Review Topic 3 – Page 4 – English 1102: Television and Feminism

After being trapped in a bunker for a decade, Kimmy finally experiences the lively world she has been missing out on for the past ten years and the lighting and direction style certainly reflect this situation throughout the entire series. In this post, I will be analyzing the cinematography and direction in the episode titled “Kimmy Goes to a Party!” (Season 1, Episode 7) of Kimmy Schmidt: Unbreakable, and more specifically how this episode provides a stark contrast to those previously in the first season.

Early on in the season, the first episodes are filled with quick, snappy cuts that make the viewers feel almost overwhelmed. This is deliberately done to make the viewer feel as Kimmy does living in the overwhelming city of New York after being locked in a bunker for 10 long, tedious years. However, after Kimmy gradually adjusts to this lifestyle episode by episode, the direction changes as cuts become longer and more problematic situations start to thicken the plot of the series. This episode is filled with suspense as Kimmy attempts to impress a guy she likes and Jacqueline Voorhees faces paranoia regarding a possible affair her husband had. Naturally, this episode is filled with some of the longest shots of the whole series as the characters must face these issues and invoke a sympathetic response in the audience toward the character’s issues (which is nearly impossible to do with the short shots that are common throughout the show).

In regards to the lighting, the show is filled in this episode, and the whole series for that matter with vibrant color as Kimmy is re-experiencing life in the lively New York City after being held captive in a lifeless, gray bunker for the previous 10 years. The costumes within this episode, like all episodes in the series, are vibrant, appealing to the visual eye of the audience. Kimmy is the perfect example of the vibrant color scheme of the show as she is always wearing some sort of clothes with highlighter pink, yellow or blue coloration. Even with the very bright lighting of a show set in New York City, the director makes it an apparent goal to make sure to go the extra mile by creating a vibrant wardrobe and including other items with playful colors to enhance the jubilant, open lighting of the episode to contribute to the warm-feeling shots of the episode.

Even with the bright lighting, this episode is not to unique from the whole series as a whole. The entire series is filled with the aforementioned color schemes and lighting in this episode. With that being said, it should be re-emphasized that the lighting in this series is wholly unique. I have never watched a show that was this visually playful and it truly contributes to the jubilant experience that the show is meant to be for the viewing audience.

Kimmy Schmidt showing her true 1996 kid style with the iconic bright yellow kids button down sweater

The noir cinematography and dark direction of Jessica Jones

By John Ryu

Episode 5 Season 1

As the plot of the show (and this episode) is very dark and serious, the cinematography of the show truly bolsters this tone by using a very dark visuals as well. More specifically, the show likes to use a classic 1940’s noir lighting by using hard light and immediately cutting to high-contrast black and white shapes. Sometimes during important dramatic scenes, the color becomes more saturated or softer during scenes conveying talent. Also, majority of the scenes in this episode took place at night, which I thought was interesting. I think the directors shot the scenes in this way to convey the night as a more warm and forgiving setting unlike most shows, which use the night to convey the exact opposite feeling.

Scene in the show depicting the white-dark contrast in lighting

In addition, the show tends to have long scenes with minimal cuts to purposely include the whole background including the main characters. Rather than having many up-close shots of the characters, the directors purposely included a wide background in many of the shots. Unless it’s an action scene, most scenes seem to have this quality. I think the directors purposely shot the scenes in that way to strongly convey the dark tone used throughout the show.

The episode I watched for this blog didn’t appear to have any distinct/different visuals compared to other episodes in the season. However, the episode did continue to reinforce some of the colors/tones associated with the character Jessica Jones. For example, Jessica Jones’ color on screen always seems a bit de-saturated, which I think supports her steely, cool nature. In addition, when Jessica is interacting with other characters, the scene would often show contrast colors between Jessica and the other character or characters to highlight Jessica. The color often contrasted would be darker and more classic black/white than the color surrounding or reflecting off of the character or characters Jessica was interacting with.

The Perspective of Grace and (of) Frankie

By Rafael Barrientos

Something very important to notice in the Netflix show “Grace and Frankie” is the way it is filmed. This Netflix show focuses on two main characters, and the cinematography is designed to give enough focus and camera time to the two main characters.

Normally, the show focuses on the struggles that Grace and Frankie face. Most of the time they face the same issue simultaneously. The filmmakers use this to their advantage. The newly divorcees tend to confront their husbands (more like ex-husbands) at the same time about the same thing, but in very different manners. The cinematography tends to shift rapidly between Grace and Frankie to parallel and juxtapose the confrontations their going through. This strategy further separates the personalities of the two protagonists, and further highlights the way they serve as foils to each other.

