Month: September 2017

“Protestants love oatmeal”

SOOKIE: I’ll make cookies [to celebrate Rory getting into Chilton]. Protestants love oatmeal.

Sookie has a number of eccentric beliefs in regard to food, and this seems to be one of them. The reason for her statement is something of a mystery to me, unless she is thinking of Quaker Oats, whose logo has a man dressed in 18th century Quaker clothing to represent simplicity and honesty. (The company was not founded by Quakers, and never had any connection with the religion).

The interesting part is that her saying this seems to imply that Sookie herself is not a Protestant, although this is never confirmed in the show.

“You didn’t ….”

RORY: How did this happen [her getting into Chilton]? You didn’t . . . with the principal, did you?
LORELAI: No, honey, that was a joke.

Lorelai’s joke was possibly an allusion to the 1994 film Forrest Gump, directed by Robert Zemeckis and with Tom Hanks in the title role. In the film, Forrest’s mother (played by Sally Field) has sex with the principal to persuade him to allow her simple-minded son (IQ of 75) to attend school. Forrest Gump was the #2 film of 1994, and won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor in a Leading Role.

Britney Spears

RORY (upon first seeing her new school uniform): I’m gonna be in a Britney Spears video?

Britney Spears (born 1981) is an American pop singer. Her debut album was … Baby One More Time, released in 1999. In the music video for the title track, Britney Spears is dressed as a Catholic schoolgirl in a uniform. The single … One More Time went to #1 worldwide.

Harvard University

LORELAI: This is it. She can finally go to Harvard like she’s always wanted and get the education that I never got and get to do all the things that I never got to do and then I can resent her for it and we can finally have a normal mother-daughter relationship.

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachussets, and one of the most prestigious educational establishments in the world.

Being accepted into Chilton will help Rory get into Harvard, because Gilmore Girls implies that Chilton is a Harvard “feeder school” – one whose selective admissions process, academic culture, and strong college counselling will provide a clear advantage.

The real life “Harvard feeder schools” where a high proportion of students go on to Harvard are Boston Latin, Phillips Academy in Andover, Stuyvestant High School, Noble and Greenough School, Phillips Exeter Academy, Trinity School in New York, and Lexington High School.

This is the first time that we learn that Rory has “always wanted” to go to Harvard. The fact that Lorelai immediately says that Rory will get the education she never got and do all the things she never got to do suggests the source of Rory’s goal.

From the very first episode we begin to suspect that Rory’s role, in her mother’s eyes, is to fulfil all Lorelai’s hopes and dreams that ended when she gave birth to Rory, and to grow up to be the new, improved, child-free Lorelai.

Chilton Preparatory Academy

The exclusive co-ed private school in Hartford to which Rory gains a late acceptance, kicking off the events of the entire Gilmore Girls series. It is loosely based on Choate Rosemary Hall, a private boarding school in the town of Wallingford, Connecticut.

The name Chilton may have been inspired (in universe) by Mary Chilton (1607-1679), a Pilgrim who came to America from England on the Mayflower, giving the name a historical connection; Mary Chilton was an ancestor of George Bush and George Bush Jr. According to legend, Mary was the first passenger to step ashore at Plymouth in 1620, excitedly jumping out of the boat and wading out to Plymouth Rock. It seems like a name suitable for daring young girls willing to leap into a new world.

For the 2017-18 academic year, Choate’s tuition fees for a day (non-boarding) student were $44 400. However, they have a generous financial aid package which would mean that someone in Lorelai’s situation would have their tuition fees heavily subsidised. You can also pay by the month with no interest, and unlike Chilton, there is only a small enrolment fee.

It is unclear why Chilton never offered any similar financial aid to Rory – perhaps because she was a late acceptance. For the purpose of the plot it was necessary for Lorelai to be desperate for money, or Gilmore Girls could never have happened. So Chilton had to be a price-gouging school with massive enrolment fees, no financial aid, no payment plans, and no up-front information about their fees for parents (Lorelai is apparently disconcerted to learn Chilton costs anything at all).

Exterior scenes at Chilton were filmed at Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, California; this 1920s Tudor-style mansion is in a public park owned by the City of Beverly Hills, and is a popular place for film and TV locations.

Mrs. Kim (Emily Kuroda)

MRS. KIM: So, how was school? None of the girls get pregnant, drop out?

A none-too-subtle dig at Rory, whose own mother did exactly that. It’s clear that Mrs. Kim is uncomfortable and a bit nervous about Lane being best friends with Rory, the daughter of a young single mother. The fact that she allows Lane to maintain the friendship anyway speaks volumes about how much she loves Lane, and doesn’t want her to be friendless and alone. It’s our first clue that she’s not as strict as she might appear at first.

Although Lane Kim is based on the Palladinos’ friend Helen Pai, and her childhood experiences of growing up in a Seventh Day Adventist Korean-American family, Helen’s mother is described as a mild, sweet lady. Mrs Kim isn’t based on her – she’s an entirely fictional character.

“Some day when we open our own inn …”

Lorelai and Sookie

LORELAI: Some day when we open our own inn, diabetics will line up to eat this sauce.
SOOKIE: Won’t that be great?
LORELAI: Yeah. But the key to someday achieving that dream is for you to stay alive long enough so we can actually open an inn, you understand?

From the very first episode we learn that Lorelai and Sookie are not content to remain at their jobs at the Independence – their ambition is to manage their own inn.

Radish rose

LORELAI: When did you get stitches?
SOOKIE: Friday night. Radish roses.

A radish rose is a radish cut into a rose shape to use as a garnish or plate decoration. They can be very simply done, or be elaborate – Sookie’s are surely very elegant.

It is notable that Sookie’s constant clumsiness was quietly phased out on the show.

Slam book

Slam Book

A group of Rory’s classmates notice her writing during in English class, and wonder what she is doing. One speculates that it may be a slam book.

A slam book is a notebook passed around a group of children or teens where people can write their thoughts and opinions on a particular topic. Usually gossipy in nature, slam books can be used to bully people.

Of course Rory is just working on her assignment.