I’ve been as Lena Dunham-pilled as anyone since finishing her latest memoir, Famesick, but finding out the woman who gave us Girls turned 40 today felt like the perfect excuse to revisit some of her work. Strangely enough, even though I’ve seen Dunham’s 2010 breakout Tiny Furniture more times than I can count, I’d never watched Creative Nonfiction, her 2009 directorial debut made during her junior and senior years at Oberlin College—until now, that is.

Below are all my thoughts while watching Creative Nonfiction, which you can also stream with a Criterion Channel subscription.

There she is, with the required thick-framed millennial glasses and all!

I love this vaguely sexual, Secretary-ish story Lena’s character Ella is spinning.

Ah, an in-the-moment use of the R-word from 2009.

The guy she cast as her crush grosses me out now, but I probably would have been into him in college.

Why did we all have vintage globes in our dorm rooms?

I bet Dunham and I bought ours at the same antique store in Columbus, Ohio.

Themes of letting guys sleep over platonically in your room that later show up in Tiny Furniture…

Lena, I see the kind of self-referencing director you are.

If only calling the girls your crushes like “stupid” ever actually worked to get what you want.

I’m so emotionally overwhelmed by Ella’s poorly semi-bleached hair.

Being into men who can’t pronounce “hegemony”… oh, liberal arts college, we barely knew you.

Babe, don’t let this man into your bed.

I feel like I’m watching Jaws right now, but with a horny, annoying undergraduate guy circling the waters instead of a shark.

“…The way you broke three bones in the list of my heart.” LOL.

I mean, to be fair, all poetry is embarrassing when read out loud.

“I thought it was trite sometimes,” said every creative writing major giving feedback in a seminar ever.

Does 2009-era Lena Dunham have the same swoopy bangs I have… right now?

God, I’m vividly remembering how awful it is to hear everyone tear your writing apart in a “workshop” setting.

This girl wanting to jump in and defend her poem is very much giving Hannah Horvath flunking out of her Iowa MFA program.

To this day, I have fond memories of doing laundry with my friends in college (and I still judge the almost always Republican boys on my hall whose parents paid hundreds of dollars a semester for a laundry service to spare their precious sons that particular indignity).

The detail of Ella having towels that match her comforter is so “I’m in college and my parents love me.”

All I can think about right now is Dunham’s character’s mother (and Dunham’s actual mother, as it happens) screaming, “YOU ARE NOT EVEN HAVING SEX WITH THIS PERSON!” about the guy she’s letting sleep in her bed in Tiny Furniture.

Oh God, and now they’re spooning?

Ella’s attempt to look professional for her meeting with her professor (miniskirt and blazer, of course) is killing me.

A long, slouchy dress worn under a backpack really screams “college” (or at least how I dressed for it).

These gold script hoops on Ella…

The secondhand discomfort of this kiss scene is giving me hives.

Aw, Dunham has had some of her tattoos since before she made her first movie? Cute (genuinely).

When a guy says “I feel like I won’t follow through and you might get upset,” believe him.

I’m not saying every girl wants a boyfriend, but this specific girl definitely does.

Is that… Audrey Gelman?

Lena looks so young and vulnerable in so many frames of this movie, I could cry.

God save me from the college virginity debate.

Remember telling random people embarrassing secrets about yourself at almost any opportunity during college?

“I don’t intend to be anyone’s boyfriend” … it’s giving lie!

This raThis random bed-crasher has a lot of rules for someone who doesn’t even have a dorm room.
Being 32 has its downsides, but at least I don’t have to watch college kids “do music” anymore.
Female-friendship fight!
Lena doing what she does best, honestly.
How did I ever survive people randomly showing up at my dorm room in college—or even enjoy it?
I don’t trust this Carly girl, I have to say.
In my experience, people don’t want to hear your negative first impressions of them.
Wow, Ella’s room really is the go-to spot for sleepovers.
Okay, I was right not to trust Carly!
And Edie (also known as Audrey Gelman) was right to call her a “gremlin”!
God, girls can be so scary.
Especially when they’ve been hurt.
I love how little Ella knows about drugs.
The variety of wigs in this film… Nicole Kidman is shaking!
Watch out for the therapist’s son, Ella!
Although this guy is definitely a step up from the bed-crasher whose name I can’t remember.
Why does he own a recorder, though?
This guy’s cartilage piercing and Nintendo boxers… God, college sex is so undignified.
I mean, in a way, I guess you could say all sex is undignified.
Okay, Ella clearly has the ick (fair enough).
Oh, diva, leave the bed-crasher alone!
Ah, the spring break trip from rural Ohio to New York City. I know it well.

Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs based on the article 57 thoughts I had while watching Lena Dunhams debut film Creative Nonfiction The questions are written in a natural conversational tone and the answers are direct and simple

General Background Questions

Q What is Creative Nonfiction
A Its Lena Dunhams first feature film made when she was just 23 Its a semiautobiographical movie about a young woman named Ella trying to figure out her life relationships and writing career

Q Is this the same as Tiny Furniture
A No Tiny Furniture is her second film Creative Nonfiction is her debut which came before it

Q Why would someone write 57 thoughts about watching this movie
A The movie is very personal and raw so it sparks a lot of immediate unfiltered reactionslike when youre watching something cringey funny or weird with a friend and you just start commenting on everything

Content Style Questions

Q Whats the main character like
A Shes a messy selfabsorbed but very relatable college grad She makes bad decisions says awkward things and is trying to be a writer

Q Is the movie funny or serious
A Its both Its a comedy of embarrassment but it also deals with real issues like anxiety creative block and bad relationships

Q Does the movie have a clear plot
A Not really Its more like a series of moments from Ellas life It feels like a diary entry rather than a traditional story with a big ending

The 57 Thoughts Experience

Q Are the 57 thoughts mostly positive or negative
A A mix The author seems impressed by Dunhams raw talent but also frustrated by the characters annoying habits and the movies slow pace

Q Whats a common reaction people have while watching
A A lot of cringing The characters say and do things that are painfully awkward which makes you feel embarrassed for them

Q Does the article spoil the movie