Even in the way they dress, Grace and Frankie are foils.

The show is typically filmed with very bright colors. This probably occurs because although the show deals with very controversial en complex issues, it never stops being a sitcoms. If the show would be filmed in darker colors, it could be seen as a drama or more serious series. However, the show often shifts to darker colors in some scenes to add more value and contrast the tone of these scenes with the overall tone of the sitcom.

One example is when in the end of the second episode, Grace is about to leave Frankie alone in her house. However, she realizes Frankie is not emotionally able to be alone at the moment, and puts her general annoyance to support her comrade. It actually is the first time Grace shows positive feelings towards Frankie in a grand manner. Here the series shifts to a darker, more blue color, to mark the significance of such moment in the series. Furthermore, Frankie remarks that she “is feeling blue”, as to hint to the change in overall colors of the scene.

Here we can see how the scene gets darker.

The Visuals Behind Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

By Nikhil Reddy

I decided to analyze the second episode of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt to study the show’s cinematography and direction. The show utilizes a diverse array of takes to enhance the scenes’ ability to convey different moods to the audience. For example, if the scene depicts a bonding moment between Kimmy and Titus or a motivational talk given by Kimmy to Titus, there tend to be fewer cuts and smoother transitions between takes. However, when conflict arises in the scene, the transitions are jarring and the takes are much shorter. This can be noticed in the scene where Kimmy reattempts grounding Xanthippe. The camera quickly cuts back and forth between Xan and Kimmy as Xan tries to verbally attack Kimmy and Kimmy fights back by threatening to expose Xan as a fraud to her friends. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt uses the combination of long takes and short cuts to sharpen the contrast between different moods.

Another interesting aspect of the show’s visuals is the lighting The lighting is always bright in the show, regardless of the setting. Even in Kimmy’s underground loft which she shares with Titus, it is always well lit. I feel that this is in large part to convey Kimmy’s positivity towards any situation. Her personality is always cheerful even when her situation does not reflect this. This can also be noticed in the brightness of her clothes and lipstick. In Kimmy’s confrontation with Xan, Xan tears Kimmay apart for her light up Skechers. This colorful color scheme is also seen when Kimmy throws the birthday party Mrs. Voorhees calls for. Mrs. Voorhees complains that the party color scheme will not match her dress, but the color scheme is predictable as the entire show follows this color scheme. Lighting and color scheme play a major role in the show’s portrayal of Kimmy’s character and that is especially evident in this episode. The party Mrs. Voorhees requested was Kimmy’s outlet to express her personality to the family. It is no secret that Kimmy is not self-conscious, rather she embraces her vibrancy.

Kimmy Schmidt’s colorful clothing choice, a common outfit of hers

Cinematography of Family Business Trip

By Bruce Qin

On September 24, 2018

Other than the main plot, cinematography is another essential factor directors use to communicate with the viewers. The way the director has designed the lighting, color themes, and shot choices can drastically change the viewer’s experience and the way the show is perceived. Lighting and color scheme can determine the mood of a particular episode and shot choices can create dramatic effects for action or dialogue. I decided to look how the directors designed the first episode of season two of Fresh off the Boat.

The episode begins with a flashback of scenes from the previous season, which is slightly darkened to give the typical “flashback” effect; however, it is not completely black and white like other scenes of flashbacks. It then changes back to the usual calming color theme that was predominant in season one. Since the show focuses on a family in a suburban neighborhood, it doesn’t necessarily have the vibrant colors of a big city but rather the color theme of a middle-class neighborhood in suburban Orlando. The shots vary in length as conversational shots are short and switches from character to character to focus on their facial expressions and responses to the conversation. Other shots could be longer but most of the comedic effects come from the conversations between the characters; therefore, the show has mostly short but well cut shots.

I chose the first episode of season two: Family Business Trip as it isn’t shot in the Huang’s house but rather at a resort that they went to. Instead of being mostly filmed in an indoor setting, many scenes of this episode showed the Huang family hanging out at the pool or at Gatorworld. As the scenes were shot in an outdoor setting, they were very well lit and portrays the idea of a family vacation in the hot, sunny summer. The indoor shots’ color theme and lighting remained relatively consistent with other episodes of the show.

