I'm going to reiterate that I still think the show is fine. But showing it to my Gen Alpha kids has had me explaining a few things that didn't age well. Now I'm going to enjoy disneyland with my family today.
I wanted to say this, but I didn’t want to be the odd person out I live in New Orleans and most of the people who live here are black. I probably have one white friend and I don’t see her often so if a camera crew followed me for 365 days I would probably interact with maybe two white people one Hispanic probably the only Asians and middle easterns I would run into is at the corner store because they own a lot of the gas stations and corner stores but none of them actually live in the city of New Orleans. They live in the outskirts so those aren’t ppl I would’ve went to school with. I think it’s very believable that there is a town full of nothing but white people with a few minorities in Louisiana. Unfortunately, with Louisiana’s history, those kind of towns are sundown towns here. Blacks an browns aren’t actually wanted there.
But if you are making up a town, why would you not make it diverse? Look at a show like Bridgerton - were there POC among the aristocracy of regency England? No! But it makes Bridgerton feel like a breath of fresh air imo! And adding some diversity to Stars Hollow would hardly have been a stretch. Show runners at that time just didn’t care about diversity.
even if it does exist, it doesn’t mean we can’t have nuanced conversations about the representation for poc in the show. we can still disscuss how the characters stories were handled and what stereotypes the show relied on without shutting down the conversation because “ majority white towns do exist “
Worst part is, the entire premise of the show is that Rory and Lorelai are best friends, the ideal mother/daughter relationship. However, every time that mattered, Rory NEVER went to Lorelai. They were just best friends when nothing wrong was happening around them.
I only watched one episode and some random scenes, and Rory struck me as the more mature and responsible one of the two of them. I mean, the two are both at some college campus, Rory is running around doing necessary things for whatever this is (SAT test? Orientation? Moving in to her dorm?)... and her mother is flirting with a student, obviously thrilled by the fact he thinks she's his age. The hell with supporting Rory as she's taking steps to fulfill her lifelong dream, none of that is as important as Lorelai getting her ego boost! I was so disgusted I turned it off then.
It's something I quickly learned when I started showing my kids media from my childhood. A whole lot of "well at the time that wasn't offensive or a bad look". Like the scene where they get a whole bunch of stereotypical Japanese decorations and clothes and stuff to make a little party out of it.
The characters are flawed, that makes interesting TV. Perhaps Lorelai didn't sit around monologuing about her privilege but we did see her reflect on her past and how she didn't want to see Rory in her place as if the past was repeating itself, especially when it came to seeing her parents try to parent Rory
That's a very valid point. I do wish they talked about the class difference more but you're right that in the earlier seasons they do try to show the gap between lorelai and her parents. I guess my whole thing with Rory is that it felt like she had barely any character development in the 10 years between the final season and the Revival
@@ReptarusOnIce Oh Rory was the worst in the revival lol. But I think that can be both a character and a writing flaw. The revival suffers from the Palladino's coming back with their original ideas from years back but not adjusting them to the actual passage of time. Luke and Lorelai having never progressed their relationship either was another thing which was bizarre but makes more sense when you consider it was supposed to be season 7 not a decade later
Lane’s character was written as an homage to Amy’s real life best friend and it was basically a story about her best friends life. Lane was supposed to marry Dave but when Adam left the show it put a wrench in their writing.
Lorelai saying she didn't need help from anyone when she was offered a full-time job as a 17 year old high school drop out with no experience. And got a decade of free rent & utilities.
Your thoughts were very interesting and definitely got me thinking too. About luke being misogynistic for being uncomfortable with a woman breastfeeding at his diner, i’ve rewatched the series so many times and it never came across like that to me. Luke’s personality is quite prudish and he’s not comfortable with kids of any age so it made sense to me he would vent to lorelai and let out his discomfort, but he doesn’t say anything to the woman nor does he kick her out of the diner. Given the time the show was made, it’s sorta the progressive take to just let her be despite being unsettled since breastfeeding wasn’t as normalized as it is now. Idk, but very interesting how it can come across to different people. Great video tho, i love the show but it def had it’s flaws
Yeah Luke being a vanilla prude definitely fit in line with his reaction. The only counter point I have is that years earlier friends had that episode where they all discuss the taste of breast milk and everyone but Ross has admitted to tasting it before. But friends was also on its own level so that may be apples to oranges in certain aspects.
Did the mother not have a blanket or covering for the baby, cause there's a way to do it in public without showing everything. My source, my mom in the 90s.
@@ReptarusOnIce to answer your point, idk, i feel like tasting breastmilk vs witnessing someone breastfeeding in public are two different subjects with different connotations and stigmas. also, in friends the characters all have more youthful and open personalities (more like lorelai) and they talk about it anecdotally, while prudish luke is confronted with the woman breastfeeding in front of him and can’t help but react unsettled. he just gave me more awkward-man-who’ll-divert-his-gaze vibes rather than close-minded misogynist in the scene. i personally never had an issue with it because it goes along with luke’s general characterization, but as a counterpoint to myself, they could’ve just not had luke interact with a woman breastfeeding and avoided the scene altogether. however, i appreciate that it paints a fuller picture of luke’s character and his flaws, because he’s the only one who comments on it with discomfort. like i said, i love the show with flaws and all.
