I am going to be analyzing the TV show Gilmore Girls through the media-centered perspective with a focus on the dramatistic perspective.
Rhetorical Situation
Gilmore Girls was a 2000s comedy TV show that was set in a Connecticut town, Stars Hollow. It focuses on Lorelei Gilmore and her daughter, Rory. The show begins when Rory is in high school and Lorelei works at an inn, but it continues on through their lives as the series goes. Lorelei had Rory when she was 16 and because of this the two are very close and have a mother-daughter bond that can be seen as unusual. The purpose of the show is to show a parenting style that wasn’t very common at the time and to show the ups and downs that you may encounter in life.
The episode that I will be focusing on for this analysis is “Raincoats and Recipes” (season 4, episode 22). In this episode Lorelei is having family and friends come to a test-run of her new inn. One of the people who attends is Rory’s ex-boyfriend, Dean, who is now married. They go back to Rory’s house and end up sleeping together. Lorelei then comes and catches them and is very angry with Rory for doing this to herself and to Dean’s marriage.
Describe and Interpret
The act: Rory sleeping with her ex-boyfriend when he is married.
The agents: Rory and Dean are the characters that are involved in the “Rule-Breaking” behavior. They both knew what they were doing and did not stop to think about how it would have consequences
The purpose: The purpose is usually an explanation to why the act was done. In this episode Dean tells Rory that his marriage is failing and he still loves Rory. Rory also still loves Dean and she chooses to believe him, even though he has not made any plans to actually leave his wife.
The motive: The motive is what makes the act justifiable. The TV show tries to make this act justifiable through mortification. Rory is punished because she cannot be with Dean, even though she loves him, and her relationship with her mother gets ruined for a few months. In the end Rory confesses her guilt and cuts things off with Dean because he did not make an effort to leave his wife. This allows her to be accepted back into society.
Media Ecology Theory
The media ecology theory focuses on how media affects human perception, understanding beliefs, and behaviors. I think this episode does a good job of trying to use media to let people see the negative consequences that will come from certain decisions that are made. It also highlights the understanding of why the act was committed and why the motive allows for the act to be justifiable.
Potential Implications
This episode does a good job of showing the consequences of actions. Most shows will focusing on making love always win, but Gilmore Girls portrayed the reality of what happens when you break rules and do not stop to think of the people you are going to be hurting in the process. Throughout all 7 seasons this TV show likes to show a less fairy tale side of life that is actually very realistic.
I think this artifact does a great job of capturing the media ecology theory given the reasons you stated in your blog post. The textbook also states that the media ecology theory was sometimes used to clear up any misinterpretations. Do you think there are any messages that could be misinterpreted from this scene?
I have never actually seen this show but I like how you talk about how in this case love doesn’t win like how many shows, especially ones geared towards children, show. I also love how you chose a show where a single mother is raising her daughter that she had as a teen. Not many shows during the early 2000s showed the ups of the relationship of a single mother raising her kids.