Grandma enjoying her new hair at the pool

I think it is very interesting to notice how the show is filmed; I don’t always notice the cinematography behind each episodes but deliberately thinking about these factors made the show much more interesting to watch.

A New Safety, Scenery, Screwdriver

By Justin Lau

On September 24, 2018

For this blog entry, I will be focusing on the cinematography of the episode “Imaginary Enemies”. In this episode, there are a lot of major plot twists and surprises. Piper is struggling especially adjusting to prison life, she seems to be at a low point, hallucinating, but is pulling through day by day. We get a glimpse of Piper’s new roommate Mrs. Claudette and her backstory of how she got here. At first, Piper was afraid of Mrs. Claudette as a result of her serious demeanor and brevity to call out whoever she likes. Mrs.Claudette is well-known for her seemingly wise personality and courage as a person. Piper’s issue with the screwdriver and constant memory loss suggests her mental health may continue to decline and suffer as the show goes on. One of the inmates Mercy has gotten an appeal accepted for her case and was released at the end of the episode, creating a flush of emotions and change throughout this entire plot. This helped the prisoners see that there is possible hope in their cases, and to never give up.

With the cinematography, scenes in the prison were shot pretty blandly. There are numerous long takes when focusing on a specific person’s important commentary, likely shot to help viewers concentrate more on each individual’s traits and details they contribute to the overall plot. However, in the midst of sensitive scenes dealing with racism or stereotyping where the details aren’t as important to the whole plot, I noticed that there are much more quick cuts and switches to different parts of the environment.

A large detail noticed in this episode is the lighting of various scenes. In the prison scenes, the lighting was dull and it was clear enough to see items clearly and distinguish faces easily, yet it was obvious those scenes weren’t well-lit or anything like that. On the other hand, in the scenes where they throw it back to Mrs.Claudette’s past, the house present in the scene was extremely bright, and immediately lightened up the mood of the plot. Also, in Mercy’s farewell scene at the end of the episode, the lobby room was unusually more lit up than the other scenes in the prison. I believe the screenwriter intentionally did this to signify two different scenarios and that emphasize the fact that although all of these women are dangerous and potentially bad characters, the portrayal of these scenes reminded the viewers that the women had a previous happy life and the actions that led them into where they are right now(prison) are not necessarily just.

Boo with Piper’s stolen screwdriver

Making Prison Feel Like… Prison

By Lauren Garrett

On September 24, 2018

A typical episode of Orange is the New Black goes like this: we open a relevant scene from Piper’s pre-prison life. Flash to Piper’s life now, in Litchfield. Plotline begins to develop, related to another character as well. Flash to that character’s past life. Flash back to Piper, in prison, with said plotline. More flashbacks to reveal the background of the other character. Repeat.

Although difficult to follow sometimes, the transitioning back and forth through different scenes does wonders for how the story is told and for the viewers’ understandings of each character. Episodes tend to follow one character and their involvement with Piper heavily, so the exposition of each character comes out by episode. For example, while Piper fights back and forth with Red, the kitchen boss, we see scenes of Red’s past life in Russia where she is alienated and rejected by upper class society. These flashback scenes allow us to understand Red’s deep pride, which Piper repeatedly accidentally insults, and to empathize a bit more with her. She is no longer a crazy, evil Russian lady but instead someone who has also loved and lost and is suffering her punishment.

We love a humanized character.

Flashing back to Larry, Piper’s fiancé, and the rest of her family and friends allows the audience to also remember that life is continuing without Piper, bringing up a very real conflict that many long-time prisoners experience – they are disconnected from their families, friends, jobs and all other aspects of their life, leaving them with very little left of what they had before when they are finally released. Although Larry attempts to continue to involve Piper, including trying to have her listen in to a call with a Barney’s executive regarding her soap line, there are small signs that he is beginning to re-adjust to life without her, including hiding her picture as he watches Mad Men without her (something that he had promised not to do).

Notable also is the lighting, and the stark variance of the lighting between real-life and flashback. While showing prison scenes, the lighting is fluorescent and sterile; it gives the impression that the inmates are just that, and there is no coziness. Even at night, the highlighting that allows the audience to observe what is occurring is white and cold instead of yellow and warm, as a night light would be. In contrast, almost all flashbacks have softer lighting. They feel homier, friendlier and happier, even when the events depicted may not be. Here, the filming clearly aims to invoke feelings of emptiness, general hopelessness and longing for freedom while the inmates are shown in prison and aims at showing their happiness and satisfaction with life outside of prison.

