New Girl – Page 3 – English 1102: Television and Feminism

Tag: New Girl (Page 3 of 3)

New Girl: Lights, Camera, and Dialogue!

On September 10, 2018

The visual composition of a shot in a TV show or film acts as both the frame for the elements within the literal camera shot as well as the ideas, themes, and concepts of the piece’s director; cinematography hence becomes vital in facilitating the audience’s understanding and interaction with the meaning of the show or film. In Elizabeth Meriwether’s show New Girl, the general cinematography of each scene — namely the duration of each shot, the lighting of the scene, and visual consistency between episodes — emphasizes the dialogue and interactions between the characters and grounds these characters in a believable and relatable setting.

While cuts often mark a change or transition temporally or spatially, the quick cuts in the bulk of New Girl instead mark shifts in focus between the dialogue, emotions, and actions of certain characters to the reactions of the others in the scene. For instance, in “Wedding” (S1E3), 7 cuts between Jess, Nick, and Schmidt are made in the first 17 seconds, averaging out to be one cut every 2.4 seconds. These quick cuts, combined with the consistent setting of Nick’s room, exemplifies the purpose of the quick cuts to highlight the exchange between the three roommates, thus demonstrating the priority placed on supporting the characters’ dialogue over progressing the plot through visual storytelling.

Similarly, the bright, even lighting of the set throughout each episode also serves to focus audience attention on the characters themselves rather than the relationship between the characters and their environments.

Nick and Jess talking, S1E4

Nick and Jess talking, S1E4

screenshots are from a scene taking place at night in Nick’s room from “Naked” (S1E4) where Jess attempts to resolve the awkwardness between she and Nick after seeing him naked, the bright. The saturated lighting in these shots establishes the focus of the scene onto Jess and Nick’s interactions. Beside just creating a clear shot for the camera, the uniformity of the lighting on the two characters also creates a sense that Jess and Nick are physically close in proximity, thus helping to resolve the crisis between the friends.

In order to increase the relatability of the characters to a viewership as vast and diverse as the watchers of cable TV and Netflix, the cinematography and visual composition from episode to episode stays consistent in order to create a sense that the show’s characters live in the audience’s reality regardless of how crazy their actions and motives may be. For instance, the similar angles, lighting, and setting between the shots from episode 3 above and the shots from “Cece crashes” (S1E5) establishes a basis of normality and consistency in the characters’ lives, thus eliminating the need to suspend one’s disbelief when assessing their motivations and emotions.

Jess and Cece argue, S1E5

Jess and Cece argue, S1E5

The quick cuts, bright lighting regardless of time of day or space, and consistency of shots between episodes contribute to the focus of the show on how its characters interact with one another in a humorous way while also drawing attention towards the same feelings of joy and pain of living an ordinary life.

Netflix. “New Girl S1:E4 ‘Naked’.” Online Video Clip. Netflix. Netflix, 2018. Web. 10 September 2018.

Netflix. “New Girl S1:E5 ‘Cece Crashes’.” Online Video Clip. Netflix. Netflix, 2018. Web. 10 September 2018.

simpathy22. “Best of Jess | Season 1 | New Girl.” Online Video Clip. Youtube. Youtube, 2 March 2016. Web. 10 September 2018.

Putting the Girl in New Girl

By Alex Mealey

On September 10, 2018

In Review Topic 5, Uncategorized

So far in this course, I’ve watched a lot of television and tweeted more often than I ever have before, and if I’m being honest I’ve enjoyed it. And as much fun as it is to watch these great shows it’s easy to forget that there is a purpose here, and it is to investigate how feminism is making an impact on modern day television. So let’s get to it, let’s look at the portrayal of gender in New Girl.

Firstly let’s break down the representation of gender within the main character’s. There are a total of 6 main characters as of now: 5 male and 2 female. The four male characters (Nick, Schmidt, Coach and Winston) all live together with Jess. The two female characters (Jess, and Cece) are best friends going through an interesting point in their lives with Jess recently moving in with the guys.

The men do perpetuate the common idea that all guys in their 20’s love to drink beer, go to bars, and watch sports. Schmidt’s stereotypically male character, who is obsessed with hooking up with attractive random girls, is balanced by Nick’s emotionally vulnerable persona. Then there is Coach who’s so guyish that he can’t talk to women (hilariously so).

Then there’s the female characters and for the purpose of this blog we are going to ignore Cece since (two episodes in) she hasn’t contributed much to the plot line. So let’s talk about Jess. Jess is an emotionally unstable grade school teacher who loves to sing to herself and, no matter how hard she tries, can’t seem to be one of the guys. There is a strong dynamic that exists in the show based upon the fact that the guys and Jess are fundamentally very different, but not in the way that I expected. I expected Jess to be an over the top feminine character who struggles to deal with the guys life. Instead, Jess struggles to fit in with the guys, not because she’s girly, but because she’s incredibly awkward (and fun to watch).