I really enjoyed your video! I agree with most of your points, especially about the lack of diversity and how poorly the ravenous super model trope has aged. I did want to say that I actually liked the stagnant Rory Gilmore arc of the revival. I am about Rory's age and I also got a journalism degree, but I realized it was a dead end and I learned computer programming and adapted. I have seen many of my peers refusing to acknowledge the world has changed and are afraid of failure who have definitely stagnated like she did. I thought it was a thoughtful choice to show where the character would have ended up and made all of us realize she wasn't the best role model all along. I feel like giving her a disappointing ending isn't the same as having bad writing. Lane's ending was bad writing, Rory's felt consistent with who she was all along.
I actually went to college for broadcast journalism as well. Made similar mistakes in thinking she's too good for a 'starter career job'. I was able to pivot to social media management for a while in the tech and gaming space then the layoffs happened. At this point I'm pivoting to youtube while I look for my next job. I'm probably hard on rory because just like you I had similar career paths and experiences going into my 30s when I'm supposed to have everything figures out. To me, my issue with her is that instead of being her usual brilliant self and trying to pivot, she kinda just wallows in her situation.
The show is definitely problematic but it does reflect the times. We just have the perspective now to look critically. They definitely could have done more or at least better by their characters but this show does have a soft spot in my heart.
Tbh we see diversity take the forefront of entertainment these days and the writing/ story telling/ characters development is abysmal. There has to be a happy balance of some diversity and good story telling.
I was in LA with my mom when I started going into cardiac arrest; mom was driving us to the ER but saw the actress who plays Lorilie (sp?) walking down the street and tried to pull over to meet her lol
That was intentional on the part of the showrunners. Amy Sherman-Palladino deliberately wanted this to be about Rory following in Lorelai's footsteps, even down to the "Where you lead, I will follow" from the intro
You articulated my own feelings on this show super well!! I love the nuance you put in your analysis and that you balanced out your criticism with some positivity! Great video!
The show was funny but I think it was always a tragedy. The plot of the revival was supposed to be the last season I think with a young Rory (Lorelei) getting pregnant by a young, rich useless boy, just like her mom. The characters aren’t like this on accident. They’re all highly flawed, blind and delusional sometimes.
Coddling Rory and being her friend first was the worst thing for her personal and professional development. And we see why as the story plays out. Her family prioritized her comfort over actually caring about her character. I also kinda think they look rich bc the show wanted nice looking sets for the show. How did Lorelei afford that house?? Maybe she’s horribly in debt and refuses to acknowledge it.
I rewatch Gilmore Girls every year when it starts getting colder outside - but I've started skipping some episodes lately, like the one where Rory writes the critique for the Yale ballet, and sometimes I stop watching around the 4th season. Love the show but It's basic self care.
The entire premise of the show is examining separation from the rare air of the wealthy white Anglo Saxons, and all the characters aside from Lorelei and Rory are only in the service of that. So yeah, rich white people-plenty of putzes. It’s not a diversity exercise. Your description is accurate, but weirdly naive to the fact that the show writers know all of this and are shaping it deliberately, not blind to the flaws but illustrating the flaws of this community.
I love Gilmore girls but I do agree it has aged badly there are some episodes I love while others just don't like anymore it's still a comfort show though.
