Blog Post 1/4 TV SHOWS

Basic comedic sitcoms and dramas like Psych and New Girl define most of our lives. From the regular city, suburban towns to the lifestyles these characters portray we can relate easily while sharing a few laughs. On the surface, both TV shows have a wide range of ethnicities and skills in a lower and high middle class. It’s great knowing that you get this melting pot with a variety of people.

What I don’t understand is the fact that the main character always gets the girl. At times it makes no sense. If you’re not Jess, who happens to find a love interest in Nick her roommate or Shawn who’s head over heels for his detective co-worker in the SBPD you’re out of luck with love. I mean the only other roommate that finds love is Smidt; he’s three out of the group of four roommates in New Girl to be successful. But, like many other comedic dramas, that relationship falters so the main character can get the most attention. On the bright side Jess is not this carbon copy version of Barbie who gets her prince charming. At least she’s a goofy gal with a boyfriend who’s nothing close to perfect. Even in Psych Shawn is nothing close to being prince charming. His goofy, passive aggressive, carefree, personality, and physic sense is a complete opposite of Jules, his girlfriend. She’s a smart strong willed blonde detective of the SBPD who takes risks rather than working in the office or doing a small police job. Don’t let that define her though. She still has her imperfections such as being nervous, not as courageous as she appears and more.

As great as these two shows are, the two main characters who seem to be neglected the most happen to be Gus, and Winston! Winston, the only African American main character, is the fourth member of the group of friends. Don’t get me wrong, they’re all treated as equals in terms of race! At first Winston was this important character with confidence and now he’s an insecure single man with minimal lines and roles in the show. I want to see more of him like season 1! It’s like men are portrayed as these needy individuals who either want sex and long term relationships. As numerous as it can be it becomes this fake insight on what most men want. Gus, the only African American main character, is best friends with Shawn. In most cases Gus is a lot smarter than his best friend and he values his job as a pharmaceutical salesman. Yet, he’s not recognized because of Shawn’s powerful psychic skills. It’s not fair! Why can’t he get the girl since his intelligence is being overshadowed? It's like being smart is looked down upon, or isn't as valued in society. Even when he does date for an episode or two, the girls may not be pretty, or have the best sanity. Gus for instance dated a female from a physiatrist ward; he became desperate! The female wasn’t looked upon as a freak; she was a regular girl with a simple disorder controlled by drugs. Winston found a female who happened a slob, a food addict, and overbearing. Yes, these are women, but they deserve some kind of great relationship.

With these dramatic relationships and cultural boundaries between interracial couples in New Girl, as well as the complicated relationships amongst these crime fighting psychic detectives in Psych, it shows that society has a hunger for love.  unfortunately, not everyone is capable of staying in a successful relationship.