Through this method of storytelling, viewers find themselves respecting and empathizing with each character, not just the protagonists, and they can begin to see the events of the show unfolding from different perspectives. It is genius, really – and we get sucked into it every time.

Sitcom Cinematography in Fresh Off the Boat: Similarities and Differences

By Jason Howard

On September 23, 2018

From the first glance, Fresh Off the Boat may seem to be shot similarly to most sitcoms, going so far as to have an establishing shot over each new location, but in reality there are several key differences between how Fresh Off the Boat is shot and other sitcoms that we are all familiar with. For this post I will review season 1, episode 3: The Shunning. In this episode the show begins with an expositional recap of the show that highlights Luis’s struggle to run a restaurant and Jessica and Eddie’s struggle to overcome their otherness in the community. This recap consists of quick shots of dialogue that help to reinforce the ongoing conflicts between Eddie and his peer group, and Luis and his restaurant.

Similarly to most sitcoms, a lot of the comic and dramatic action unfold in a common gathering area, in this case, a living room. Early in the episode Jessica visits with the other neighborhood wives to shoot the breeze and discuss an upcoming block party. The camera zooms in on the character who is talking at the given moment but it keeps a wide enough shot to include the surrounding characters, which helps to reinforce Jessica’s overwhelmed state as she tries to blend in with the neighbors.

(The Huang parents while still being shot together are given a wide enough shot to convey both their body language and a full background.)

The dialogue between two characters in a sitcom will usually switch camera angles to focus on the character who is currently speaking in the show. In Fresh Off the Boat that is most certainly the case but the camera will also include the shoulder or back of the person being talked to, so as to give a sense of their presence in the dialogue. This practice reflects the shows overall tendency to rarely depict the Huangs by themselves. Since one of the focuses of this show is to portray the struggle of members of the Huang family to fit in, most of the show is designed to feature interpersonal interaction rather than individual experience.

‘The Bold Type’ Changes Its Colors in for a More Somber Hue

By Jessica Barber

On September 23, 2018

During the binge-worthy first season of The Bold Type, the audience is constantly provided with an array of color and various objects in the background of the show’s predominant scenes. Light pastels and trendy patterns always seem to be floating around behind the characters’ faces and in their wardrobes. The show is filled with natural light and warm tones, and these entities add both interest and comfort while watching the show.

However, in “The Breast Issue”, the sixth episode of the series’s first season, this story changes. For example, Jane’s usual peppy, colorful-yet-professional outfits have been replaced by an all-black ensemble for this episode. This episode features more artificially-lit spaces, and there are definitely more struggles and personal issues presented across the board in this episode than in comparison to others.

In this episode, Jane has been assigned to write an article about a female health professional who is adamant about performing breast cancer-related tests on women at very early ages. The audience later learns that Jane lost her mother to breast cancer, and this provides an uneasy feeling as the episode progresses.

Flash forward, and Jane interviews the doctor in her office for the article. Careful observation of this scene gives a feeling different than in other episodes. The doctor’s office is a bland, off-brown color. This is a stark contrast to the abundance of color seen in the Scarlet headquarters building, a popular setting in the show. This purposeful occurrence changes the happy-go-lucky theme of the show, and the sheer importance of this scene is established by the lack of natural light. A cold manner is observed in the ambience of the room in which Jane and the doctor sit, and a coldness is equally seen in the women’s interaction.

On the other hand, the actual mechanics of the show change in this episode. This being a show about female empowerment and all, there is definitely enough extended shots to go around. However, in this episode especially, there comes a point where Jane loudly expresses her opinions to her boss. As the screen focuses on Jane, the manner in which she gets more and more upset as she cries builds upon the suspense that the shot places on her. This suspense is equally augmenting for the other characters as they come across struggles within this episode — Kat knows that she must fire a worker, and Sutton realizes that she misplaced a $5,000 necklace in a cab. The screen’s intentional, extended focus on the women in the midst of their struggles and fear connects the audience to their feelings and struggles throughout the episode.

Image result for jane the bold type crying gif

A drearily colored Jane apologizes to her boss after yelling at her in front of the rest of the company.

As compared to the previous episodes in the show, one ultimately sees that the unusually lengthy shots of the characters and their altered presentations through darker color schemes set this episode apart from the others in terms of importance and ominousness. But hey, of course, the girls resolve their issues as always, and we’re still on the hook for watching the next episode.

Everyone Must Wear Black!

