Category: S3Ep16: The Big One

Afterschool Special

RORY: Okay, so, were you safe?
PARIS: Yes, it was a regular afterschool special.

ABC Afterschool Special, television anthology series that aired on ABC from 1972 to 1997, usually in the late afternoon on weekdays. Most episodes were dramatically presented situations, often controversial, of interest to children and teenagers. Several episodes were either in animated form or presented as documentaries. Topics included illiteracy, substance abuse and teenage pregnancy. The series won 51 Daytime Emmy Awards.

None of the episodes depicted a young couple having a sexual relationship, but “A Question About Sex” (1990), did advocate for teens to be informed about sex education.

Rory listens to Paris’ concerns about losing her virginity with a fair amount of sensitivity, and checks that she and Jamie practised safe sex, that it was fully consensual, and that Jamie treated Paris with respect. I don’t think it’s a stretch to suggest that this reflects the sex education training that Rory has received from Lorelai.

Marxism

PARIS: We were actually discussing modern day Marxism in America, which is not what I would have deemed a ‘come and get it’ sort of conversation, but nevertheless, he came and got it, and I have to figure out what that means to me on a psychological level.

Marxism, a left-wing method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectical perspective to view social transformation. It originates from the works of 19th-century German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. As Marxism has developed over time into various branches and schools of thought, no single, definitive Marxist theory exists.

“I slept with Jamie”

PARIS: I slept with Jamie. Last night, after we talked … I went over there to study and he lit a fire and then we did it.

I honestly don’t know how that would have been possible, when Paris lives in Hartford and Jamie is at Princeton. Paris says she went over there to study – Princeton is a five hour train trip from Hartford, you don’t just pop over there for a quick study session and sex. Even if Princeton is on its spring break, which means it’s the middle of March, then he’s at home in Philadelphia with his parents, which is still a four hour train trip from Hartford. This show has no sense of geography.

The Crack

PARIS: Why did you use this font?
RORY: Because I was on the crack.

Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, is a free base form of cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers that is highly addictive. Crack saw widespread use as a recreational drug in impoverished neighbourhoods of large cities during the mid-1980s, with use waning in the 1990s.

Town Crier

PARIS: Fine, I’ll go to a payphone. Do you have payphones in this town or are you still using a town crier?

A town crier is a public official who makes pronouncements as required. Prior to widespread literacy, town criers were the means of communication with the people of the town since many people could not read or write. Proclamations, local bylaws, market days, and advertisements were all proclaimed by a crier.

There have been town criers in North America ever since Europeans came to the continent, and they were used in Connecticut in the 17th century. In some places, town criers persisted into the 20th century, and Provincetown in Massachusetts still has one. I’m almost surprised Taylor hasn’t organised a town crier for Stars Hollow, to give it an olde worlde feel. (It would presumably be Kirk).

Kofi Annan

PARIS: Well, look who’s suddenly decided to become Kofi Annan … Charleston thinks we need to play nice with each other, so he screws up the whole bicentennial.

Kofi Annan (1938-2018), Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder and chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation, as well as chairman of The Elders, an international organisation founded by Nelson Mandela.

Mr Charleston has an entire school to run and is in the middle of organising the bicentennial celebrations. Is it really feasible he cares that much about two students having a spat – especially two students who will be leaving Chilton in only a few months?

Tasmanian Devil

SOOKIE: And did you see [Jackson’s] eyes?
LORELAI: Tasmanian Devil.

Lorelai refers to the character, the Tasmanian Devil, or Taz, featured in Warner Bros cartoons, Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies. Taz is generally portrayed as a ferocious, albeit dim-witted, carnivore with a notoriously short temper and little patience. Although based on the Australian mammal, the Tasmanian devil, it doesn’t resemble the real animal very strongly (Americans often have an exaggerated idea of the Tasmanian devil’s size and ferocity, possibly because of the cartoon). He made only a few appearances in the short films of the 1950s and 1960s, but enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in the 1990s.

Tears for Fears

SOOKIE: You’ll give me lots of tips [on pregnancy]?
LORELAI: Oh, what I can remember.
SOOKIE: Get your diary out from that year ’cause I wanna know it all.
LORELAI: A lot of my diary from that year was, um, a debate over which member of Tears for Fears I loved more at that particular moment.

Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.The band’s debut album, The Hurting (1983), reached #1 on the UK Albums Chart, and their first three hit singles all reached the top five in the UK. Their second album, Songs from the Big Chair (1985), reached #1 in the US, achieving multi-platinum status in both the UK and the US. The album contained two US #1 hits: “Shout” and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”. The band broke up in 1990, but have since brought out albums together, and tour semi-regularly.

When Lorelai was pregnant in 1984, Tears for Fears hadn’t had any chart success in the US, except for “Change” making #73, and doing quite well as a radio track. Lorelai must have been ahead of the curve. This is another example of the teenaged Lorelai enjoying slightly obscure British rock music.

Men’s Wearhouse

RICHARD: That’s a televised house vote, and I find that fascinating.
LORELAI: It’s like watching the Men’s Wearhouse security camera.

Men’s Wearhouse, a clothing brand for men founded in 1973 by George Zimmer, targeting the common man and offering unpretentious clothing choices. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, it is now part of Tailored Brands Inc.