The lack of diversity is not surprising to me as Hollywood still struggles to make shows with diversity. However, I do agree with some in the comments that it's not uncommon to have places that are majority one skin color and as WinterWind states, Stars Hollow is based on a real town that was majority white in 2000. Some of this is based on my own experience though. I was raised in a middle-class suburban town in the Northeast during the 1990s and it was majority white until the mid-2000s when more people of color began to move into the town. Today in 2024, it's a mixture of blacks and whites with some Indians and Koreans, and a few Middle Eastern. I think it is important to also note that Stars Hollow is in Connecticut, which when looking at 2000 demographics, was about 78% white with most towns as such. In 2020, the white demographics are larger in some areas but on the whole the state is now about 64% white with people of color growing more in the population. Had Gilmore Girls aired today, we would most likely see more diversity in the show. With this being said, I do agree that the lack of development and depth with Michele and Lane disappointed me in the original run. I could never understand why Michele could never be given more to do other than being a kind of comic relief or foil. There were a couple of episodes that delved into stories about him like his mother and wanting to be part of the Dragonfly Inn, but not much beyond that. As for Lane, I felt there were some interesting stories. Such as the conflicts she has with her immigrant mother on traditionalism and how her future should play out leading to their estrangement but coming back together when Mrs. Kim begins to slowly accept that her daughter wants a different path. I did not dislike Lane getting married and having kids, but felt that in the revival, she could have been shown to be doing well in her music career locally as most do this while working jobs and raising family. I do wish there could have been more balance in Lane's friendship with Rory on screen, and while it was addressed in the earlier seasons, it was a shame it could not be explored more. As for Rory's lack of acknowledging her privilege, it was addressed I believe in season 6 when Logan called her out on the fact that she is a rich kid in a way. He tells her that while she did grow up in a small town, she still went to Chilton, Yale, and had many of the benefits that rich people have including her grandparents donating a building in her name. Logan acknowledges his privilege while Rory tries to say she is not like that, even though he is calling her out on this. (If this is incorrect or not explained correctly, please let me know. Been a while since I have seen that episode) As for the rest of the show and the revival it's a mixed bag. I find that when a high school character goes off to college in most shows that the writing quality tends to go down. From my experience, writers seem to not know what to do with characters once they go off to college as it's a change of scenery, new experiences, and now you have to find a navigation. As for April, she often gets a bad rep but I blame it more on the writers for trying to put drama and a wrench in the Luke and Lorelai relationship. There was also the Palladino spouses leaving the series after season 6 and as a result a new showrunner came on board. It's why Lorelai marrying Christopher never made sense to me and why things are generally off in that season. As for the revival, I felt it was a way to bring everyone back for a reunion. I was initially excited as it gave the Palladino spouses a chance to end the series how they wanted to ten years prior, but it fell flat with Rory. I did not mind the struggles Rory had as I went through something similar in my early 30s, but it was strange to see her being engaged Logan's mistress and everything else that followed. Then I learned it was a way for Palladino to put her original series ending in place by having Rory repeat her mother's cycle as a single parent on a new uncertain venture. Had Palladino been able to do her original series ending, it was to have Rory go off to graduate school and expecting her first child. As for the rest of your analysis, I agree with a lot of it and I feel it has its good and bad moments. However, I feel Gilmore Girls is more a product of the 2000s like a lot shows then and before. No doubt we will be criticizing today's shows 20 years from now. I do appreciate that you want to give an analysis and not cancel the series. I think it's good that we look at things structurally and call out the flaws and outdated practices to show how far we have come, which can be a good thing for the next generations.
I’ve been ready since friends. I believe it’s wrong to sleep with someone on a break but not cheating. A break as I’ve determined at least, is not a defined relationship. A break is a limbo. By the end you will either be broken up or back as a couple but a break you are still doing together. Essentially by sleeping with someone else on a break means you are ending that relationship, breaking the ties if that makes sense. I have never been in a romantic relationship however so this is just a theory based on the ways I’ve seen humans act in relationships
Oh.. you’re hilarious, definitely subscribing. Great editing too, the background music is a weeee bit too loud but this was a great introduction to your channel
For breaks I'm of the opinion that those boundaries need to be discussed. If both parties are ok with sleeping with others, then it's fine, but if either party is like "no, even on a break i don't want us sleeping with others" then don't do it. So agreed, if it wasn't discussed at all and he went sleeping around, then it's not okay. Other than that I can agree with a lot of the other points you made. Even when it was at its peak I never really got into it while my mom and sibling loved it. When I started really unpacking my own pickme/not like other girls phase this was one of those shows I had to look at and ask myself "is this really that bad or was that me?" Videos like this have helped me in that process by pointing out things that bothered me as a teen that I didn't have the ability to put into words until I got older.
Like other examples in the Show breastfeeding in public was new and very progressive at that time and many people alienated in the First Place Like Luke
Lorelei's treatment of her mother was terrible. She wanted nothing more than to spend time with her daughter and granddaughter and Lorelei made her pay for the privileged.
You do realize that Emily was emotionally abusive towards her daughter, right? That is firmly set up in the show. I know Emily is quippy and has plenty of zingy one liners that make her enjoyable to watch, but in real life someone like this is very difficult to be around. Speaking from personal experiences here. This type of person is emotionally draining and hurtful. They can make you constantly question your self-worth and wonder what you did wrong this time. Lorelai is protecting herself by limiting contact with Emily. She is deeply traumatized by her childhood. In fact, a lot of Lorelai's behavior during the show can be put down to a response to unhealed trauma. Self care is not selfishness.
So unfortunate the show runners didn’t have a Time Machine to go forward and see this video so they could write the show based on culture 20 years in advance. Wow. So silly.
@@ReptarusOnIce no, don't fuck hindsight, reflection or retrospectives...understand and learn...don't criticize something that wasn't able to learn from itself before it did the thing it did.
There are few things I hate more in this world than 2000s dramedies. Nine times out of ten, the characters are awful people to some extent, said awfulness gets played for "comedy" without the actual comedic exaggeration you'd get from say, Always Sunny, and the drama is that forced kind you'd see on a daytime soap opera. Maybe it's my general antisocial nature kicking in, but shows like this always wind up making me feel pissed off instead of entertained. Also, I must admit a shameful secret: I spent most of my life confusing Gilmore Girls and Golden Girls. Even after learning which one was which, I still have to take a moment to think about it when I hear either show's name.
