Lobster puffs

HEADMASTER: I’ve known your grandparents for quite some time.
RORY: I know.
HEADMASTER: In fact, I was at a party at their house just last week where I had the most delicious lobster puffs I’ve ever eaten.

A lobster puff is an appetiser of creamy lobster filling inside a choux pastry shell – like a cream puff with lobster inside instead of custard. It has a particular connection to the New England region where Gilmore Girls is set.

There are other, very different, foods called a lobster puff, but I think this is the most likely candidate.

“Not Cokie Roberts”

HEADMASTER: Not Cokie Roberts?
RORY: No.
HEADMASTER: Not Oprah, Rosie, or one of the women from The View?
RORY: No.

Mary Martha Corinne “Cokie” Roberts (born 1943) is a multi-award-winning American journalist. Since 1992 she has been the senior news analyst at National Public Radio (NPR), and since 1988 has been with ABC News as a political commentator.

Oprah Winfrey (born 1954) is an American talk show host, actress, media owner, and philanthroptist. She is best known for her talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, which ran from 1986 to 2011. The highest-rated talk show in American history, it was extremely influential and won so many Daytime Emmy Awards that Winfrey eventually stopped submitting it so someone else had a chance. Through her media work, Winfrey became a billionaire and a major celebrity in her own right.

Rosie O’Donnell (born 1962) is an American comedian, actress, author and TV personality. Her talk show, The Rosie O’Donnell Show, ran from 1996 to 2002 and won multiple Emmy Awards. During the show’s run she became known for her light-hearted banter with celebrity guests, and for her promotion of Broadway musicals.

The View is an American morning talk show, broadcast since 1997. Its panel of female co-hosts discuss a range of political, social, and pop cultural topics, followed by celebrity interviews. It has won a number of Daytime Emmy Awards. In 2000, panelists on The View were Barbara Walters, Joy Behar, Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, and Lisa Ling.

Headmaster Charleston is questioning the sincerity of Rory’s journalistic aspirations by suggesting she just wants to get her face on television. However Rory corrects him by letting him know she could also write books or articles: as long as she can see the world and be a part of something big.

Christiane Amanpour

HEADMASTER: What are your aspirations?
RORY: I want to go to Harvard and study Journalism and Political Science.
HEADMASTER: On your way to being . . .?
RORY: Christiane Amanpour.

Christiane Amanpour (born 1958) is a multi award-winning British-Iranian journalist and television host. She began working for CNN in 1983 and quickly made a name for herself an a foreign correspondent, covering the Iran-Iraq War and the fall of European communism. During the 1990s, Amanpour reported from the Persian Gulf War and Bosnian War, and in 1992 became CNN’s chief foreign correspondent. She has reported on major crises around the world and had exclusive interviews with world leaders.

This is the first time we learn that Christiane Amanpour is Rory’s inspiration as a journalist – one who she would have grown up watching and admiring. It is Amanpour’s adventurous career travelling the world which seems to especially attract her.

Schindler’s List

RORY: And I was in the German Club for a while, but there were only three of us, and then two left for the French Club after seeing Schindler’s List, so . . .

Schindler’s List is a 1993 drama film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is based on the Booker Prize-winning 1982 historical novel Schindler’s Ark, by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. Based on real life events, it tells the story of Oskar Schindler, a German Nazi Party member who unexpectedly became a World War II hero after saving hundreds of Jews from Auschwitz.

Schindler’s List was the #4 film of 1993, was acclaimed by critics, and won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Honda

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EMILY: This is a very special girl. You take good care of her.
HEADMASTER: We’ll do our best, Emily.
LORELAI: Oh, God. Rory is not gonna be a problem. She’s totally low maintenance, you know, like a Honda. You know, they’re just easy, just . . .  nice office.

Honda is a Japanese company which makes cars and other vehicles. Hondas are well known for being cheap to run and with low repair costs. Given how expensive Rory’s school is, Rory’s “running costs” are not really that low.

“You have to go in with me”

Rory insists that Lorelai go in with her to meet the headmaster – our first clear sign of Rory’s deep dependence on her mother, especially in situations where she has to meet new people. Lorelai doesn’t encourage it, and tries to send her off on her own with a wave and a smile, but when Rory begs her mother for support, Lorelai can’t say no to her. This pattern is set to continue into Rory’s adult years.

(It also makes us wonder – did Lorelai deliberately sabotage her wardrobe choices, hoping that she would look so embarrassing that Rory would not want her mother to accompany her? If so, her plan fails, and she looks like an idiot for nothing).