From 2000 to 2007, Rory, portrayed by Alexis Bledel, became a best friend and role model for a generation of young, bookish girls. Her vast personal book collection—rivaling the Library of Alexandria—and her encyclopedic literary knowledge wowed us, though some references were too esoteric for many viewers.
The Gilmore Girls writers would have you believe that precocious Rory had read the entire Russian literary canon and the Nancy Drew series before the age of 12. And was it really hard to picture the dour-faced Gilmore girl clutching a copy of Dostoyevsky on the elementary school playground?
Indeed, books were among the show's most effective props. After all, wasn't it a dog-eared copy of "Howl" that first brought Jess and Rory together? Rory's books served as clever metaphors for subplots, subtly revealing the inner turmoil she never openly expressed. Below are five favorite literary references throughout the Gilmore Girls years.
1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
–Rory & Dean
Very few among us—by us, I mean Generation Gilmore—were on Team Dean. Dean made cardinal TV character errors: he was dull and had a disastrous haircut. However, Dean somehow connected with viewers when he bitingly referred to Anna Karenina, Rory’s favorite book, as “depressing.” It is depressing! But of course, Rory loved it because she loved any book that made her look impressive as she traipsed through Stars Hollow. Rory also identified with Anna, the title character stuck in a marriage of convenience to Count Karenin, who engages in an illicit affair with the dashing young Count Vronsky. Rory’s a Count Vronsky kind of girl, and Dean was Count Karenin. No wonder they broke up by the end of the episode.
2. Howl by Allen Ginsberg
–Rory & Jess
I wouldn’t be surprised if paperback sales of Howl, Allen Ginsberg’s seminal work of poetry, suddenly spiked after this season-two episode aired. Didn’t we all want to impress a guy like Jess, a James Dean wannabe who accessorized with an interminable scowl? I imagine Jess, who favored the aggressive, hypermasculine compositions of Charles Bukowski and Hunter S. Thompson, was in love with the idea of falling in love with a girl who had Howl on her bookshelf. Jess swiped the book off Rory’s bookshelf without asking and returned it to her later, with notes in the margin. For a girl like Rory, this was the grandest of romantic gestures (she didn’t get out much).
3. Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
–Rory & Grandparents
Richard and Emily Gilmore were at times the best part of watching Gilmore Girls. Their relationships to each other, their daughter, and their granddaughter were often contentious. Yet, at day's end, they were completely lovable grandparents. When they returned from their second honeymoon, they brought Rory a 100-year-old copy of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass—in Latin. It’s a gift that signifies the aristocratic pretensions that had destroyed their relationship with their daughter, Lorelai, but enriches their relationship with Rory.
4. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
–Rory & Logan
Rory’s entire relationship with Logan was an outstanding exercise in magical thinking, the idea that one could will their desires into existence through sheer force of hope. On paper, Logan was an ideal boyfriend. His upper-class pedigree and Ivy League education appealed to the genteel sensibilities of her grandparents. But Rory always had a taste for self-destructive bad boys, and Logan’s mean streak and perpetual drunkenness fit the bill. It would never really work out for them, though not for lack of trying. Rory read this Didion classic on a Valentine’s Day trip to Martha’s Vineyard with Logan, Lorelai, and Luke. The weekend turns disastrous when Logan's father, Mitchum, abruptly demands that Logan leave for a business trip to London.
5. The Children’s Hour, a play by Lillian Hellman
–Rory & Lorelai
Rory bought a copy of The Children’s Hour, a 1930s play by Lillian Hellman about two headmistresses of an all-girls school who are accused of being lesbians, for her mom. The play deals with a number of issues, chief among them the stringent conservatism of American social and political establishments. Naturally, this play resonated with Lorelai, given her tension-filled relationship with her parents, marked by generational anxieties. Lorelai’s life had been defined by rebellion and social exclusion— she ran away from her parent’s home and the life she knew after getting pregnant with Rory. The play also has the added appeal of being relatively overlooked, and Rory and Lorelai have never met an obscure cultural reference they didn’t like.
This article originally appeared on 10.01.14
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Why do some folks use social media but don't engage?
Psychologist says people who never comment on social media share these 5 positive traits
For over 20 years, social media has developed into a staple in many people’s day-to-day lives. Whether it’s to keep in communication with friends and family, following the thoughts of celebrities, or watching cat videos while sipping your morning coffee, there seem to be two types of social media users: commenters and lurkers.
The term “lurker” sounds equally mysterious and insidious, with some social media users writing them off as non-participants at best or voyeurs at worst. However, mindfulness expert Lachlan Brown believes these non-commenters have some very psychologically positive and healthy traits. Let’s take a look at how each one of these traits could be beneficial and see how fruitful lurking might be even though it can drive content creators crazy.