My brother, you should look up a tabletop rpg called brindlewood bay. It's basically murder she wrote, golden girls and Lovecraft all smashed together.
@@ReptarusOnIce I can't believe I didn't know about this sooner! Not only is it relevant to my interests, but I've been trying to get my mom and my brother to give TTRPGs a shot and something like Brindlewood Bay would be perfect!
I was glad to come across your video, as I do love the Gilmore Girls. I loved everything you had to say. I must tell you that I was very disappointed with the revival of the show. Rory was very un - Rory, far away from how we usually see her.
Rory was interesting to me because she was of a similar age to me. So it was interesting looking at our lives side by side. But she's insufferable in her 30s.
@ReptarusOnIce I mean like modern audiences clutching their pearls over silly things like "lack of diversity". "Moesha' and the like were on TV during this same period. Only morons would pretend to be traumatized by series such as those having only a couple of White cast members, and barely any East Asians, Hispanics, Near Easterners, etc etc. I say all this as someone who's not even a big fan of GG, albeit for different reasons
Yes, it's terrible when old things aren't modern. I felt the same way when I read Homer's Odyssey. There was little emphasis on representation there either. Fortunately, there were characters who identified as animals. Seriously, the focus on skin color shouldn't be a criterion. You could also say that the Cosbeys lack diversity. Content, themes or interpretations are more important. Rory's story, for example, illustrates the failure of the golden child. Lorelei's journey is that of growing up in old age. Nevertheless, I would like to thank you for the video. It's well made and throws up an interesting perspective here and there.
Wtf is wrong with one race of people living together without any other races around? I do believe that if the cast were any other darn race, you wouldn't have a problem with it. If it were an all black show, you wouldn't say a word. But the media's conditioned people to think that it's bad if you're not living in a "melting pot" as a light skinned person. I would absolutely love to live in a place like that represented in this show. It's not bad to want to live with mostly people that look like you.
As a disclaimer, the reason for my critical point of view on what I discuss in my comment is because I admire and appreciate the program and the contribution it has to make. It is common for me to have my most critical eye with my most favorite programs. I believe that the revival proves how Rory was wrong for rejecting Logan's marriage proposal. She clearly wasn't going to do better given who she is, and she kept on dating him the whole time anyway. So why not marry the man?? I don't understand. The other aspect I would like comment on is about who the main character of this story is. Because Rory ain't it. She has what we now call, "Main Character Syndrome". Her story lines and her plot line make little to no sense, and the movement between one point to another has little to no rhythm we can make sense of. The main character of this story is Lorelai...and perhaps her mother. The sad truth of the matter is that Rory seems to have become a literary device in service of Lorelai's story. IN the same way that Lindsay and her mother became a literary device in service of Rory's story. I think it's a flaw in the construction of this show's universe, in it's balancing of depth with complexity as it explored and discovered different aspects of itself, that was never acknowledged or dealt with in any real way. The writing of her book at the end of the revival series by Rory, in my view, is symbolic of that.
I only watch the show for the characters that aren't Loralai and Rory. Every other character has real issues, real character, and real goals. L ans R ars are self centered without self awareness.
I'm going to reiterate that I still think the show is fine. But showing it to my Gen Alpha kids has had me explaining a few things that didn't age well.
Now I'm going to enjoy disneyland with my family today.
Stars Hollow is based on a real town, Washington Depot, and that town was 95% white in the 2000 census... places like this did and do exist
I wanted to say this, but I didn’t want to be the odd person out I live in New Orleans and most of the people who live here are black. I probably have one white friend and I don’t see her often so if a camera crew followed me for 365 days I would probably interact with maybe two white people one Hispanic probably the only Asians and middle easterns I would run into is at the corner store because they own a lot of the gas stations and corner stores but none of them actually live in the city of New Orleans. They live in the outskirts so those aren’t ppl I would’ve went to school with. I think it’s very believable that there is a town full of nothing but white people with a few minorities in Louisiana.
Unfortunately, with Louisiana’s history, those kind of towns are sundown towns here. Blacks an browns aren’t actually wanted there.
But if you are making up a town, why would you not make it diverse? Look at a show like Bridgerton - were there POC among the aristocracy of regency England? No! But it makes Bridgerton feel like a breath of fresh air imo! And adding some diversity to Stars Hollow would hardly have been a stretch. Show runners at that time just didn’t care about diversity.
even if it does exist, it doesn’t mean we can’t have nuanced conversations about the representation for poc in the show. we can still disscuss how the characters stories were handled and what stereotypes the show relied on without shutting down the conversation because “ majority white towns do exist “
Worst part is, the entire premise of the show is that Rory and Lorelai are best friends, the ideal mother/daughter relationship. However, every time that mattered, Rory NEVER went to Lorelai. They were just best friends when nothing wrong was happening around them.
So real.
