Is Gilmore Girls the Answer?
Written by Julia Gillis
Edited by Sabrina Khan
Cover image from Gilmore Girls
In a world with growing teen anxiety, rampant and harmful social media addiction, and declining educational outcomes, teenage girls could use a little help. To be sure, entertainment options beyond social media that present good role models are sorely needed. Could the show Gilmore Girls be part of the solution? The show follows a mother-daughter duo of 16-year-old girl Rory and her 32-year-old mom Lorelai who journey through the challenges of single parenthood, friendship struggles, and boy drama. Through it all, Rory maintains the hallmark qualities of a good role model, as she remains composed, warm-hearted, and kind, and her determination and dedication to achieve her best academically never wavers. Her goal is to get into Harvard, which she does, but the key message for young girls is to shoot for the stars. Other popular shows just can’t compare, as they simply seem to mirror and reinforce bad stereotypes. A good example of this is the show The Summer I Turned Pretty. Gilmore Girls is comparably popular, has better role models, and a core focus on educational achievement. With all of this in mind, we should consider making the show mandatory viewing for all teen girls. The obvious question is: mandatory viewing, why? Gilmore Girls should be mandatory for all teen girls to watch because it has excellent role models, unique features, and entertaining plotlines.
As a character, Rory is an excellent role model to young girls because she possesses many important qualities to succeed in school and life. Rory is hard-working, determined, kind, and empathetic. Rory is often portrayed diligently studying and working towards getting into Harvard so that she can become a journalist. The lesson here is that young girls should dream big and work hard because if you do both, anything is achievable. Rory is also very dedicated and determined. When her boyfriend Dean presses her to go out to a movie, she is firm in her decision to stay in and study, even though it could impact on their relationship. Rory’s focus and unwavering dedication to her goals, like getting into Harvard, illustrates that choosing studies over boys and other interests is sensible and that important long-term goals should be prioritized.
Although ambition and determination are critical to academic success, having good character is an essential component in life. Rory is consistently kind to all the people she meets and is the number one supporter of all her friends. After her friend Lane gets kicked out of her house for being in a band, Rory lets her stay in her dorm room for almost 3 months. Being kind is incredible because it improves our relationships, and our ability to work with others, both of which are critical to our happiness and well-being. It is evident that Rory possesses the necessary traits for academic success. In a world full of immense issues, academics pave the way for young women to hone their problem-solving skills. Gilmore Girls is unique in the fact that it promotes traits needed for teen resilience and success.
In contrast, other popular shows fail to uphold the positive storylines and characters in Gilmore Girls. Indeed most other popular shows seem to double down on negative stereotypes, which only add to teen insecurity and distraction. Uniquely, Gilmore Girls is popular, relatable, and full of substance. The show depicts a single mother and her daughter, who live an ordinary life, in a normal-sized home with not much money. Their everyday activities are very similar and therefore identifiable to many other teens globally. Other popular shows such as “Euphoria” and “Ginny and Georgia'' only focus on how to be “cool” in high school. A common theme in these shows is that high school is centred around parties, making school irrelevant Comparing a normal life to those seen in shows like “Euphoria” may make teens feel like their lives are mundane, whereas seeing a show like Gilmore Girls might support teen girls by validating decisions to stay home and watch movies with their moms on a Friday night. Additionally, Gilmore Girls isn’t shallow and centered around relationships with men. For example, in “The Summer I Turned Pretty”, an extremely popular show, the whole premise is trying to discover which one of the two brothers in the show the protagonist will end up dating. Gilmore Girls includes dating and parties, but it isn’t the main focus of the show. Rory’s boyfriends were created to display her growth and lessons learned throughout the series. The relationships in Gilmore Girls weren’t the plot in and of themselves. Gilmore Girls includes the elements that make a show good while also helping young women feel validated in the habits that are better for academic success and self-esteem.
By now you may be thinking - can a show that promotes studying, healthy relationships, and relatability be entertaining? Gilmore Girls was and is wildly popular, so in the worst case, teens who are exposed to the show will be entertained, even if they are not enlightened. The show has great characters, witty dialogue, and is relaxing to watch. At its peak, Gilmore Girls had an average of 5 million viewers per episode. Moreover, it was part of Time magazine’s 100 best shows of all time and even won an Emmy (Poniewozik 34.) The way the series manages to weave the entertainment factor in with important life lessons and comforting themes of love and family is what makes it essential viewing and such a fan favorite. Lastly, it creates a comforting atmosphere that romanticizes autumn and back-to-school time. The show is warmly lit, and the mother-daughter duo are always seen traipsing around their charming small town with a cup of coffee. Stars Hollow, the town where the show takes place, is always covered in seasonal decorations like pumpkins and fairy lights. All of these wonderful aspects make Gilmore Girls so pleasant and delightful. To be sure detractors will point out that Rory’s grandparents are rich and that she goes to private school as reasons why the show shouldn’t be mandatory, but like the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, it won’t hurt its viewers and it just might help.
To conclude, Gilmore Girls should be a mandatory show to watch because it has good role models, unique features, and entertaining plotlines. The combination of these traits will help inspire young women to achieve greatness. In a world plagued with serious issues like wars, climate change, and hunger, we must do everything we can to get the most - and not the least - out of our young women.
References
Poniewozik, J. (2007, August 13). All-TIME 100 TV shows. Time. https://entertainment.time.com/2007/09/06/the-100-best-tv-shows-of-all-time/?slide=gilmore-girls