The Rory Gilmore Blunder(s)

After some reflection, I’ve landed on a way to describe my current situation perfectly. For it to work, I must discuss both the written story and the reception of a character. Worry not, this post will not perpetuate my aforementioned (in an older post) fear of audience reception. It is actually just me fussing over myself via a fun example. While this will involve some criticism, I will also avoid throwing metaphorical rocks at the woman who created the character I speak of. This character is Rory Gilmore, one of the titular ‘Gilmore Girls’ of the beloved 2000s drama.

For anyone who doesn’t know, Gilmore Girls is a TV show that follows a mother-daughter duo, thirty-two and sixteen, navigating life. It demonstrates the transition from teenagedom to adulthood seamlessly, peppering in unique references that range from celebrity gossip to classic fiction to keep people comfortable and entertained.

There are a lot of popular pieces of art that I would love a chance to discuss on this blog because of how much I admire the writing behind them. For example, the narrative within Ethel Cain’s ‘Preacher’s Daughter’ album (my favourite thing to listen to while writing) manages to poeticise the grotesque in a way I feel I can connect with. Abi Morgan’s show ‘The Split’ delivered everything it should’ve in a precise 18-episode run. Alasdair Gray’s ‘Poor Things’ novel is incredibly thought-provoking and I equally encourage people who loved and hated the film to read it. This month, I am discussing things in terms of a show that I sometimes find myself criticising, doesn’t age perfectly, and can be found in trashy magazines. This is because I believe viewers of the series will understand my novel’s protagonist who teeters on the edge of adulthood, and the mass appeal of the series will ensure that this update from me is understandable and entertaining. Luckily, the clarity in my writing will prevent the rest of you from feeling excluded.

Let’s quickly revisit an earlier point I made. Something Gilmore Girls does best is depicting the harrowing process of graduating from teenagedom to adulthood, focusing mainly on girls. But guess what? My upcoming novel does this too! So, if you find comfort in the show, you’ll find comfort in the book. But this article isn’t called ‘The Rory Gilmore Achievement(s)’. Rory made mistakes within the story, while fans and writers alike may have made mistakes when creating and receiving her. As I come head to head with new obstacles, I can’t help drawing comparisons between my life and the things I watch and read, so I’ve identified two parts of my life that are best described in terms of this character.

Rory is infamous for her Yale drop-out period (‘whY did (she) drOp out of YAle?!‘) in which she lived with her grandmother and essentially became her apprentice. She also fell into a career slump later in life. These events demonstrated her struggle with burnout after having been a studious teenager. I recently saw a Twitter post in which someone jokingly asked about a ‘pride flag’ for unemployed people and somebody replied with Rory’s face on a flag. She is often used as an example of a ‘former gifted kid’ and is the first to come to mind to many when they think of burnout. During her career slump, she turns her attention from her (virtually fruitless) childhood dream of writing articles to writing books. Here’s how this lines up with me: I failed to pass my first year of university and eventually decided that it would be best to abandon the game-development path I was on and focus on writing. Luckily, though I do not have as much financial support to fall back on as Rory, I’ve been planning my budget and building a better routine. I sometimes feel as though I’m in a weird, Rory-esque limbo and cry on account of what I’m unsure of, but I think I’ll be alright. I plan to avoid this first ‘Rory Gilmore Blunder’ by succeeding with my book through hard work, routine, and not losing my way between the ages of eighteen and thirty-two.

However, this isn’t the only reason I’m bringing up her mistakes. I am currently trying to write a female character with negative qualities that is still likeable and relatable, and Rory serves as an incredibly interesting case study for me as her show is adored yet she is (often) not. I want to know what it is about her story, the show’s writing, the 2000s, and our society as a whole that came together to make her seem like one of the most hated protagonists on screen. I wonder whether the external factors are really that great, if Amy Sherman-Palladino made any mistakes, or if both played a role in this.