I only watched one episode and some random scenes, and Rory struck me as the more mature and responsible one of the two of them. I mean, the two are both at some college campus, Rory is running around doing necessary things for whatever this is (SAT test? Orientation? Moving in to her dorm?)... and her mother is flirting with a student, obviously thrilled by the fact he thinks she's his age. The hell with supporting Rory as she's taking steps to fulfill her lifelong dream, none of that is as important as Lorelai getting her ego boost! I was so disgusted I turned it off then.
i really love gilmore girls but it’s definitely important to acknowledge its short comings, especially from a modern perspective
It's something I quickly learned when I started showing my kids media from my childhood. A whole lot of "well at the time that wasn't offensive or a bad look". Like the scene where they get a whole bunch of stereotypical Japanese decorations and clothes and stuff to make a little party out of it.
i grew up with a single mother. my grandmother wasnt buying us a house. she was lucky enough to be able to afford her own.
Same with my mother and I. Didn't get a house till I was in high school and she remarried by that point.
The characters are flawed, that makes interesting TV. Perhaps Lorelai didn't sit around monologuing about her privilege but we did see her reflect on her past and how she didn't want to see Rory in her place as if the past was repeating itself, especially when it came to seeing her parents try to parent Rory
That's a very valid point. I do wish they talked about the class difference more but you're right that in the earlier seasons they do try to show the gap between lorelai and her parents. I guess my whole thing with Rory is that it felt like she had barely any character development in the 10 years between the final season and the Revival
@@ReptarusOnIce Oh Rory was the worst in the revival lol. But I think that can be both a character and a writing flaw. The revival suffers from the Palladino's coming back with their original ideas from years back but not adjusting them to the actual passage of time. Luke and Lorelai having never progressed their relationship either was another thing which was bizarre but makes more sense when you consider it was supposed to be season 7 not a decade later
Lane’s character was written as an homage to Amy’s real life best friend and it was basically a story about her best friends life. Lane was supposed to marry Dave but when Adam left the show it put a wrench in their writing.
Lorelai saying she didn't need help from anyone when she was offered a full-time job as a 17 year old high school drop out with no experience. And got a decade of free rent & utilities.
Your thoughts were very interesting and definitely got me thinking too. About luke being misogynistic for being uncomfortable with a woman breastfeeding at his diner, i’ve rewatched the series so many times and it never came across like that to me. Luke’s personality is quite prudish and he’s not comfortable with kids of any age so it made sense to me he would vent to lorelai and let out his discomfort, but he doesn’t say anything to the woman nor does he kick her out of the diner. Given the time the show was made, it’s sorta the progressive take to just let her be despite being unsettled since breastfeeding wasn’t as normalized as it is now. Idk, but very interesting how it can come across to different people.
Great video tho, i love the show but it def had it’s flaws
Yeah Luke being a vanilla prude definitely fit in line with his reaction.
The only counter point I have is that years earlier friends had that episode where they all discuss the taste of breast milk and everyone but Ross has admitted to tasting it before.
But friends was also on its own level so that may be apples to oranges in certain aspects.
Did the mother not have a blanket or covering for the baby, cause there's a way to do it in public without showing everything. My source, my mom in the 90s.
@@ReptarusOnIce to answer your point, idk, i feel like tasting breastmilk vs witnessing someone breastfeeding in public are two different subjects with different connotations and stigmas. also, in friends the characters all have more youthful and open personalities (more like lorelai) and they talk about it anecdotally, while prudish luke is confronted with the woman breastfeeding in front of him and can’t help but react unsettled. he just gave me more awkward-man-who’ll-divert-his-gaze vibes rather than close-minded misogynist in the scene.
i personally never had an issue with it because it goes along with luke’s general characterization, but as a counterpoint to myself, they could’ve just not had luke interact with a woman breastfeeding and avoided the scene altogether. however, i appreciate that it paints a fuller picture of luke’s character and his flaws, because he’s the only one who comments on it with discomfort. like i said, i love the show with flaws and all.
I really enjoyed your video! I agree with most of your points, especially about the lack of diversity and how poorly the ravenous super model trope has aged. I did want to say that I actually liked the stagnant Rory Gilmore arc of the revival. I am about Rory's age and I also got a journalism degree, but I realized it was a dead end and I learned computer programming and adapted. I have seen many of my peers refusing to acknowledge the world has changed and are afraid of failure who have definitely stagnated like she did. I thought it was a thoughtful choice to show where the character would have ended up and made all of us realize she wasn't the best role model all along. I feel like giving her a disappointing ending isn't the same as having bad writing. Lane's ending was bad writing, Rory's felt consistent with who she was all along.
I actually went to college for broadcast journalism as well. Made similar mistakes in thinking she's too good for a 'starter career job'. I was able to pivot to social media management for a while in the tech and gaming space then the layoffs happened. At this point I'm pivoting to youtube while I look for my next job.
I'm probably hard on rory because just like you I had similar career paths and experiences going into my 30s when I'm supposed to have everything figures out. To me, my issue with her is that instead of being her usual brilliant self and trying to pivot, she kinda just wallows in her situation.
