A Film By Kirk

Kirk’s short film is reminiscent of a section of the 1977 surrealist horror film Eraserhead, written, directed and produced by David Lynch, previously discussed as Amy Sherman-Palladino’s favourite director. Shot in black and white, it was Lynch’s first feature-length film. Starring Jack Nance in the lead role, it tells the story of a man left to care for his grossly deformed child in a desolate industrial landscape.

Upon release, Eraserhead received negative reviews, being described as “pretentious”, in “sickening bad taste” and “unwatchable”, and opened to small audiences, with little interest shown in it. It gradually gained a cult following as a midnight movie, and today is critically lauded as a film that is both beautiful and nightmarish. It was the favourite film of Stanley Kubrick, and an influence on The Shining.

Note that the poster advertises the film as “A film by David Lynch” – Kirk seems to have used the tagline as the inspiration for his film’s end title.

The other actors in Kirk’s film are Mary Lynn Rajskub and Jon Polito as the girlfriend and the father respectively. Rajskub had been in the sitcom Veronica’s Closet and has since gone on to numerous other shows, such as 24 and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Polito was a veteran actor who worked with the Coen Brothers several times, and appeared in the TV shows Crime and Homicide: Life on the Streets. Neither actor includes Gilmore Girls on their filmography!

If they are supposed to be other people from Stars Hollow helping Kirk out, we never see them again. Perhaps Kirk actually hired professional actors for his film. It doesn’t seem out of character.

Persimmons

LORELAI: Hey, why isn’t Jackson here?

SOOKIE: Oh, he’s singing to his persimmons tonight. They’ve been a little sour lately.

Persimmons are the edible fruit of a number of species of tree in the genus Diopyros. Technically the fruit is a berry, although not often thought of that way. The most commonly cultivated is the Oriental persimmon (Diospyros kaki) – one of the most commonly human-grown fruit trees on Earth, and first cultivated in China more than 2000 years ago, then spread to Japan and Korea in the Middle Ages. It was introduced to southern Europe and California in the 1800s.

Jackson may be growing American persimmons (Diospyros virginiana) [pictured], native to the eastern states of the US, and very hardy in cold weather. They’re harvested in the fall, and eaten fresh or used in baked goods and steamed puddings. Jackson’s persimmons are months away from harvest, so no wonder they are sour! The fruit is very astringent or even bitter unless it is fully ripened.

The previous year, Jackson danced to his watermelons and threw his back out.

The Contessa and the House Wench with the Talking Mice

LORELAI: And over here you have a tiny but annoying bell in case there’s something here that you need but you don’t have and you want to summon the common but lovely house wench who will promptly leave her talking mice and come to fetch the Contessa whatever she may require.

Lorelai compares Rory to The Barefoot Contessa, a 1954 drama film written and directed by Joseph F. Mankiewicz about the life and loves of a Spanish sex symbol named Maria Vargas, who is known as “the Barefoot Contessa”. Ava Gardner plays the title role as the glamorous Contessa. The film received mixed reviews, but made a big impact on popular culture.

Presumably Lorelai means that Rory, being in bed, has bare feet, yet will be waited on hand and foot like a great lady. Interestingly, the film has a major plot around infidelity and a love triangle, like that between Rory, Dean, and Jess. Like so many of these references, it ends in violence.

Lorelai compares herself to Cinderella, previously discussed. In the 1950 film, Cinderella is friends with a number of talking mice. Lorelai is saying that she is Rory’s humble servant and will get her anything she needs, just as Cinderella slaved away in the kitchen.

Lorelai behaves absolutely absurdly towards Rory. She has the most minor of injuries, and yet Lorelai acts as if she has two broken legs, at the very least. She not only gives Rory a bell to call her with, as if Rory is crippled, but actually sleeps in Rory’s room.

Why? Is she worried Rory will die in the night without her there, or does she think Rory needs help to go to the toilet with a cast on her wrist? It’s a callback to the years mother and daughter spent sharing a bed, their boundaries completely merged.

It’s almost as if Lorelai thinks she can justify her over-the-top demonisation of Jess by acting as if he has done terrible injury to Rory. She is also trying to make up for her failure to “protect” Rory from Jess by overcompensating now, when it is too late.

Lorelai’s instinct is always to smother Rory when she feels their relationship is threatened; whether this is good for Rory or not is never questioned. Her fussing over a barely injured Rory seems like confirmation that Jess was right – Rory is not cut out for the tough life of a foreign correspondent.

(Note that Rory has a Powerpuff Girls glass next to the bed, a callback to when Lorelai said they were going to buy some. Although they didn’t buy them that day, it’s confirmed they did eventually make the purchase).

Rory’s CDs

Stan Frerberg

Stan Frerbeg (1926-2015), actor, comedian, musician, puppeteer, and radio personality. He was one of the talents recruited by Capitol Records in 1951 for their spoken word division, doing satirical recordings about popular culture. He also did musical parodies of popular songs.

Rory’s CD might be The Stan Frerberg Show: Direct from the Famous CBS Broadcasts, which was released as a four-disc box set on CD in 1997, published by Smithsonian Historical Performances. The other possibility is that it is The United States of America Volume 2, The Middle Years, comedy sketches based on figures from American history, released on CD by Rhino in 1996.

Ash

Ash, Northern Irish rock band formed in 1989 by vocalist and guitarist Tim Wheeler, bassist Mark Hamilton, and drummer Rick MacMurray. Their first full-length album was released in 1996, and titled 1977 [pictured]; it is regarded by NME as one of the greatest albums of all time.

