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This is how I felt watching the pilot of New Girl. Which is sad, because there’s so much going for it. ZOOEY, first and most importantly. Then the thrilling fact that the main character is a nerd girl who’s not afraid to be herself, even when it’s embarrassing. Plus, the episode was directed by the same guy who did the Freaks and Geeks pilot. It even costars the cute fake director from Paper Heart! And for the first few minutes, everything was perfect. The camera panned in on Zooey as Jess, animatedly describing the stupidity of overly-curious, under-clothed heroines in horror movies. Unfortunately, all it takes is the next scene - when she’s in the cab consulting her model friend about stripper names - for that to begin unraveling. Jess, instead of being an independent, brainy girl going through a brief boy-induced breakdown, becomes a ditzy doll whose only goal is to get other people to fix her. She is completely dependent on those around her for support of every kind - her ex, the three roommates, her model friend. The scene where she’s getting ready for a rebound showcases this perfectly in just a few seconds. We see her posing on the floor of her bedroom spread-eagle as her friend comes in. “I fell off my heels,” Jess murmurs as the friend rushes over to pull her up. As far as I can tell, that’s the theme of the show. Jess gets into some quirky, Jess-ish situation and then freezes into an appropriate caricature until someone shows up to rescue her. Does this not seem sexist to anyone else? These three guys and a model (the ultimate symbol of restrictive femininity) smile and shake their heads at Jess’s silly litle shenanagans in this completely patronizing way…and yet at the same time make it their mission to change her into a sex object (instructing her to shave her legs, wear a LBD, hook up with strangers in bars; ruling out the LotR quotes, spontaneous singing and funny expressions). And Jess sweetly submits to everything, even lisping, “Thanks, Coach,” when one of the guys compliments her pre-date transformation. If Jess were anyone other than Zooey Deschanel, I probably would have just rolled my eyes and changed the channel. (Or, in this case, the hulu page.) This woman stars in two of my favorite films, All the Real Girls and [500] Days of Summer. In both those, she plays an independent, self-aware young woman who stays true to herself, even if that means losing the approval of those around her. That’s what I hope to see from Jess. And, hey, it could happen. I hope it does; I hope the pilot is a bumpy start before we begin to know the inner workings of a spunky woman who can inspire us all.

This is how I felt watching the pilot of New Girl.

Which is sad, because there’s so much going for it. ZOOEY, first and most importantly. Then the thrilling fact that the main character is a nerd girl who’s not afraid to be herself, even when it’s embarrassing. Plus, the episode was directed by the same guy who did the Freaks and Geeks pilot. It even costars the cute fake director from Paper Heart!

And for the first few minutes, everything was perfect. The camera panned in on Zooey as Jess, animatedly describing the stupidity of overly-curious, under-clothed heroines in horror movies. Unfortunately, all it takes is the next scene - when she’s in the cab consulting her model friend about stripper names - for that to begin unraveling. Jess, instead of being an independent, brainy girl going through a brief boy-induced breakdown, becomes a ditzy doll whose only goal is to get other people to fix her. She is completely dependent on those around her for support of every kind - her ex, the three roommates, her model friend. The scene where she’s getting ready for a rebound showcases this perfectly in just a few seconds. We see her posing on the floor of her bedroom spread-eagle as her friend comes in. “I fell off my heels,” Jess murmurs as the friend rushes over to pull her up. As far as I can tell, that’s the theme of the show. Jess gets into some quirky, Jess-ish situation and then freezes into an appropriate caricature until someone shows up to rescue her.

Does this not seem sexist to anyone else? These three guys and a model (the ultimate symbol of restrictive femininity) smile and shake their heads at Jess’s silly litle shenanagans in this completely patronizing way…and yet at the same time make it their mission to change her into a sex object (instructing her to shave her legs, wear a LBD, hook up with strangers in bars; ruling out the LotR quotes, spontaneous singing and funny expressions). And Jess sweetly submits to everything, even lisping, “Thanks, Coach,” when one of the guys compliments her pre-date transformation.

If Jess were anyone other than Zooey Deschanel, I probably would have just rolled my eyes and changed the channel. (Or, in this case, the hulu page.) This woman stars in two of my favorite films, All the Real Girls and [500] Days of Summer. In both those, she plays an independent, self-aware young woman who stays true to herself, even if that means losing the approval of those around her. That’s what I hope to see from Jess. And, hey, it could happen. I hope it does; I hope the pilot is a bumpy start before we begin to know the inner workings of a spunky woman who can inspire us all.