I have been a huge fan of "New Girl" since Season 1. From Jess' quirkiness to Schmidt's flamboyance to Nick's grumpiness, the hilarious cast always keeps me on my toes. Naturally, the first thing I did when I got home from college for summer break was catch up on the latest season of the show. However, it was not Winston's funny antics that I noticed most during this season. It was how the show is subtly breaking barriers about race, gender and sexual orientation.
Let me break down this incredibly diverse cast.
Out of the six main characters, two are black. One of the black main characters, Winston Bishop, becomes a police officer, an occupation stereotypically not held by African-Americans.
During Season 5, Winston crushes on his partner, Aly. Winston knows that if he asks Aly out, they would not be allowed to be partners in work. Aly is always dating someone anyway, and Winston believes she is too good for him. However, at the end of Season 5, Aly and Winston finally start dating, making them one of the multiracial couples on the show.
Not to mention Aly is breaking gender stereotypes herself by being a badass female cop.
Among the main characters, there is also an Indian woman, who grew up in a traditionally Indian household. Cece is known for her "brownness" and notoriously strict Indian mother.
Schmidt has been in love with Cece ever since he first laid eyes on her. During Season 4, Cece finally falls in love with Schmidt and they become engaged during the finale episode. However, Cece's mother disapproves as Schmidt is a white, Jewish man and not Indian.
However, Schmidt impresses Cece's mom when he learns a traditional Bollywood dance and performs it in front of her entire bridal party. While Cece does not think her mother will come to her wedding, Cece's mom surprises her because of Schmidt's love and commitment to her daughter.
"New Girl" is also pushing boundaries in terms of sexual orientation. During Season 5, Jess begins to date her ex-boyfriend Sam for a brief period of time. In one episode, Sam talks about bringing Jess to dinner to meet his parents. When Jess gets to the restaurant, she is greeted by Sam's two fathers who are shown on screen briefly.
However, Sam is not the only character with gay parents. The night before Schmidt and Cece's wedding, Schmidt's mother Louise proposes to her longtime girlfriend Susan. Schmidt lovingly refers to them as his "two moms".
So why is this all so relevant, you ask? There have been Black cops on TV before, interracial couples and definitely lesbian proposals. However, what strikes me the most about "New Girl" is how producers are subtly introducing these concepts as normal, everyday occurrences.
It is not made a big deal that Winston is a cop, and he is treated the same as the white cops in his office. When Winston falls for Aly, it is not deemed groundbreaking because she is not Black like Winston. The only reason Schmidt and Cece's marriage is forbidden is due to the traditional values of Cece's mother, which are later forgiven. Cece's Indian heritage is integrated into the show as a normal part of her life and does not make her weird or stand out from the other characters. Sam and Schmidt's parents are ever so slyly incorporated into the show––there were no televised announcements that "New Girl Features Lesbian Proposal in Tonight's Episode."
It is the recognition of all of these things being normal parts of life that will help everyone to gain acceptance and equalization towards issues such as race, sexual orientation and gender roles. "New Girl" has seamlessly and effortlessly done this, and I encourage you all to binge watch this series this summer.