Their song “Girl from Mars” from the album has already been used in Gilmore Girls, appearing at the end of the episode “Nick and Nora, Sid and Nancy” to illuminate Jess’ attraction to Rory. It’s a callback to the moment that Rory and Jess first made a real connection with each other.

Sinéad O’Connor

Sinéad O’Connor, now named Shuhada Sadaqat (born 1966), Irish singer-songwriter. Her 1987 debut album, The Lion and the Cobra, charted internationally, while her 1990 second album, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, received glowing reviews and was her most successful album – the lead single, “Nothing Compares 2 U” (written by Prince) was the #1 song of 1990.

O’Connor has released ten studio albums, many of them going gold in the UK or US. Her most most recent album at this point was Faith and Courage, released in 2000. It received positive reviews and was a commercial success.

Shrimp Balls

LORELAI: Tell me, was it the China Ball, the China Doll, or the China Wall that had the really good shrimp balls?

Shrimp balls, a Chinese dish where shrimp (prawns) are pounded into a paste, mixed with binding agents, and deep fried. They are served as appetisers, with dipping sauce.

Amazingly, Stars Hollow has three Chinese restaurants! It seems to be getting more and more options for ordering food as the show goes on. Lorelai and Rory must be keeping them all in business.

Kurt Cobain and Courtney

RORY: Do not give me that whole ‘I’m so misunderstood, Kurt Cobainy’ thing. You are way stronger than that and I don’t even wanna hear it. You have to go to college …

JESS: So, Courtney, what about you?

Kurt Cobain (1967-1994), singer, songwriter, and musician, frontman of the grunge rock band Nirvana, serving as the band’s lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter. Through his angst-fuelled songwriting and anti-establishment persona, Cobain’s compositions challenged the conventions of rock music. He was often heralded as a spokesman for Generation X and is considered one of the most influential musicians in the history of alternative rock.

Cobain struggled with depression, heroin addiction and the pressure of fame, and was found shot dead at the age of 27, apparently by his own hand. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with his fellow band members, in 2014.

Courtney (Love), Cobain’s wife, previously discussed.

Rory pretty much gives Jess the same talk that Lorelai did when he arrived in Stars Hollow – if anything, she is less sympathetic, telling him to quit the “misunderstood act”, and saying he is way too strong to be dragged down by his circumstances.

Jess is far more receptive to hearing this from Rory. He probably appreciates not being pitied, and likes the suggestion he is tough enough to survive anything. Rory may be the first person to openly tell Jess he can achieve anything he wants, and once again, she is very keen to urge a male love interest to attend college.

Note that as Rory casts Jess in the role of Kurt Cobain, he is equally quick to cast her as Kurt’s wife – an obvious suggestion that Jess considers her to be his “other half” that Rory surely cannot miss. As Kurt and Courtney were something of a doomed, destructive couple, it doesn’t feel like a good omen for Jess and Rory.

Driver’s Ed

RORY: I can’t hold the wheel, you’re driving. The person who’s driving has to hold the wheel. That’s the first thing they teach you in Driver’s Ed.

Driver’s Education, a class or program, often organised by high schools, that helps give young people instruction in driving to help prepare them for their driver’s license test. The first Driver’s Education program in the US started in 1934, at a Pennsylvania high school.

Rory’s comment suggests that she took Driver’s Ed, possibly at Stars Hollow High, since she (impossibly) already has her license before she starts at Chilton.

“I’m dripping”

JESS: I’m dripping here, hold the wheel.

Could they have made this any more sexual? Even the choice to buy ice cream cones seems like a deliberately erotic choice.

Out the back window, you can see a set of traffic lights, and multiple cars behind them. I think they are still supposed to be driving around Stars Hollow, which only has one traffic light, on the main square, and almost no traffic. It really doesn’t look like Stars Hollow!

I can accept this scene as believable if Jess drove to a nearby larger town to buy ice cream cones and then back to cone-less Stars Hollow, but I’m not sure this is what the show actually wants us to think. My understanding is that Jess was just circling the main square.

“That’s your car?”

JESS: That’s your car?

RORY: Yes, it is.

Why is Rory’s car outside the diner? They always walk to Luke’s, even at night. Perhaps Rory drove to the diner since she’s going to be tutoring Jess until late, and Lorelai doesn’t want her walking home alone at night – or with Jess as her escort. If so, it seems overly cautious, in light of how close they live to Luke’s, and how safe Stars Hollow seems to be. In retrospect, walking home with Jess would probably have been safer and less dramatic than what actually occurs.

It’s interesting that Jess recognises Rory’s car. Although we never see this onscreen, Rory is presumably in the habit of driving around Stars Hollow, often enough that Jess can identify the car as hers.

Coldplay

RORY: You’ve done card tricks, you’ve made coffee, you’ve tried to explain to me how on earth Coldplay could be considered an alternative band, but as of yet, no studying.

Coldplay, British rock band formed in 1996, with vocalist and pianist Christ Martin, guitarist Johnny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, and drummer Will Champion.

Their 2000 debut album Parachutes included their breakthrough hit “Yellow”, and it received a Brit Award for British Album of the Year and a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album. This may be the source of Rory and Jess’ discussion as to how Coldplay can be considered an “alternative band”. In the US, their singles were played on college and alternative radio stations, and charted on the Alternative Music charts.