Jess stands out as a very unique female character the likes of which I haven’t seen before in a comedy. And perhaps the most interesting part of this show is that Jess and her actions are the driving force of the show. No matter the advice given by other characters or the desires of others, the show relies on Jess to make decisions to move the plot of the story. You might think this is obvious since Jess is the main character, however, in other shows this is not the case. For example, in Jane the Virgin, Jane is the main character but her decisions usually have little effect on the storyline and rather the decisions of those around her drive the plot. New Girl stars a unique female lead who is, without a doubt, making her own decisions and in charge of her own life. An interesting development when looking at feminism in television.

Who’s ready to party!? And talk about the world we want to leave our grandchildren?

By Zoe Maisel

On September 10, 2018

In Review Topic 4

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.

Jess and Cece were ready and excited to encourage young Americans to vote.

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.

Wanna know about the New Girl?

By Inhee Baek

On September 4, 2018

In Intro Post

Hi guys, I’m Inhee Baek. I am a sophomore majoring in chemical engineering. My anticipated year of graduation is 2021 but I plan to do co-op, so hopefully, I graduate by 2022.

I was not a big fan of English in high school. This made me worry when I decided to take ENGL 1101 at Georgia Tech but it went pretty well because the topic was interesting.

I enjoy the oral mode of communication. I am a person who likes to talk and listen to others. I can clearly express my opinion and understand what others are trying to convey.

Me being confident about the Oral mode of communication

However, I struggle with the written mode of communication as I mentioned in my First-Week Video. Since we have many assignments associated with written mode of communication such as blog posts and twitter, I hope I can improve upon my writing skills in this semester.

I have not watched a TV show since I came to Tech a year ago. Before I came to Tech used to be a TV fanatic. If I am into a show, I binge Netflix at 3am even if It is a weekday and I have an 8AM class the day after. I know that this will make the life at Tech hard because they make it hard to manage my time efficiently. That is why I intentionally stayed away from TV shows. But now I can binge-watch and say it is my English assignment!

Me telling myself it’s fine to watch TV all day because it was an English assignment

I have chosen to review the New Girl. This show is about a girl, Jess, who moved into an apartment with 3 guys and the events that occurred between them. I have already seen the first few episodes and became a big fan of this show. It has an interesting theme and the chemistry between the characters is strong. After I finish this Introductory Blog Entry, I am going to start binging!

New Girl: the show that proves death by second-hand embarrassment is real

By Anika Islam

On September 4, 2018

In Intro Post

My name is Anika, I am currently a biochem major, and I am hoping to graduate by 2022.

English 1102 is my first English class at Gatech, and I really enjoy writing creative short stories or answering hypothetical prompts. I really hope to improve my non-verbal communication skills, especially how I convey my facial expressions.

I am TV binger, and once I start a new show I race to finish it. That’s why, for the sake of my mental sanity, I try not to start new shows.

I took Ap euro and APUSH so I have some experience with the topic of feminism.

Our main character is Jess: the living definition of quirky. Although her heart is in the right place, she makes the very act of breathing awkward.

This promo poster features all the main characters of New Girl for season one

To exemplify, my favorite quote from the first episode is when Jess says “…but wouldn’t it be better to find a girl who you really care about to motorboat? Then maybe, if you’re super lucky, you might find a girl who’ll motorboat you right back”. To which Nick replied, “I don’t think she knows what motorboating is”.
To further prove Jess is the dictionary definition of awkward, we start the series with Jess being broken up with while she was naked. The new girl is at times far too much to handle for someone who suffers from second-hand embarrassment, like I do. Jess does things that at times makes you wonder how she has not yet died of embarrassment.

We first start the show with our Jess’s new roommates Nick, Schmidt, and Bill interviewing her. In the first episode, we find out that both Nick and Jess just recently broke up. The first episode acts as a comparison with how Jess and Nick both deal with breakups they didn’t want to happen. How well they handled it, or didn’t handle it, also displays how mentally unstable these two characters are. Jess is super depressed that Spencer broke up with her, and the movie Dirty Dancing basically became her replacement boyfriend. Winston, my favorite character and final roommate, is only introduced in the second episode.

I chose to review new girl because what really makes this show hilarious and loveable is the friendship dynamic between the roommates. The roommates always help each other out, meddle where they shouldn’t, and make each other insane, which not only drives the plot of the show, but also the emotions of the audience. Even at the end of the first episode, Coach, Schmidt, and Nick rescue Jess when her date ditched her. One of the biggest things to note about this show is the all the main characters are drastically different, yet you can’t help but like and root for all of them. Even when Jess is a weird pushover and Schmidt acts like the douchebag of the house; actually, the corporate douchebag.

