By: Arimeta Diop
I may not be considered an avid TV watcher, but from the time I have allotted to Hollywood—and I mean for that term to loosely stand for the work behind what we view in media—I have noticed a trend that irks me to my core (now.com). There are few to no original, interesting female characters in a majority of television shows.
Now, I do not search for my next role-model in the late night lineups of FOX, the CW or any other station. Nor do I plan on starting any time soon. My bone-to-pick lies with the trend in which characters of popular shows are simply not well-rounded, fully developed aspects of the program; especially when they are females.
A few of my favorite shows include “New Girl” and “Bunheads”—which is canceled. New Girl has a female lead named ‘Jess;’ played by Zooey Deschanel, who also produces the show. It is ironic that an able, successful woman such as Deschanel would fill the role of Jess who is constantly incapable, but shucks her incompetence up to being “adorkable.”
From the very beginning of the series, Jess has been a character almost always second to the men in her life, even though she is supposed to be the dominant character. The show is named for Jess, but it would be more appropriate it be called, “Overplayed Stories of the Typical Girl.”
Her roommates include ‘Winston’ (Lamorne Morris), ‘Schmidt’ (Max Greenfield) and ‘Nick’ (Jake Johnson). All of whom are well-defined and intriguing male characters and 98 percent of the reason I tune into the show. Each of these men have the extra something to their character that Jess lacks: depth.
While these male characters have the range to go from cynical to charitable, Jess, as the main character remains one note: up-beat and optimistic. If the writers are feeling adventurous they will even make her a little down and sad, over a guy of course.
To put this in perspective, shows such as “Bunheads”, which features a dominantly female cast, handles characters with grace and clear respect. Characters which I must add were teenage ballerinas who could have become the biggest cliché just from that fact.
Now, even though Bunheads had nearly three times the number of female cast members, it managed to give each girl her depth and a full backstory. Relatable, genuine and quirky in its own right, “Bunheads” achieved what “New Girl” promised, yet it is no longer on the air.
For most of my life, I have heard the stories of both men and women, through literature or conversations and not one is better than the other because of what gender the main characters are. The stories were good because they were human; there was depth and honesty to them.
If producers and screenwriters today would stop conforming to the stereotype that women of their shows are only interesting when they are somehow relating to a male or sex in general, TV would find itself in a better place overall as a means of entertaining, artistic expression.