Hate the Zooey Haters.

I don't think I knew that people hated on Zooey Deschanel so much until I completed our readings for the day. WHO HATES ZOOEY DESCHANEL?! I fell in love with this adorable little weirdo during her brief stint in Almost Famous, and perhaps that's where she started her journey into being as "indie" as she is oftentimes labeled. I just don't understand why people have such an issue with the fact that she IS indie, "adorkable," and seemingly innocent. I mean, to be totally honest, while she does fall into particular roles because she clearly fits the mold, from the few episodes of New Girl that I've seen, I think that she and Summer of 500 Days of Summer are practically polar opposites.

I remember watching the first episode of New Girl and thinking, "Wow. This should be interesting. Watching Zooey Deschanel in a role where she doesn't seem supremely confident." And that's one of the reasons that I kind of enjoy the show. In 500 Days of Summer, that seems to be Summer's problem -- she's so confident, but just doesn't necessarily buy into the idea of true love and thus ends of leaving poor Joseph Gordon Levitt heartbroken. It's interesting to see her flip the coin: Jess is quirky and childish, sure, but Deschanel pulls that off well too! I don't really buy into the idea that the show is "anti-feminist" to be totally honest and part of that might stem from the fact that I'm such a strong supporter of her as an actress in general, but what all of these articles seemed to hit on was that Jess seems to be "weak." She's not weak though, she's just girly, and it's refreshing to see a character like Jess on TV again. So what if she gets guidance from her three guy roommates? She's admittedly fallen flat on her face after having found out that her boyfriend was cheating on her (which seems pretty reasonable to me) and is simply picked up by her new friends. It seems pretty standard; no stereotypes seem to be reinforced in my opinion and Deschanel doesn't seem to play into some "damsel in distress" character. She can stand up for herself, just as Summer does, and when she needs to get down to business, she can be a bitch.

(I'm also just realizing that Zooey is in my two favorite movies after writing this post...hate the haters.)

New to New Girl

Before completing the reading on Zooey Deschanel and New Girl, I had watched half of one episode, so I really had no opinions either way on the show. After reading the articles, I gathered some conflicting view points, and I wasn't sure which side I should agree with. So, I decided to watch an episode on Hulu to gain further insight. I chose the episode "Naked" mentioned in one of the articles, and I thought it was hilarious. I thought there were several great characters that each brought something different to the show. However, I could still find bits and pieces of both arguments that were made. From the first article, they made a point that the show relied on themes of "Big Boys teaching the Little Girl how to be a "woman."" In the article "Is New Girl Secretly Feminist?", they talk about how Jess is heavily infantilized. I thought these were interesting points that tie back into the impossible beauty standards placed upon women. Women are supposed to be youthful and innocent, and the fact that Jess can't say the word 'penis' really highlights that. Also, in the interview with Liz Meriwether, she mentions that Fox totally supported having the unique, odd, quirky, etc. girl as the lead to the show, but how odd is she really? As mentioned in "Is New Girl Secretly Feminist?", weird or not, she's still a "hipster goddess." In the first article, they point out that she is "clearly attractive by Hollywood standards." Perhaps this is why Fox supports Jess' character so much?

On the other hand, I felt that Jess was a very independent girl who gave just as much back to the boys as they gave her. While the guys were trying to help her with her awkward run in with Nick, she was trying to help Nick with his situation as well. Maybe it's from my limited knowledge about the show, but it seems like Jess definitely does her own thing, and she I'm not sure she should be so heavily criticized for being cute. I feel that Meriwether makes a valid point when she states, "That people equate being girlie with being nonthreatening... I mean, I can't think of a more blatant example of playing into exactly the thing we're trying to fight against." To me Jess seems confident and comfortable in her own skin, and what's wrong with that?

Tonight, I remain undecided, but hopefully tomorrow after watching some more clips and having a discussion I will be able to form a better opinion of which side I'm on.

I'm Not Pickin' Up What Zooey Deschanel is Puttin' Down

Zooey Deschanel annoys me. Obviously, I've never met her, but the (almost identical) roles she chooses and the characters she portrays are obnoxiously over-the-top. Like Sonya Saraiya notes in her blog post, I understand the business side of this - that Zooey is trying to create a brand for herself and is continuing to "work it" because it, well, works.

However, her character in "New Girl" is too much for me. Mary Elizabeth Williams says in her blog post that Zooey "plays an exaggerated version" of herself. She tries so hard to be super cute, super bubbly, super feminine, and most annoyingly, she acts like she's a pure and innocent little girl. Essentially, to me it is very obvious that she is trying way too hard. She's dying to be adored by everybody, but it comes off to me as fake.

I can just hear all of her inner thoughts: "Love me, love me!!! Please?!?! But look how cute I am!!!"

Another thing that annoys me: she brands herself as the quirky, hipster, cute girl, but then in interviews she says that she doesn't like being called "quirky." Make up your mind! Own it!

Anyway, I really don't think that Zooey's character(s) offer a good feminist role model. I don't think trying to act perfect and trying to please everybody is respectable and it probably won't get you far in life. I think being yourself and admitting and owning your flaws (and no, "quirkiness" shouldn't be considered a flaw) is the mark of a real role model. Acting young, innocent and super cutesy is not empowering; she is a man's woman, not a woman's woman. As we have seen recently in advertising, looking and acting as young as possible appeals to men, not to women.