The show is definitely problematic but it does reflect the times. We just have the perspective now to look critically. They definitely could have done more or at least better by their characters but this show does have a soft spot in my heart.
Tbh we see diversity take the forefront of entertainment these days and the writing/ story telling/ characters development is abysmal. There has to be a happy balance of some diversity and good story telling.
I was in LA with my mom when I started going into cardiac arrest; mom was driving us to the ER but saw the actress who plays Lorilie (sp?) walking down the street and tried to pull over to meet her lol
I mean, Lauren Graham is a baddie. I get it.
Interesting priorities
you were so real for that. Big W on your part bestie
The rant about character flaws feels like you expected the characters to be perfect
Not perfect, just a better sense of progression.
Where's character growth?
But also, accountability. No accountability for really awful behavior.
Definitely not. Perfect characters are as boring as undeveloped characters.
Rory didn’t age well. Her life is basically a self fulfilling prophecy of being her mom 2.0
I like this take.
That was intentional on the part of the showrunners. Amy Sherman-Palladino deliberately wanted this to be about Rory following in Lorelai's footsteps, even down to the "Where you lead, I will follow" from the intro
You articulated my own feelings on this show super well!! I love the nuance you put in your analysis and that you balanced out your criticism with some positivity! Great video!
"The 'How Do I Use Seasoning' seminar at Boston Dynamics.". 🤣🤣🤣
The show was funny but I think it was always a tragedy. The plot of the revival was supposed to be the last season I think with a young Rory (Lorelei) getting pregnant by a young, rich useless boy, just like her mom. The characters aren’t like this on accident. They’re all highly flawed, blind and delusional sometimes.
Coddling Rory and being her friend first was the worst thing for her personal and professional development. And we see why as the story plays out. Her family prioritized her comfort over actually caring about her character.
I also kinda think they look rich bc the show wanted nice looking sets for the show. How did Lorelei afford that house?? Maybe she’s horribly in debt and refuses to acknowledge it.
Rory = gifted kid syndrome
@@casandra0 Yes! I always wondered about that. If they were supposed to be somewhat struggling, how did they afford that house?
@@valolafson6035 definitely some white collar crime involved cuz no way!
@@valolafson6035 seriously! Gives me envy and anxiety just thinking about it lol
I rewatch Gilmore Girls every year when it starts getting colder outside - but I've started skipping some episodes lately, like the one where Rory writes the critique for the Yale ballet, and sometimes I stop watching around the 4th season. Love the show but It's basic self care.
I think The Ranch covered the "on a break" thing. "I just care how this feels!"
The entire premise of the show is examining separation from the rare air of the wealthy white Anglo Saxons, and all the characters aside from Lorelei and Rory are only in the service of that. So yeah, rich white people-plenty of putzes. It’s not a diversity exercise.
Your description is accurate, but weirdly naive to the fact that the show writers know all of this and are shaping it deliberately, not blind to the flaws but illustrating the flaws of this community.
If that was the case I don't understand why they tones down Richard and Emily's visible wealth and set design after the first season?
@@ReptarusOnIce Maybe like The Philadelphia Story: they thought the public would find the true full Bryn Mawr estate to be beyond belief for the USA.
I love Gilmore girls but I do agree it has aged badly there are some episodes I love while others just don't like anymore it's still a comfort show though.
The lack of diversity is not surprising to me as Hollywood still struggles to make shows with diversity. However, I do agree with some in the comments that it's not uncommon to have places that are majority one skin color and as WinterWind states, Stars Hollow is based on a real town that was majority white in 2000. Some of this is based on my own experience though. I was raised in a middle-class suburban town in the Northeast during the 1990s and it was majority white until the mid-2000s when more people of color began to move into the town. Today in 2024, it's a mixture of blacks and whites with some Indians and Koreans, and a few Middle Eastern. I think it is important to also note that Stars Hollow is in Connecticut, which when looking at 2000 demographics, was about 78% white with most towns as such. In 2020, the white demographics are larger in some areas but on the whole the state is now about 64% white with people of color growing more in the population.
Had Gilmore Girls aired today, we would most likely see more diversity in the show.
With this being said, I do agree that the lack of development and depth with Michele and Lane disappointed me in the original run. I could never understand why Michele could never be given more to do other than being a kind of comic relief or foil. There were a couple of episodes that delved into stories about him like his mother and wanting to be part of the Dragonfly Inn, but not much beyond that. As for Lane, I felt there were some interesting stories. Such as the conflicts she has with her immigrant mother on traditionalism and how her future should play out leading to their estrangement but coming back together when Mrs. Kim begins to slowly accept that her daughter wants a different path. I did not dislike Lane getting married and having kids, but felt that in the revival, she could have been shown to be doing well in her music career locally as most do this while working jobs and raising family. I do wish there could have been more balance in Lane's friendship with Rory on screen, and while it was addressed in the earlier seasons, it was a shame it could not be explored more.