By Jadah Peters

On September 17, 2018

The color scheme of this show is easily characterized as black. The three main characters all wear black. Boss lady Jacqueline wears all black. Supporting characters wear black. Even blurry figured extras in the background wear black. Day in and day out, the characters dress as if they are going to attend a funeral. Occasionally, characters do run out of funeral attire and begin to experiment with other colors.

Are they at an office or a funeral? The world may never know. I can only provide guesses to why the characters in the Bold Type are so opposed to wearing colors.

Aside from what the characters wear, the background typically displays a normal color scheme (grass is green, water is blue, taxis are yellow, etc.); indoors typically favors more neutral colors. In The Bold Type, cinematographic decisions are made to keep the focus on the characters because it concentrates on character development. The characters likely wear black the majority of the time so that their outfits don’t outshine them. The typical shots, in episode four especially, are long and follow the characters as they move within their environment, the audience sees what the main character sees. By doing these long, sweeping shots, the show has a smooth flow and the audience can really connect with the characters. Another way that the show keeps the characters highlighted is by shooting in shallow depth of field, meaning that the foreground which typically contains the characters is in focus whereas the rest of the scene is blurry. In terms of the lighting of this episode, the company building is always shown glistening in the sun, and unless it is night time, the characters are always well lit. Episode four stands out due to the way that it manipulates the lighting and shooting style during several critical plot points. One example of such cinematography is when Sutton had just found out that she is likely out of the running for the job she wanted, the lighting changed in such a way that it washed her out with almost a screen of fog, and there was bokeh ( typically appears as circles of unfocused light) all over the screen.

The circles of light in this picture are called bokeh if my description in the parentheses was not enough to understand what bokeh is.

This change in lighting is not only for dramatic effect but also to symbolize how things are unclear for Sutton because she rejected the stable job, but now the dream job has rejected her. Another moment that stood out in this episode is the series of quick shots that flashed between Sutton working on her mood board and Kat in the city at night. It was done partially to create of sort of montage of Sutton completing her project and partially to create a sense of suspense and mystery around where Kat was and what she was doing because the short takes only gave slight glimpses. The last element of unique cinematography is when Kat and Adena kiss, a sort of heavenly light shines down upon them. The episode concludes with this scene, this light, but heavenly light in the middle of the night cannot be trusted…

This moment is super important plot-wise, character development-wise, and of course cinematography-wise.

“One of the most jaw dropping scenes in television”

By Blair Johnson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jref4bWvRLs

Sense 8 is one of television’s most ambitious shows. With eight main characters and storylines spanning four continents, the show is a tremendous undertaking by Netflix. This is reflected in its astonishing $9 Million budget per episode. The actors in the show must constantly step in and out of each other’s lives, resulting in a world-tour production process. There are so many places for the show to go wrong, and yet somehow Netflix managed to pull it off- especially in the visual category. Case in point, Season 1 Episode 4 is visually stunning and cinematically effective, containing one of the most jaw dropping scenes in all of television.

The show has a very unique style, partly due to the nature of it’s story, and partly due to it’s intent focus on capturing the human experience. The main characters are a special species of human that has evolved to share each other’s emotions and experiences. This lends itself well to the major theme of the show: what does it mean to be human? The cinematography and production reflects this. The intro to every episode is long. Over two minutes. During this time, broad establishing shots ripped straight from Planet Earth capture cities, mountains, oceans, people, and everything in between. None of the characters in the show make an appearance in the intro. Instead, the show opts to give a broad overview of Earth and the people on it. By prefacing every episode with this, the show ensures that the viewer understands the broader context of the show. It may be about eight people, but it’s really about the experiences that we can all relate to, regardless of who we are or where we are from. Sense 8 is a show for the world.

When the show begins, one notices that shots in Sense 8 are long, often going seconds without dialogue and lingering on the faces of the main characters. The performances of the actors are put under a microscope in the show. There are many close ups and intensely emotional scenes, interspersed with little relatable moments.

In S1E4, we begin to see how each of the characters are beginning to blend into one another’s lives. It starts small, cuts between locations occur at moments when characters are in similar positions. This allows the show to perform the ultimate breaking of the 180 rule: cutting to a different continent. Scenes take place thousands of miles apart but are linked by the characters in them, seamlessly blending locations and characters through smooth cuts and clever compositing.

Above: Sense 8 season 1 episode 4 delivers a beautifully shot testament to the joy of living.

