Week 3: Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars

I have been an avid Gilmore Girls’ viewer since the show first aired in 2000, so it was really interesting for me to look at the show analytically through the viewing of episodes 1.1 and 5.6 and Francesca Gamber’s article, “Riding the Wave: The Multiple Feminisms of Gilmore Girls.” One of the most interesting ideas I found in the article was Gamber’s idea that Rory’s change in feminist model and what world she chooses to conform to can be seen by the way she dresses (122). After reading this article and watching the episodes during the screening, it became blatantly clear how dress was an indication of the social class Rory was trying to belong to. For instance, Rory has to wear a uniform when she attends Chilton, but not before Lorelai has a chance to hem and alter it. Rory also changes her appearance when she visits her grandparents’ house. When Lorelai and Rory arrive for dinner they are dressed up and look put together. Rory’s grandparents and their social life give her the opportunity to seamlessly belong to both social classes. She can belong to either the middle class or the upper class when she chooses. I think this is an ongoing tension throughout the show as Rory has a love hate relationship with her grandparents’ world. In the first episode Rory says, “I can’t wait to be a private school girl,” but in later episodes she hates the privilege that comes with her idea of the private school world.

One thing I found striking when comparing Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars was the difference in their portrayals of teens. Rory is portrayed as the ideal teen girl as she always seems to do the right thing and loves learning as she reads all the time, but in Veronica Mars the teens are seen drinking and having a “who cares” attitude toward punishment. When Lilly tells Veronica that they won’t actually be going to the dance, Veronica says that she will get grounded, but Lilly talks Veronica into it by arguing that grounding is a small price to pay for a good time. Lilly is all about having fun and she doesn’t worry about the consequences. Veronica is clearly not Lilly and she appears to be somewhat of a “good girl,” but it is interesting to see how the two shows differ in their portrayals of teens in high school.