As the cold, crisp feeling of fall approaches I always feel the urge to grab a warm cup of coffee and watch my favorite feel-good TV show Gilmore Girls. It is nostalgic for me as I first watched the show at the beginning of my first year of college and now craving that same feeling of comfort the show brings I started rewatching it towards the end of last semester. Watching the witty banter of Rory and Lorelai as they navigate their relationship and the highs and lows of life in Stars Hollow is one of my favorite stress-free pastimes.
As much as I love the show, watching it the second time around made it hard to ignore things that are inherently problematic. I, along with many others who have religiously watched the show and enjoyed it, am not immune to its many deep-seated issues. While I know all characters and human beings are flawed, sometimes it is difficult to see past the wit and charm of the mother-daughter Gilmore Girls duo and see them as the privileged and messy individuals they are. Here are my top thoughts on the problems with Gilmore Girls. Warning: Spoilers ahead!
- Eating Habits
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There’s a lot of unrealistic expectations regarding female bodies and the body positivity movement continues to combat that. Gilmore Girls is probably the one unrealistic and unhealthy example that I found irritating. It’s easy to believe the ideal utopia that is Stars Hollow and the small town struggle of Lorelai raising her “angel” daughter Rory, but how are Rory and Lorelai who live off of a diet of donuts, coffee and takeout, be healthy? Realistically, if anyone ate like these two they would not be having porcelain skin and slim trim bodies. I’ve always struggled with diet culture and eating healthy, so it’s hard to turn on the TV and see two beautiful skinny women who exist off of a diet of solely Pop Tarts and Pizza who never seem to gain a pound. It’s just an unrealistic and unhealthy lifestyle and I can’t imagine how this influences the thoughts of those who watch the show.
- Money and Spending
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After seeing the show’s inaccurate portrayal of food, I’m not surprised that their portrayal of money and income is also far from accurate. In the beginning of the series, Lorelai is the manager of the Independence Inn and transitions from that to opening her own inn called the Dragonfly towards the middle-end of the series. Based on her paycheck, she struggles to finance Rory’s education on multiple occasions which is realistic, but also based on her spending habits I’m surprised the two of them are making ends meet. When Rory visits Harvard both Lorelai and Rory buy nearly half the merchandise available and considering the average college sweatshirt costs $40-$60 that is easily $100s of spending. Coupled with their food expenditure including daily meals at Luke’s diner or when Lorelai bought every take out food in a 5-mile radius of Rory’s dorm during her first week at Yale, it’s unbelievable. As someone from a middle-class background it’s clear that the show and its economic representation is severely skewed.
- Rory’s Privilege
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While I, like many other studious girls, identified with Rory in the beginning of the series, she becomes almost unbearable towards the end of the series. Rory’s character is portrayed as a book smart, obedient daughter with such an innocent face it’s hard not to believe it. However, Rory begins to develop an ego off of this personality and feels like she can do anything. One such example is when she’s challenged by both the Huntzberger family and Mitchum Huntzberger, she falters. After all, Rory has spent her entire life being praised for her brains and good looks, it’s hard for her to believe that she could possibly not be built for journalism. Rory never takes criticism well and fails to see her own privilege in these situations. Despite her middle class upbringing, once she is absorbed into her grandparents world of Chilton, debutante balls and DAR meetings at 16 years old, she is economically privileged and afforded opportunities no other small town kid would receive. It’s about time she recognized her two worlds are not so separate.
- The Revival
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I was excited to see that Gilmore Girls was rebooted for a 4-episode revival, but I, along with most of its audience, was severely disappointed. While we see Rory and Lorelai with their original charm, they become almost unbearable. How had Lorelai not married Luke after all this time? Why had Rory hit rock bottom in her journalism career, had a boyfriend she kept “forgetting” about and kept sleeping with her ex-boyfriend who is engaged? While I was not surprised by both the charming Gilmore Girls struggling to maintain and engage in healthy relationships, I was a bit disappointed with the ending. Will we ever find out who Rory’s baby daddy is? Probably not. Let’s just hope it’s not a certain Wookie.
While I definitely have issues with Gilmore Girls, I can’t help watching it for the same reason we all watch it: their privileged world is interesting and comforting. It’s easy to be whisked away into the charm of the series and its characters. It’s a feel-good show and it makes you want to grab a cup of coffee and entangle yourself in the various issues that Lorelai and Rory navigate in the worlds of the seemingly normal Stars Hollow and the big money world of Richard and Emily Gilmore. I don’t think the show and its various jokes and pop references will ever not be on my list of TV shows to watch during the cold holiday season for a nice dose of snow-covered escapism.