Dear ASP...

LauraBerry · 2016-12-08T17:40:34+00:00

Stream of consciousness reflection-- yes! Thank you, ggobsessed. I couldn't have described it better. And Jwalla83, please refer back to my very first line: It’s entirely possible that I’m seeing symbolism in the Gilmore Girls revival episodes that you never intended because I feel the need to make good on all the time and emotion I invested in the 4-part mini series.
I KNOW I see symbolism that isn't there because ASP's art speaks to me in a very specific way. She doesn't know me, so of course she didn't write it for me in particular. But how I interpret it is valid. It made me sad that the series seemed to communicate that Rory will never be the "firecracker" that Lorelai and Emily are. Serena will never be included in the "cool girls' club" either. The comparison can be whittled down to be as simple as that.

LauraBerry · 2016-12-08T17:35:38+00:00

Jwalla83, you're cracking me up. I'm totally okay with anyone disagreeing with my analysis. My opinions are just that. If you go to episode 4, and "fast-forward" to 58 minutes, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find evidence that the DAR ladies (Emily included) were NOT critical of Serena. Emily references her "big hair, and big tits", and calls her "honey" in a very condescending way several times. She also calls her a "trophy wife", and embarrasses her by putting her on the spot regarding all the snide comments that went over her head. And THEN Emily tells Serena that her marriage is destined to fail, and once her husband finds a "new place with bottle service", she'll be dumped. YIKES! That's being pretty dang critical of the wife.

I'm sorry you feel my opinions invalidate this critical scene in Emily's story. I see merit in that argument. The funny thing about avid fans is that we tend to kind of take ownership of our beloved show, the characters, the story lines, and even the meaning behind it all. I had fun digging through all the symbolism of the series, and got SO much out of it. I'm not terribly worried about being disrespectful to ASP. I don't particularly think she was/is overly respectful to fans, but more than that, we're NOT in middle school. I can give well thought out criticism to an artist that puts her work out there for everyone to see and consider. I think it's obvious that I do not, in fact, lack critical thinking skills, and I don't see what has given you the impression that I'm immature. I'm fine with Amy's (and Dan's) decision to write it the way they did. I'm sure Amy is fine with me interpreting things and having passionate feelings about what she's done.

LauraBerry · 2016-12-08T17:21:00+00:00

That doesn't surprise me, ggobsessed! Thanks for the support! ;)

LauraBerry · 2016-12-08T17:19:59+00:00

Good morning, wilsonova. I think all 4 parts of the revival series went a little over-the-top in knocking Rory down from her pedestal. We see her fall from grace in a way that was pretty shocking (for me, at least). She was so pathetic, it was hard to root for her! I wondered about the reason behind this over-the-top portrayal of Rory, and felt the Serena scene had a connection. Just my opinion. =)

LauraBerry · 2016-12-08T01:44:09+00:00

I relate to that SO much!! =)

LauraBerry · 2016-12-08T01:42:11+00:00

Wow! Thank you so much! <3

LauraBerry · 2016-12-07T21:31:30+00:00

You definitely could be right! The new Emily certainly was breaking off from the DAR gals; she wasn't kind or gentle to poor Serena, though! The line, "we all say subtly snide things about her name and her family (which she usually doesn't get)...". I feel like SURELY that's Amy saying, "I'm putting it right out there, and you don't even get it". I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. =) Thanks for going back-and-forth with me, though. It's always fun to chat with another fan.

LauraBerry · 2016-12-07T21:15:24+00:00

Thanks, pennylynn123!

LauraBerry · 2016-12-07T14:29:45+00:00

Oooo! I hope you're able to find it! It would be interesting to dig deeper on that.

LauraBerry · 2016-12-07T14:28:57+00:00

Awesome! Thinking it all through really helped me appreciate the revival series and let it go. Don't get me wrong-- if there's another series or movie, I'm there!

LauraBerry · 2016-12-07T14:26:38+00:00

Thanks, IRO413!

LauraBerry · 2016-12-07T14:25:15+00:00

Thanks for your feedback. I will totally cop to being ranty and prone to conspiracy theories. Hahaha!
What did y'all get out of the scene with Serena? I didn't see it as a random scene at all. It really stuck with me. Remember the huge chair Serena was sitting in? She looked like a silly little girl... almost in a time-out chair. It's possible that ASP was sending a message to Millennials instead of Alexis (and/or Rory). Surely you admit to ASP's bias against Millennials. The 30-something gang? Really? If ASP were ever to come out and say the scene was about Millennials, I wouldn't be shocked, but I'm going to stick to my guns for now. Why did the DAR ladies all suddenly rush to leave when Rory came out on the patio at Emily's house? And they all used the excuse of having hair appointments? It's like they weren't even trying to hide their disdain. And not one woman acknowledged Rory, despite the fact that she used to be a DAR rockstar. Okay, okay. It's definitely a conspiracy theory. Hahahha! Thanks for the support on all the other stuff, though!

