestion.” Here, we might think of other times when commandments were construed, wrongly, as suggestions. Upon meeting Adam, Hannah steals almonds from Adam’s candy store. And Marnie, to Hannah: “I know you and Grover are telling me to stop singing, but I feel like you’re secretly kidding!” And Marnie, to Hannah: “Oh, I know you were protesting, but I think you really do want to get up on stage and sing ‘Rent’ with me….”)

The expulsion from Paradise follows. (“Can you please not apple-shame me right now? I know it’s Original Sin, but at least it’s Original, and I think I deserve some credit for that. You say I’m an adult? I’m three days old; I don’t even have health insurance!”) Bravely traipsing off into a menacing New World, Eve rejects the idea of clothing. “I’m not going to do that just to, like, conform to society’s expectations of me.” (No matter that the rest of Earth will not resemble perpetually-mild-and-sunny Paradise, and that God has likely already imparted this fact to Eve. Our girl has an idea of how she wants to behave—and, say what you want, she’ll “probably just act as she likes anyway.”) It’s a fine skit and a smart way of underlining some of Dunham’s preoccupations. Life is constant intrigue—even in the Garden of Eden. Stories don’t really change; you have the bare bones of conflict, irony, tension, tricksters, and allies even in the Paradise that God created. I wanted to highlight this skit because it has stuck in my memory. May Dunham sign on soon to return to “SNL.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6dqA-KQ3kE