Category: S3Ep16: The Big One

Rory Gets Accepted to Everything

When they get home from the speech contest, they collect the mail and find that Rory has been accepted into Harvard. And Yale. And Princeton. And they all turned up on the same day – although as Kirk is in charge of the mail now, that may not be so surprising. I can only think that’s the reason why the writers made him the mailman for this week, although this job of his was mentioned the previous season. (Planning ahead?).

Fans sometimes think it is unrealistic for Rory to be accepted into three Ivy League universities, but Rory was an excellent student at a good school, a feeder school for Harvard. She was a legacy student at Yale and Princeton, and had assistance from an alumnus when applying to Harvard. She had several extracurricular activities at school, and was a valued contributor to her local community.

Furthermore, her background as the daughter of a single mother who had struggled for many years would have also helped boost her chances – Darren Springsteen said it would work to her advantage.

Gay Pride Parade

MAX: I’m very sorry.
LORELAI: Oh, don’t be. At least we get to wear skirts without being Scottish or riding a float in the gay pride parade.
MAX: Well, that’ll change someday my friend, and when it does, I still won’t wear a skirt. But I’ll applaud those that do, and then cross the street so nobody sees I’m with them.

Gay rights protests had been held in the US since 1965, and in 1970 Chicago Gay Liberation held a march to commemorate the Stonewall riot in New York, which had taken place the previous year. More parades followed around the country and they soon became annual events. Originally called Gay Liberation or Gay Freedom marches, the name Gay Pride became standard in the 1980s.

Particularly in cities which are already accepting of LGBT communities, the parades have a festive character, whereby the political stage is built on notions of celebration. Large parades often involve floats, dancers, drag queens and amplified music; but even such celebratory parades usually include political and educational contingents, such as local politicians and marching groups from LGBT institutions of various kinds.

Lorelai and Max’s interaction here is quite uncomfortable to watch.

“I’ve been a teacher for ten years”

MAX: I must say, I’ve been a teacher for ten years now, and it wasn’t until today I realized, it must be really hard to be a girl.

Max became a teacher in 1993, and somehow the needs and challenges of female students were never discussed during his training. Max has a sister, has had several girlfriends, and almost became Rory’s stepfather – yet somehow he has never considered that some things might be harder for girls.

Billy Carter

PARIS: Even if I was the Billy Carter of the family, the name is still supposed to carry some weight.

William “Billy” Carter (1937-1988), the younger brother of President Jimmy Carter, previously discussed. At the time his brother was running for president, Billy developed a colourful image as a beer-drinking Southerner in the press.

During his brother’s presidency, he ran a gas station, and was the spokesperson for Peanut Lolita liqueur; in 1977, he endorsed Billy Beer. He was known for his outlandish public behaviour, once urinating on an airport runway in full view of the press and dignitaries.

In 1978 and 1979 he made visits to Libya, was registered as a foreign agent of the Libyan government, and received a loan of $220 000. However, a CIA agent claimed he had actually received $2 million from Libya. This led to a Senate hearing on alleged influence peddling which the press named Billygate, leading President Carter to publicly disassociate himself from his brother during his presidency.

Chastity Belt

PARIS: Pack your chastity belt, Gilmore – you’re going to Harvard!

A chastity belt is a locking item of clothing designed to prevent sexual intercourse or masturbation. Such belts were historically designed for women, ostensibly for the purpose of chastity, to protect women from rape or to dissuade women and their potential sexual partners from sexual temptation. Use is mentioned from the Renaissance, but in such a way that it might have been a joke, and there’s a good chance some chastity belts from the past are actually fakes. They were typically used in the 19th century by women as anti-rape devices.

Shoo-in

PARIS: [Rory’s] never had sex. She’ll probably go to Harvard. She’s a shoo-in.

Shoo-in, North American informal English, meaning “a certainty, an easy winner”. The phrase dates to the 1930s, and originally referred to horse-racing When there was a predetermined winner in a horse race, jockeys would hold their horses and shoo the winner in – drive them in. Although the expression comes from corrupt horse races, today it doesn’t carry any stigma of cheating.