As for Rory's lack of acknowledging her privilege, it was addressed I believe in season 6 when Logan called her out on the fact that she is a rich kid in a way. He tells her that while she did grow up in a small town, she still went to Chilton, Yale, and had many of the benefits that rich people have including her grandparents donating a building in her name. Logan acknowledges his privilege while Rory tries to say she is not like that, even though he is calling her out on this. (If this is incorrect or not explained correctly, please let me know. Been a while since I have seen that episode)
As for the rest of the show and the revival it's a mixed bag. I find that when a high school character goes off to college in most shows that the writing quality tends to go down. From my experience, writers seem to not know what to do with characters once they go off to college as it's a change of scenery, new experiences, and now you have to find a navigation. As for April, she often gets a bad rep but I blame it more on the writers for trying to put drama and a wrench in the Luke and Lorelai relationship. There was also the Palladino spouses leaving the series after season 6 and as a result a new showrunner came on board. It's why Lorelai marrying Christopher never made sense to me and why things are generally off in that season. As for the revival, I felt it was a way to bring everyone back for a reunion. I was initially excited as it gave the Palladino spouses a chance to end the series how they wanted to ten years prior, but it fell flat with Rory. I did not mind the struggles Rory had as I went through something similar in my early 30s, but it was strange to see her being engaged Logan's mistress and everything else that followed. Then I learned it was a way for Palladino to put her original series ending in place by having Rory repeat her mother's cycle as a single parent on a new uncertain venture. Had Palladino been able to do her original series ending, it was to have Rory go off to graduate school and expecting her first child.
As for the rest of your analysis, I agree with a lot of it and I feel it has its good and bad moments. However, I feel Gilmore Girls is more a product of the 2000s like a lot shows then and before. No doubt we will be criticizing today's shows 20 years from now. I do appreciate that you want to give an analysis and not cancel the series. I think it's good that we look at things structurally and call out the flaws and outdated practices to show how far we have come, which can be a good thing for the next generations.
thoughtful and well written analysis. Pointed out a lot of important flaws that the show has received totally valid and deserved criticism for.
I’ve been ready since friends. I believe it’s wrong to sleep with someone on a break but not cheating. A break as I’ve determined at least, is not a defined relationship. A break is a limbo. By the end you will either be broken up or back as a couple but a break you are still doing together. Essentially by sleeping with someone else on a break means you are ending that relationship, breaking the ties if that makes sense. I have never been in a romantic relationship however so this is just a theory based on the ways I’ve seen humans act in relationships
this is exactly why I never got into this show in the first place. all well said!
Oh.. you’re hilarious, definitely subscribing. Great editing too, the background music is a weeee bit too loud but this was a great introduction to your channel
Thank you for your time and sub!
For breaks I'm of the opinion that those boundaries need to be discussed. If both parties are ok with sleeping with others, then it's fine, but if either party is like "no, even on a break i don't want us sleeping with others" then don't do it. So agreed, if it wasn't discussed at all and he went sleeping around, then it's not okay.
Other than that I can agree with a lot of the other points you made. Even when it was at its peak I never really got into it while my mom and sibling loved it. When I started really unpacking my own pickme/not like other girls phase this was one of those shows I had to look at and ask myself "is this really that bad or was that me?" Videos like this have helped me in that process by pointing out things that bothered me as a teen that I didn't have the ability to put into words until I got older.
Like other examples in the Show breastfeeding in public was new and very progressive at that time and many people alienated in the First Place Like Luke
I really liked your commentary. First video I watch of yours, I'm gonna pay attention to future ones
Such a good retrospective!
Lorelei's treatment of her mother was terrible. She wanted nothing more than to spend time with her daughter and granddaughter and Lorelei made her pay for the privileged.
You do realize that Emily was emotionally abusive towards her daughter, right? That is firmly set up in the show. I know Emily is quippy and has plenty of zingy one liners that make her enjoyable to watch, but in real life someone like this is very difficult to be around. Speaking from personal experiences here. This type of person is emotionally draining and hurtful. They can make you constantly question your self-worth and wonder what you did wrong this time. Lorelai is protecting herself by limiting contact with Emily. She is deeply traumatized by her childhood. In fact, a lot of Lorelai's behavior during the show can be put down to a response to unhealed trauma. Self care is not selfishness.
@@CJBailey372 She did deeply hurt Lorelai, and limiting contact makes sense. But making people pay to see you? That's not really self care.
I love the beat in the background!
So unfortunate the show runners didn’t have a Time Machine to go forward and see this video so they could write the show based on culture 20 years in advance. Wow. So silly.
Depending on how you view the linearity of time, yeah it is kinda silly. Also fuck hindsight, refection and retrosoectives amirite?
@@ReptarusOnIce no, don't fuck hindsight, reflection or retrospectives...understand and learn...don't criticize something that wasn't able to learn from itself before it did the thing it did.
It's okay to watch media with a critical eye.
