As the show “Gilmore Girls” is reaching 23 years since airing, the show is still maintaining popularity.
The Netflix favorite is considered “comfort TV.” Many watch the wholesome, average lives of a young single mother, Lorelai Gilmore, and her daughter, Rory Gilmore. The show runs on the love that comes from a mother-daughter relationship. It chronicles their joys and fights as well as Rory’s life as she slowly reaches burnout like many students.
The relatability of these themes is the reason why the show is still popular today.
Rory is the quintessential honors student who strives for perfection, which later leads to burning out academically. Many Central students see this in their lives as well. She struggles with the balance of school and life. By prioritizing her schooling instead of sleep, she once said, “Who cares if I’m pretty if I fail my finals?” Many students at Central are up until midnight every day trying to meet the expectations that the school wants people to have.
While Rory’s mom, Lorelai, has no expectations for her daughter, Rory still lives up to the idea of being perfect. She has an inner anxiety that forces her to succeed out of fear. This fear is the one that helped her become valedictorian and reach the Ivy League, going to Yale. Rory, in the early seasons, is hopeful of her future; she is optimistic and a hard worker. But when she is told she could never be a successful journalist by Mitchum Huntsberger, she gives up. Her seemingly perfect life of straight A’s is ruined, and she loses her sense of purpose.
As Central students approach their junior and senior years, I think they hit the same wall. Academic approval becomes harder to achieve because being perfect halts as the work students encounter becomes harder. Rory sees this when Huntsberger states she is not good enough to be a reporter. She failed once, and her idea of being perfect did, too. The sense of purpose and ability to be productive lessens when burnout and the idea of being perfect is too far out of reach.