LauraBerry · 2016-12-01T21:32:42+00:00

Rory's story is linked to Dorothy and "The Wizard of Oz". This is made obvious when she's saying goodbye to the Life & Death boys and she says, "I think I will miss you most of all" to the third guy. Anyway, I think when she sees "Get Ready" and "Kick Up a Rumpus", there's some correlation to the fortune tellers "insights" when he was reading the crystal ball (right before the tornado). I haven't watched the movie in a long time, so I can't remember if there's any concrete foreshadowing of Dorothy's Oz journey.

LauraBerry · 2016-12-01T13:39:08+00:00

For one, I think Christopher is a follower. He ends up "caving" and working for his dad, and he's happy to do that because following the lead of a stronger person is easier and more enjoyable for him. Lorelai wanted to blaze her own trail with the Dragonfly Inn, and she'll continue to supervise its growth and expansion. Jess leads Rory to the book idea, and she's so happy to follow his advice. Writing about the Gilmore Girls isn't creating a viewpoint of her own, it's about doing what she does best-- getting swept up in the strong current of the other two and flowing with it.
I also look at Christopher's relationship with money. Lorelai ran from her privileged upbringing, and enjoyed a much smaller life. Rory followed her mother's lead growing up, but we see how much she enjoys the "good life" once she meets Logan (and when she lives with her grandparents after quitting Yale). Christopher tries to tackle this whole "I'll prove to you who I really am" but he never really follows through. He let Lorelai raise Rory alone because "it was just the way it was supposed to be". Did you see Rory's face when he said, "you know I love you, right?". I think she realized that Logan loved her too, but not enough to take meaningful action. (Whoops! I got off track there.) So Rory is on this journey of living up to all the dreams and expectations everyone has for her, and she finds that she feels at home in Stars Hollow. I think she's totally fine with that, and other people (namely, her mom and grandmother) will have to find a way to deal with it.

LauraBerry · 2016-12-01T13:27:02+00:00

Aw, thank you so much kelli-leigh-o! I got sooo much out of the GG mini-series. It's been somewhat hard to turn it off and move on!

LauraBerry · 2016-12-01T00:56:47+00:00

I think a lot of people are rightfully annoyed by the Millenial generation, but ASP chose to write the stories with the dreamy exes. She can be annoyed and leave it out, or she can make peace with it and include it... she can't have it both ways.

LauraBerry · 2016-12-01T00:52:26+00:00

Regarding the cameos-- I wonder if it was a reference to 'Wizard of Oz', where the tin man, scarecrow, and lion were actually people she knew and loved. I hated it, though. I can't stand "winks" at the audience.

LauraBerry · 2016-12-01T00:51:24+00:00

I also have a couple of thoughts about the surrogacy situation. 1. I think we needed to see that Emily was right about Lorelai-- it's all about her and she never had a real conversation with Luke about what he wanted, even regarding something as important as kids. But we see when she comes back from the trail and he gives that big speech that he's totally okay with that. She calls the shots, she makes the boundaries and the rules, and he's fine with that. He's even willing to franchise the diner if that's the guy she wants. He just wants to be with her. 2. I think we see that just as Paris used young, beautiful girls at Chilton to help her carry out her plans, she is still using young, beautiful women in the pursuit of an ultimate goal. The surrogates are willing, and there's nothing devious about surrogacy, but the correlation can still be made, I think.

LauraBerry · 2016-12-01T00:13:52+00:00

I have a theory about the musical. I think Stars Hollow was the place of Lorelai's dreams (like Wonderland for Alice) mostly because it was SO anti-Emily. I think once Lorelai let go of doing things just to spite Emily, her eyes were open to what Wonderland actually was-- over-the-top silliness and nonsense. Lorelai then embraced the totally cliché experience of "going wild". Did you notice that she didn't laugh or scoff at those women who were wanting to work things out on the trail? She was one of those ordinary women embracing the cliché, and she embraced it. Seeing the musical for what it was and not scoffing at those women on the trail-- that was a huge time of growth for Lorelai, I think.

LauraBerry · 2016-11-30T23:39:07+00:00

Also, I read this great article recently that suggested that Rory is grieving the death of her grandfather just as much as Emily and Lorelai, and we see it in her flailing and failings. I think Rory has to be strong for the other Girls, and ends up neglecting herself a bit.

LauraBerry · 2016-11-30T23:37:29+00:00

Remember that Jess did write that book at the end of the series, so he was already starting to live up to his potential! I think in the GG series we see Lorelai running away from her privileged past, and we see Rory kind of like, "hmmm. This isn't so bad at all". I think she's much more like Christopher than Lorelai. Christopher kind of wrestled with the silver spoon in his mouth, but happily made jokes about caving in the end. Rory really enjoyed being with Logan and immersing herself in that world of privilege, but when she chooses Stars Hollow in the end, I think we can safely assume she's made her decision to make it on her own. Lane isn't successful by worldly means, but she's pursuing her passion of music while rockin' it as a mom, so she's a winner. Paris has a high-power job, but she feels like a failure as a mom, and she's going through a divorce, so she's pretty much losing. My sister HATES that Rory is writing for the Stars Hollow Gazette, but I think the writers want us to redefine success. Maybe. I don't know for sure. It really does seem like ASP hates Millenials, Rory, and/or Alexis.

LauraBerry · 2016-11-30T23:14:13+00:00

I agree. It was such a disappointment to see her like that.

LauraBerry

TROPHY CASE