There are few things I hate more in this world than 2000s dramedies. Nine times out of ten, the characters are awful people to some extent, said awfulness gets played for "comedy" without the actual comedic exaggeration you'd get from say, Always Sunny, and the drama is that forced kind you'd see on a daytime soap opera. Maybe it's my general antisocial nature kicking in, but shows like this always wind up making me feel pissed off instead of entertained.
Also, I must admit a shameful secret: I spent most of my life confusing Gilmore Girls and Golden Girls. Even after learning which one was which, I still have to take a moment to think about it when I hear either show's name.
Please tell me that you enjoyed Golden Girls at least. That show is truly golden.
@@infinitum8558 Of course! Between Golden Girls and Murder She Wrote, I'm of the opinion that we need more TV starring sassy old ladies.
My brother, you should look up a tabletop rpg called brindlewood bay. It's basically murder she wrote, golden girls and Lovecraft all smashed together.
@@ReptarusOnIce I can't believe I didn't know about this sooner! Not only is it relevant to my interests, but I've been trying to get my mom and my brother to give TTRPGs a shot and something like Brindlewood Bay would be perfect!
I was glad to come across your video, as I do love the Gilmore Girls. I loved everything you had to say. I must tell you that I was very disappointed with the revival of the show. Rory was very un - Rory, far away from how we usually see her.
Great job and long overdue analysis.
Thank you!
I think and have thought that the most interesting GG's were Lorelei and Emily. Rory bored me.
Rory was interesting to me because she was of a similar age to me. So it was interesting looking at our lives side by side. But she's insufferable in her 30s.
Omg watch Dawson's Creek and make a video....i would love to hear what you'd have to say about it❤❤❤❤
FREE LANE FOREVER / subscribed
I watched 4 minutes. That was enough.
Weird flex, but appreciate the feedback and comment.
The dialogue style reminded me of a Stillman picture. I can't stand it.
I couldn’t get through this show. It just wasn’t good.
The show didn't age badly. We moderns just started mistaking overthinking the piss out of everything for a form of higher wisdom
You mean like when Paris was hooking up with her professor?
@ReptarusOnIce I mean like modern audiences clutching their pearls over silly things like "lack of diversity". "Moesha' and the like were on TV during this same period. Only morons would pretend to be traumatized by series such as those having only a couple of White cast members, and barely any East Asians, Hispanics, Near Easterners, etc etc. I say all this as someone who's not even a big fan of GG, albeit for different reasons
@@ReptarusOnIceamong other things
I think you're reacting harder than the people you're claiming are upset. Observations isn't always condemnation.
@@ang5798So you think we should bring back adult x minor relationships?
Yes, it's terrible when old things aren't modern. I felt the same way when I read Homer's Odyssey. There was little emphasis on representation there either. Fortunately, there were characters who identified as animals.
Seriously, the focus on skin color shouldn't be a criterion. You could also say that the Cosbeys lack diversity. Content, themes or interpretations are more important. Rory's story, for example, illustrates the failure of the golden child. Lorelei's journey is that of growing up in old age.
Nevertheless, I would like to thank you for the video. It's well made and throws up an interesting perspective here and there.
"Fortunately, there were characters who identified as animals"
Please expand on that sentence. Within the context of your example.
Oh settle down...... Its a FICTIONAL TV SHOW
I'm not angry?
So your real problem is modernism...?
This DEI take was really exaggerated...
Wtf is wrong with one race of people living together without any other races around? I do believe that if the cast were any other darn race, you wouldn't have a problem with it. If it were an all black show, you wouldn't say a word. But the media's conditioned people to think that it's bad if you're not living in a "melting pot" as a light skinned person. I would absolutely love to live in a place like that represented in this show. It's not bad to want to live with mostly people that look like you.
Lol telling on yourself
As a disclaimer, the reason for my critical point of view on what I discuss in my comment is because I admire and appreciate the program and the contribution it has to make. It is common for me to have my most critical eye with my most favorite programs.
I believe that the revival proves how Rory was wrong for rejecting Logan's marriage proposal. She clearly wasn't going to do better given who she is, and she kept on dating him the whole time anyway. So why not marry the man?? I don't understand.
The other aspect I would like comment on is about who the main character of this story is. Because Rory ain't it. She has what we now call, "Main Character Syndrome". Her story lines and her plot line make little to no sense, and the movement between one point to another has little to no rhythm we can make sense of.
The main character of this story is Lorelai...and perhaps her mother. The sad truth of the matter is that Rory seems to have become a literary device in service of Lorelai's story. IN the same way that Lindsay and her mother became a literary device in service of Rory's story.
I think it's a flaw in the construction of this show's universe, in it's balancing of depth with complexity as it explored and discovered different aspects of itself, that was never acknowledged or dealt with in any real way. The writing of her book at the end of the revival series by Rory, in my view, is symbolic of that.
My sister won’t stop watching this show and it fucking sucks… literally the worst thing I’ve ever seen
I only watch the show for the characters that aren't Loralai and Rory. Every other character has real issues, real character, and real goals. L ans R ars are self centered without self awareness.
Listen to this person.
Do it for Kirk. And the town troubadour.