This all comes to a head with the scene I referred to as “one of the most jaw dropping scenes in all of television” above. The scene begins with Wolfgang being pressured into doing karaoke. Simultaneously the show shows us Riley escaping a rough night and going out in the early morning to listen to music and clear her head. As Riley begins to play “What’s up” by Four Non Blondes, we see each character slowly begin to hear the music. As they do, they each start to sing along. The camera seamlessly cuts from location to location as each character, in various states of frustration, begins to sing along. The music swells as the eight people begin to break into a happy, shower-style, singalong. The shots increase in their grandness, with Kala dancing on a rooftop overlooking an Indian city at dusk, and slowly comes back down to a less ‘cinematic’ and more relatable shot of Wolfgang and Kala dancing in a colorful bedroom. It’s emotional, beautiful, complex, and still relatable- capturing the raw joy of simply being alive.

The Cinematography of Glow

By Elijah Kessler

Cinematography is, in many ways, the unsung hero of television and movies. The lighting, colors, and shot choice can play a plethora of roles beyond the obviously important fact that the choices made with cinematography sculpts how the director portrays the show to their audience. These elements can also be used for character development, foreshadowing, and as a plot device, among many other important aspects that impact how the audience perceives the show.

In this post I will take a look at some of the ways that the first episode of Glow utilized cinematography to introduce the series to the world.

Ruth delivers the wrong dialogue

The show begins with this long, close-up shot of Ruth as she demonstrates her acting chops and masterfully delivers a dialogue intended for the male lead. Ruth is kept centered and as the clear focus of attention throughout this extended shot. We don’t know where she is, or she is with while delivering this shot. For all we know, since this is the very first shot of the series, Ruth is running some business and this is not a dialogue delivered from a script, but in fact her very own words. This is because the director focuses not on providing exposition here, but instead focuses on developing Ruth. We can see the strong emotions she’s attempting to portray easily since she is the clear center of attention in this introductory shot.

Ruth enters the gym

There are also a number of deliberate lighting and color choices made throughout this episode. In this shot, where Ruth first walks into the gym where the casting for Glow is taking place, the lighting is deliberately dim, and the colors deliberately muted. This gives the impression that the setting, and the people inside of it, are in a destitute state of affairs similar to Ruth, and appear to be desperately seeking work just as Ruth is.

These are just a few examples of how the first episode of Glow utilized cinematography as a means of characterization and exposition.

A Colorful View of American Culture – Or Not?

By Sofia Soto-Tredunlo

This week I started Fresh Off the Boat, and had no idea what I would write my blog post about. It wasn’t until my second viewing that I started noticing all the little details about the cinematography that are actually worth talking about

In terms of the shots, there is a pretty steady mix of long and short shots. While during conversation there are long steady shots, there were often short shots in between. These shorter shots were used to flash images of other characters faces to gage their reactions to the conversation. These shots help the viewer take the conversation less seriously and highlight the absurdity of the conversation. These are mostly used for comedic effect, but the more interesting analysis can come in the choice of color and lighting in the episode.

The first thing I noticed were the colors and lighting. At the start of the episode, as the Huangs arrive at Orlando, the colors and lighting are bright. In flashbacks to Chinatown, the colors are very dim. This creates a very positive image about white, American culture in the viewers mind. For example, upon arrival at the house a gang of moms wearing a bright neon assortment of colors approaches Jessica Huang (the Huang family mom). When Eddie is eating lunch on the first day, he looks around and his eyes skim over the bright colors on other children’s lunchables.

Note here all the busy patterns and colorful nature of the attire worn by the other moms

However, as the episode progresses forward, colors surrounding the American culture begin to become more dim and lighting becomes dark. The colors don’t become dim because they are different, but rather because the darker lighting makes the colors see that way. The next time we see this gang of moms roller skating with Jessica, they are in the shade and their colorful activewear suddenly looks much more dim. This shows that the realization is setting in that American life is not as appealing as it looks. This same strategy is repeated in the supermarket scene. It is night time and dark out, but the colorful sign for “Food for All!!!” is glowing in the darkness. When they walk inside on the other hand, it is fully monochromatic and bland looking. Jessica even refers to it as looking like a hospital. At the end of the episode, as the Huang family walks away from Eddie’s middle school, their surroundings seem dull in color while their clothes are bright enough to stand out in this scene. This signifies the Huang family’s realization that the true happiness does not lie in conforming to American culture, but rather through acceptance of their own.

The Huang family had to learn to accept their culture like this man loves himself

New Girl: Shooting The Funny, The Awkward, and The Normal

By Matthias Heyrman