The second episode in New Girl’s sixth season, “Hubbedy Bubby,” has a powerful theme, despite its foolish name. Throughout the whole episode, Jess, and optimistic and outspoken woman, is trying to encourage people to register for the upcoming 2016 election. The theme of the episode is that it is important for people to make their voice be heard and have an impact in their future.
The episode begins with Schmidt arguing that democracy is dead and that politics is all money and special interest groups. His cynical attitude sets him up to be Jess’ foil. In fact, he makes a bet that if she gets 5 new voters, he will vote for Hillary Clinton. His character supports the theme because he represents a large population of people who choose not to get involved because they think they have low political efficacy. He ends up getting dragged into helping campaign for Hillary, which is ironic because he is a Republican. This builds to the episode’s theme by showing that being a little involved is better than nothing.
Jess wants to campaign for Hillary, but when she gets to the campaign center, she is dissatisfied with the tasks given to her. The manager informs her to “just be respectful and informative” but Jess want to actually get out and recruit people and make change first-hand. She goes to a sorority house where she is greeted at the door by a woman saying “ew bye.” This is when Jess gets creative. She joins the party, but then talks about the importance of changing the world for their grandchildren and redistribution of wealth. After a long rant, she finally inspires the sorority girls to go and register (though she later leaves them because they support Trump). This emphasizes the theme in an unconventional way. Younger people may not be as attracted to politics and voting, but their votes are just as important, and sometimes they can only be reached through their interests, which is why television can be a powerful education tool.
The idea of creating change and speaking up for what you believe in is a theme throughout the majority of New Girl. Jess is a powerful and opinionated woman and she is always encouraging her friends to do more outside their comfort zone and speak out. She is always a positive character and leads the group into many adventures.
Speaking out and using your voice is so important in today’s age, which is why the theme of this episode is so relevant. Regardless of people like Schmidt, who are tired of politics, or people like the sorority girls, who just don’t care, democracy is still alive. This episode did a great job of using comedy, satire, and irony to convey a very important message and inspire young people to stand up for what they believe in.
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