Superstore Teaches You to Follow Your Dreams

This episode of Superstore called “Gender Reveal” was aired on NBC on April 19th, 2018. Over the course of the episode, we see Mateo worried about his unemployed boyfriend, Jeff, who has convinced everyone else that he works at the ever-superior Target. “He’s been too embarrassed to admit he’s unemployed,” Mateo explains to his coworker Jonah, who is the only other person who knows this. Eager to convince Jeff to get a job but not wanting to look like the “bad guy,” Mateo confronts Jonah and asks him to talk to Jeff with him, saying “He quit his job for me! I can’t be the one who critiques him for not working!” This sets up the premise of the story: Mateo and Jonah try to “good cop-bad cop” their way into convincing Jeff to get a job. But as we learn as the episode progresses, finding a job right away doesn’t have to be the answer and being unemployed isn’t anything to be ashamed of when you’re following your dreams.
Their first attempt to team up and talk to Jeff about finding a job doesn’t go so well. Before they can say much of anything, Jeff dumps them with this truth-bomb by saying, “I’ve never asked myself what I wanted to do with my life, and I just thought that now that I have this opportunity, maybe I can figure that out instead of just jumping into the first job that comes along. Is that so wrong?” Mateo, who is playing the “good cop,” pretends to sympathize with him and says, “You shouldn’t rush into anything. Follow your bliss.” Jonah, who hasn’t caught on that Mateo is acting, agrees with him, “Definitely. You need to figure out you first.” The scene then cuts back to just Mateo and Jonah as Mateo whispers angrily at Jonah, “You were supposed to tell him to get a job!” Mateo becomes increasingly agitated. He doesn’t take Jeff’s desire to explore his possibilities seriously and just assumes that finding a job, no matter what it is, is the only course of action. He also feels like that if Jeff knew that he doesn’t fully support his dreams, it would crush him. A lot of the conflict here could be avoided if Mateo respected Jeff’s wishes and communicated with him effectively and honestly.
On their second attempt, Mateo and Jonah decide to step it up a notch. When Jeff comes in wearing a huge backpack and hiking gear, saying how he wants to hike mountain trails, Jonah, accepting his role of “bad cop,” asks him, “How are you going to pay for that without a job? You’ll just blow through all your savings before you know it, and then what? Just going to be a bum?” Jeff looks discouraged when Jonah then decided to drop his own truth-bomb: “You’re a grown man. You’re too young to retire and too old to start mountain climbing. So grow up, get a job, and be a man!” Jonah makes Jeff feel like it’s not masculine or grown-up to be jobless and that he should be ashamed. It makes it seem like not having a job is too risky and you can only start having hobbies after retirement. Jeff, feeling frustrated and hopeless, says, “You’re right. I’m not going to go hiking. I’ll take the first job that comes along...” Mateo jumps in, still acting, “Jonah, stop. Don’t work, Jeff. We’ll be alright.” Jonah, who thinks Mateo is being serious again, takes back what he says and tells him to not take a job that doesn’t make him truly happy. Cutting back to just Jonah and Mateo, Mateo yells “How do you not get how this works?! He was finally going to get a job!” while Jonah says defensively, “Sorry! It’s confusing! You’re a very good actor!”
The last time with see the trio, Jeff is talking to another coworker Cheyenne about how he’s going hike the Appalachian mountains. Mateo is still worried but Jonah remains hopeful for Jeff’s future. Mateo never does tell Jeff about his worry, and, though I think he should’ve been honest with him, he did have good intentions. Mateo didn’t want Jeff to feel bad about his unemployment and continue to lie about having a job at Target. And, as we see in the episode, Jeff comes to terms with his unemployment and uses it as an opportunity to search for new paths. I think this message can have a positive impact on society because it shows a character who wishes to explore his dreams and possibilities, even with the possibility of failure and how his friends support him, even if they’re worried about his current state of unemployment. It can remind people that their job isn’t what defines them in life and it’s never to late to learn something new or pursue new dreams. It’s a good outlook to have since most people in modern day society believe that the only way to be happy is to go to college, get a degree, and land a good job. It can remind people that life can take all crazy sorts of turns and you’re path doesn’t have to be decided once you leave college.
