I like Zooey Deschanel. I
thought she was good in (500) Days of Summer. I was hopeful about her being
interesting and talented. That is why I gave New Girl, 5 minutes of my time,
despite obvious reservations... If I didn't know any better, I'd say that
there's a conspiracy to pump a conservative agenda though mainstream T.V. with
the appearance of being liberal. And I'll tell you why. I happened upon the
episode where New Girl decides to have a one night stand but once she finds her
male equivalent of the dumb blond, who in real-life, if he had this dialogue
would be considered mentally impaired, she changes her mind, realising it's not
for her. And I thought, imagine she went through with the one-night-stand, had
great sex and went home thinking she'd found a new lifestyle. Now, THAT would
be a new girl. Because while shows like this love to show us promiscuity (because they're so hip), it's usually the
side-line character who has the easy morals and of course, low self-esteem.
She's the comic relief, the hooker with a heart of gold, she's Joey from Friends, minus the admiration.
Meanwhile, our girl-next-door protagonist seems to be shoehorned into a moral agenda where she never has sex without emotional involvement and her
career decisions are always made with her heart. Admirable qualities, of
course. But I'm predicting her career will never suffer - the tricky thing being, the downside to her choices is unlikely to be explored. So, why are we being
served up such patronising, conservatism with our mindless entertainment? I
mean, who's in charge of T.V. anyway? Bill Hicks claimed it's the corporate
brandateers who sponsor the T.V. channels, demanding a certain audience. The
question to me then is: are we getting what we want or are we being told what
we want? I think we're being duped. We want something new, something that will
surprise us. But most shows are only made to look progressive
because they'll start with a modern premise. Then, despite her freedom, the
newest girl will never really leave a safe "family values" perimeter
and the over-contrived plot will never have her lose out because of it. So,
really, no risk is being taken, nothing is being challenged and
we're just being served up the same old after-school special. Don't even get me
started on the male counterparts who always seem, in contrast, to be
family-reluctant morons, happy being treated as children. It's as if, in
representing women as being "able to do it all", the male stereotype
has had to be reduced to an extra child in the house.
I think it's easier to
put original programmes on T.V. in Britain, than in the U.S. There's less
advertisement - sponsor influence and corporate control and the censorship
rules are more relaxed and diverse across the terrestrial channels. Sharon
Horgan's Pulling is an excellent example of original, uncompromising T.V. which
was broadcast on BBC3. Even the insipid Coupling, the British answer to Friends
didn't bother with a moral agenda. Also in The States, religion
has had more ferver in recent years (to put it mildly) and there has been a revival of
family-value/traditional idealism. Which makes me think: Bill Hicks had such
faith in his audience; it's part of what has made him a cult hero - he believed
the audience was just like him and wanted his edgy, subversive style of satire - if he could only get passed the censors... But, maybe he was wrong. Maybe
there's no conspiracy. No mind control to keep viewers in the optimum state of
watching and buying. Just people getting what they want.
In which case, fine by
me. I can switch channels. Or, better still, I can buy The Wire on D.V.D. It's
just... don't call the damn thing New Girl!
I realise that I have
repeated myself, because here is my poem Sitcom Drops which has a
similar theme.