1. Cautious about vulnerability
Consciously or not, making a post online or commenting on one puts you and your words out there. It’s a statement that everyone can see, even if it’s as simple as clicking “like.” Doing so opens yourself up to judgment, with all the good, bad, and potential misinterpretation that comes with it. Non-commenters would rather not open themselves up to that.
These silent users are connected to a concept of self-protection by simply not engaging. By just scrolling past posts or just reading/watching them without commentary, they’re preventing themselves from any downsides of sharing an opinion such as rejection, misunderstanding, or embarrassment. They also have more control on how much of themselves they’re willing to reveal to the general public, and tend to be more open face-to-face or during one-on-one/one-on-few private chats or DMs. This can be seen as a healthy boundary and prevents unnecessary exposure.
Considering many comment sections, especially involving political topics, are meant to stir negative emotional responses to increase engagement, being extra mindful about where, when, and what you comment might not be a bad idea. They might not even take the engagement bait at all. Or if they see a friend of theirs post something vulnerable, they feel more motivated to engage with them personally one-on-one rather than use social media to publicly check in on them.
2. Analytical and reflective mindset
How many times have you gone onto Reddit, YouTube, or any other site and just skimmed past comments that are just different versions of “yes, and,” “no, but,” or “yes, but”? Or the ever insightful, formerly popular comment “First!” in a thread? These silent browsers lean against adding to such noise unless they have some valid and thoughtful contribution (if they bother to comment period).
These non-posters are likely wired on reflective thinking rather than their initial intuition. Not to say that all those who comment aren’t thoughtful, but many tend to react quickly and comment based on their initial feelings rather than absorbing the information, thinking it over, researching or testing their belief, and then posting it. For "lurkers," it could by their very nature to just do all of that and not post it at all, or share their thoughts and findings privately with a friend. All in all, it’s a preference of substance over speed.
3. High sense of self-awareness
Carried over from the first two listed traits, these silent social media users incorporate their concern over their vulnerability and their reflective mindset into digital self-awareness. They know what triggers responses out of them and what causes them to engage in impulsive behavior. It could be that they have engaged with a troll in the past and felt foolish. Or that they just felt sad after a post or got into an unnecessary argument that impacted them offline. By knowing themselves and seeing what’s being discussed, they choose to weigh their words carefully or just not participate at all. It’s a form of self-preservation through restraint.
4. Prefer to observe rather than perform
Some folks treat social media as information, entertainment, or a mix of both, and commenting can feel like they’re yelling at the TV, clapping alone in a movie theater when the credits roll, or yelling “That’s not true!” to a news anchor that will never hear them. But contrary to that, social media is a place where those yells, claps, and accusations can be seen and get a response. By its design, social media is considered by experts and the media as performative, regardless of whether it is positive or negative. Taking all of the previously mentioned traits into account, one can see why they would prefer to “observe the play” rather than get up on the stage of Facebook or X.
On top of that, these non-commenters could be using social media differently than those who choose to fully engage with it. Using this type of navigation, there may be nothing for them to comment about. Some commenters are even vying for this for their mental health. There are articles about how to better curate your social media feeds and manipulate algorithms to create a better social media experience to avoid unnecessary conflict or mentally tiring debate.
If you go on a blocking spree on all of your accounts and just follow the posters that boost you, it could turn your social media into a nice part of your routine as you mainly engage with others face-to-face or privately. In terms of commenting, if your curated Instagram is just following cute dogs and all you have to offer for a comment is “cute dog,” you might just enjoy the picture and then move on with your day rather than join in the noise. These non-commenters aren’t in the show and they’re fine with it.
5. Less motivated by social validation
The last trait that Brown showcases is that social media users who browse without posting tend to be independent from external validation, at least online. Social media is built to grow through feedback loops such as awarding likes, shares, and reposts of your content along with notifications letting you know that a new person follows you or wants to connect. This can lead many people to connect their activity on social media with their sense of self worth, especially with adolescents who are still figuring out their place in the world and have still-developing brains.
Engaging in social media via likes, shares, comments, and posts rewards our brains by having them release dopamine, which makes us feel good and can easily become addictive. For whatever reason, non-commenters don’t rely on social media as a means to gauge their social capital or self worth. This doesn’t make them better than those who do. While some non-commenters could have healthier ways to boost their self worth or release dopamine into their systems, many get that validation from equally unhealthy sources offline. That said, many non-commenters’ silence could be a display of independence and self confidence.
Whether you frequently comment online or don’t, it’s good to understand why you do or don’t. Analyzing your habits can help you determine whether your online engagement is healthy, or needs to be tweaked. With that information, you can then create a healthy social media experience that works for you.