New Girl Isn’t So “New” Afterall
When hearing about a TV sitcom titled New Girl, one would anticipate a display of humorous female-centric roles. After all, the word “Girl” is in the title, and therefore it would be expected that the strongest story arcs and humor would come from the “Girl” herself. The leading role played by Zooey Deschanel, Jess, is mostly described by audiences as “adorkable” because she is dorky and weird, but cute at the same time. In relation to this idea that women can’t be simply “funny” without a feminine approach, Jolles states that “women are expected to simultaneously express themselves and manage a normative gender performance.” (45) This concept is easily seen when comparing Jess to her male ensemble, …show more content…
We know Meriweather is hilarious because of the material she writes for the men which is both refreshing and original. Why then, not use it on the female roles? Does it risk their traditional gender roles which Meriwether comfortably uses?
When considering how traditional the gender roles are in New Girl, it begins to make more sense why Meriwether would (whether intentionally or not) reserve the humor and more complex story arcs for the men of the show. The other main female character, Cece, serves as nothing more than a stereotypical “hot girl” whose purpose is to roll her eyes at all of the goofy male behavior. Jess and Cece’s roles are so overdone in male-centric comedies that it makes you wonder why the title suggests otherwise. Mizejewski states on the topic of women in …show more content…
According to Peter Berger one of the great elements of humor in society is to prove that “things are not as they seem”. Berger mentions that from a sociological standpoint, when a person’s outward persona slips off his or her mask, it is an element of interest for those observing. He calls this “culture shock” without the “geographical displacement”. Getting to witness this culture shock in a person where things truly aren’t what they seem is not only what he describes as “exciting” but also “human”. We as audiences want to identify with these characters and get a sense of excitement from their actions, and this cannot be done with the predictability for the female roles that we are currently
When hearing about a TV sitcom titled New Girl, one would anticipate a display of humorous female-centric roles. After all, the word “Girl” is in the title, and therefore it would be expected that the strongest story arcs and humor would come from the “Girl” herself. The leading role played by Zooey Deschanel, Jess, is mostly described by audiences as “adorkable” because she is dorky and weird, but cute at the same time. In relation to this idea that women can’t be simply “funny” without a feminine approach, Jolles states that “women are expected to simultaneously express themselves and manage a normative gender performance.” (45) This concept is easily seen when comparing Jess to her male ensemble, …show more content…
We know Meriweather is hilarious because of the material she writes for the men which is both refreshing and original. Why then, not use it on the female roles? Does it risk their traditional gender roles which Meriwether comfortably uses?
When considering how traditional the gender roles are in New Girl, it begins to make more sense why Meriwether would (whether intentionally or not) reserve the humor and more complex story arcs for the men of the show. The other main female character, Cece, serves as nothing more than a stereotypical “hot girl” whose purpose is to roll her eyes at all of the goofy male behavior. Jess and Cece’s roles are so overdone in male-centric comedies that it makes you wonder why the title suggests otherwise. Mizejewski states on the topic of women in …show more content…
According to Peter Berger one of the great elements of humor in society is to prove that “things are not as they seem”. Berger mentions that from a sociological standpoint, when a person’s outward persona slips off his or her mask, it is an element of interest for those observing. He calls this “culture shock” without the “geographical displacement”. Getting to witness this culture shock in a person where things truly aren’t what they seem is not only what he describes as “exciting” but also “human”. We as audiences want to identify with these characters and get a sense of excitement from their actions, and this cannot be done with the predictability for the female roles that we are currently