I sometimes feel that ASP, while trying to craft a story of female unification and strength, accidentally created a near-horror story of women who have been enabled a little too much. Rory’s mother is practically her best friend, mostly due to her young age. The mother in question ran away from home at sixteen, but was never at any real risk due to the wealthy background from which she came, and the privilege of the characters has been a point of contention among fans. There are also parallels demonstrating women never being able to escape their mothers’ personalities, no matter whether they are as close as Rory and her mother or as distant as Rory’s mother and grandmother, and this isn’t helpful when you, like me, find it difficult to like Rory’s mother.

However, Rory’s flaws in the show are more explicitly blamed on her relationship with her father, and I do not think this was a mistake. Instead, I think that they should’ve found a more accurate ratio. It would have served the show well to explore her mother’s impact in greater detail, and not expect us to admire said mother’s childish behaviour. Make no mistake, I still don’t think she should’ve been burned at the stake or estranged from Rory as that’d undermine everything I’m about to say about flawed characters.

Rory is unmistakably human, she sleeps with the wrong people, says things she regrets to strangers, struggles with career-related sacrifices, and suffers from a severe burnout. People could relate to character so much that they cannot bear to see their flaws on screen and need to project somewhere. However, to reiterate an earlier point, the privilege of the titular family is controversial among fans. People often feel like Rory isn’t human enough because of how much she manages to get away with compared to how productive she is alone. Despite the fact that characters such as Logan address this within the show, fans still feel that there was not enough consequence or self-awareness from the characters.

Some more issues she has come down to the time period within which it was written and set- the 2000s. The show reprimands Rory ever so slightly for calling a woman fat in her article, but consistently cancels that out by its abundance of fat jokes and normalised gossip regarding looks. This was quite common during this time period, especially with the celebrity culture revolving around models like Paris Hilton and Kate Moss. Though, while ‘nothing taste(d) as good as skinny (felt)’, the characters do constantly eat junk food and canonically can’t cook.

Unfortunately, no matter what we change about our writing to clarify our intentions, society will always play a part. People create things that stick. If women still struggle for equal pay and men like Andrew Tate still exist, it is likely that being a woman will be just as hard at least a hundred years from now. This means a show like Gilmore Girls or a book like mine will inevitably face some form of disdain just for existing. Male fans may hate the way the characters act because it is distinctly female, and the most misogynistic of the bunch will be the most scathing in their opinions if they bother to express them. Rory has an affluent, boy-filled, lipgloss-coated lifestyle that exemplifies girlhood. Some girls feel they want to separate themselves from those ideals, and others feel they have to fit them. Either way, contempt and jealousy from female audiences’ feelings towards their gender will inevitably taint the viewing experience of some.

Overall, although ASP may have made some mistakes in her portrayal, it seems she intended Rory to be a relatable and likeable character. Lucky for her, she managed to reach many people with her approach. I find Rory to be a lot like me, too. She grew from a teenager to an adult just as messily as the rest of us. I want my protagonist to be that, but for more people. Not everybody thinks the same way, so it is difficult to pinpoint what defines a mistake in this context. Hopefully, when I’m successful, someone will write a blog post about what I could have done better and I’ll have some interesting food for thought.

I had originally intended to write as though the protagonist was reflecting on the events of the book, so you know she is no longer as rude and silly as she is over the course of the story, and therefore feel less anger towards her. I then decided that I’d be brave and leave the interpretation to the readers, even if this leads to people putting the book down, because I want to create a unique character voice and someone who demonstrates realistic growth. Her early narration may render her unsympathetic, but I think that the narrative will be so enjoyable and worthwhile that you’ll end up loving her.

I want to avoid the second ‘Rory Gilmore Blunder’ by writing my protagonist as understandably and sympathetically as possible but, while I do this, I must remember that I cannot water her down for fear of negativity and misinterpretation.

In conclusion, I will keep my career afloat and ensure my protagonist is received (by the majority) in a positive way. Simply put, I will not fall victim to the Rory Gilmore blunders.

P.S, it’s my birthday tomorrow. Yippee! And, if you want to hear a girly little secret, I’m ‘team Logan’. He’s a good lad.