New Semester, New Girl

By Wendy Yao

On September 4, 2018

In Intro Post, Uncategorized

Hi, my name is Wendy Yao! I’m a first year majoring in chemical engineering, and like most other freshmen, I hope to graduate by 2022 … but we’ll see.

Me in 2022 when I’m supposed to graduate

English has always been one of my favorite classes, though they’ve generally been “traditional” English classes filled with reading quizzes and poetry discussions. My high school English classes were generally chill because strict memorization was less important than synthesizing creative arguments or debating the virtues of Shakespeare’s antagonists, though there were still assessments to worry about.

Out of all the categories for communication in WOVEN, my most favorite would be written, and my least favorite would be oral. After all these years of practicing my writing skills, I’d like to believe that they’re at least semi-decent. I enjoy using written communication because of its permanence and because of the time I’m given to compose and collect my scattered ideas. Even when writing this blog post, I’ve been jumping around, writing some sentences first before going back to fill the gap. As a result, my issue with oral communication is that I like having time to gather my thoughts, whether it’s presenting a coherent response to “How may I help you today?” or contributing thoughtfully to a group discussion.

English 1102 is my first and last English class at GT, so it’ll definitely be memorable, especially because of the course theme. I grew up watching some TV in the form of PBS Kids and CW4Kids shows, such as Clifford the Big Red Dog and Yu-Gi-Oh. At some point in my childhood, TV just kind of faded away to a distant past. One constant in my life, though, has been Chinese dramas. Wuxia dramas were integral in my upbringing, and I still manage to find the time to fit in each remake that happens every few years to bask in the nostalgia, unless, of course, the remake is terrible, in which case I just binge my favorite version, all 60 45-minute episodes. Now, besides c-dramas, I’ve also added Korean dramas to the mix, which tend to average at about an hour long for each episode, so procrastination occurs whenever I’m sucked into the productivity-eating vortex that is Asian dramas.

When you think you have enough time to finish your homework after binging a drama

I’ve chosen to review New Girl, which is a sitcom that finished airing on Fox this year about a zany teacher named Jess in Los Angeles who suddenly moves in with three guys because of a break-up. I chose this show because the premise and the first episode seemed cheerful and quirky, and I’m interested in learning more about how the relationships among the main characters will play out. Once I get into a TV series, I can’t stop, so the 20-minute episodes and the definite ending to the show are going to be a blessing.

Who’s That Girl? It’s Zoe!

By Zoe Maisel

On September 4, 2018

In Intro Post

Hi! I’m Zoe Maisel. I am an industrial engineering major from Cumming, GA. I am so excited to take on my first English class at Georgia Tech! I enjoy written and electronic communication, so this project is pretty exciting for me. A great combination! I can’t wait to spread my thoughts, opinions, and ideas throughout my own personal cute lil blog. I struggle with nonverbal communication during public speaking, so this is a great way for me to hide behind my computer and avoid working on that… just kidding! kinda. But for real, I truly do hope to improve on my body language, accenting, and tone throughout the semester.

Hashtag excited for all the electronic communication in this class

I chose the television and feminism theme mostly for the feminism side. It is something I am very passionate about and I can’t wait to delve deeper into the history and evolution of it. I want to make sure I am thoroughly and properly informed so that I can spread the knowledge and importance of feminism. And fight for equality!

Be prepared for plenty of feminist rants during class discussions.

However, I am not an expert on the TV side. I have a history of starting shows and never finishing them. I either get bored or can’t find time to continue them. Don’t get me wrong, I have my favorites that I have finished and obsess over (One Tree Hill, How I Met Your Mother, The Office), but TV is just not really my thing.

But this semester, I am determined. It will be my thing. I am going to integrate it into my new college life.

Image result for new girl gif it's perfectly fine to watch tv all day

I will be reminding myself these wise words from Nick Miller

I have chosen New Girl to review, specifically season 6. I was a big fan of seasons 1-5. This is actually a perfect assignment because I had not watched TV in a while, and I did not know that there was a new season of New Girl until I logged in to Netflix to watch The Good Place. It was exciting news! New Girl is about a quirky and fun-loving woman who moves into a loft with 3 very fun and interesting men. They go on many crazy adventures and each of them is hilarious in their own way. I chose this show because I enjoyed the previous seasons and watching them for comedy, and now I get to analyze this new season and discover new information about the show’s characters, writing, gender roles, and so much more.

Me when I realized I get to watch more New Girl AND make a blog about it

New Year, New Class, New…Girl?

By James Fan

On September 3, 2018

In Intro Post

Hello, English 1102! My name is James Fan, an electrical engineer from the graduating year of 2022 (if everything goes to plan)! While I am going to one of the best tech schools in the country, I’m still looking forward to the opportunity to strengthen my analytical skills by diving into the projects, group work, and discussions this semester in Dr. Wilson’s class!

Image result for new girl gifs

Getting pumped to watch TV for class

Though this is my first English class at Tech, I’ve still strove to push my writing and language skills to my limits ever since joining the IB program at my high school. Looking back at my experiences in all of my English classes, I can safely say that written communication is still my weakest skill that I hope to continue to improve. However, as challenging as it is for me, it’s still by far the most enjoyable part of communicating because of how concise, fluid, and editable it is.

As a part of my 12th grade IB English class, I examined numerous instances of feminist, racial, and gender themes throughout a cross section of both classic and contemporary literature: novels, poems, essays, news articles, and beyond. Because of this, I definitely have come into contact with a lot of the themes this course plans to cover, but I am still grateful for the chance to tackle these themes with more nuance and attention and to explore the implications of these ideas in television and mass media.

That being said, I’m a little anxious about this class; it’s been years since I’ve watched a TV show, and I’m certainly out of the loop….. But there’s no time like the present to jump back in and analyze them to death!!

The TV show I’ve chosen to review this semester is New Girl, a 20-minute sitcom about a young female elementary school teacher moving into an apartment room with 3 young men. I chose this series because I want a few good laughs (god knows I’ll need it at Tech), and I also chose the show because I believe the more serious themes, i.e. feminism, are often overlooked as a result of the overt humor and jokes.

All in all, I can’t wait to immerse myself into feminist theories and find their applications in modern television!

My First and Hopefully Worst Blog Post

By Matthias Heyrman

On September 3, 2018

In Intro Post, Uncategorized

My name is Matthias Heyrman, I’m a Biomedical Engineer (Business Major Eventually) hailing from the hills of Fairfield, CT, hoping to graduate in 2022 but expecting to graduate in 2023. English is by far my worst subject in school. Though I am a self-proclaimed expert in oral communication, and my friends believe that I practice a bit too often. My worst subject though (besides writing) is visual communication. I can neither produce nor understand visual communication, and in trying to improve this fault am practicing to create videos, gifs, and drawings whenever I have spare time (if I have spare time, this IS Georgia Tech).

I generally don’t watch much Television. TV is usually a background noise for when friends are over and I need something to avoid the inevitable awkward silence of life, and the majority of TV that I watch and pay attention to is old but gold BBC content (any Yes, Minister! or Monty Python fans here?) and some more recent British content, since it is not possible to convince my parents to watch more silly American media. I do have the fault of binging shows on Netflix (and via other means) whenever a friend recommends a show that I get caught on, which has occurred with Parks and Rec, Brooklyn 99, Disenchantment, and various other funny but ridiculous shows. But these are largely exceptions in my usual media consumption habits, and taking a class that requires large amounts of TV consumption is going to be a somewhat daunting challenge.

How I usually feel when forced to watch TV

Despite this, my primary means of media consumption are YouTube and Reddit, the dumping ground and front page of the internet respectively. I watch endless amounts of videos ranging from channels like TierZoo, to Kurtzgesagt, to Casey Neistat, to Daily Dose of Internet (recommended for people who wanna see happy 2-3 minute videos every few days). Unfortunately, due to the nature of the Internet I also get stuck watching endless amounts of content that isn’t very interesting.

None of us like spam but it’s a fact of life when browsing Reddit

I am going to be watching and reviewing the show New Girl, a show about a girl, Jess, moving into an apartment with 3 men in Los Angeles, and the dramatic and ridiculous events that ensue as they must in a Sitcom. I have already seen the first episode of the show and have been resisting binge-watching it in order to get work done in my first year of college, but now I have a school-related excuse to watch a show that I have been interested in for a few weeks, and I hope that studying it will give me greater insight into how Sitcoms use Visual and Circumstantial comedy. All that’s left now is to start binging!

New Girl is for new girls right?

English 1102: Television and Feminism

Dr. Casey Alane Wilson • Georgia Institute of Technology

Tag: New Girl (Page 3 of 3)

New Girl: Lights, Camera, and Dialogue!

Putting the Girl in New Girl

Who’s ready to party!? And talk about the world we want to leave our grandchildren?

Wanna know about the New Girl?

New Girl: the show that proves death by second-hand embarrassment is real

New Semester, New Girl

Who’s That Girl? It’s Zoe!

New Year, New Class, New…Girl?

My First and Hopefully Worst Blog Post

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