Gilmore Girls and the Fascination with Mormons...

The TV series, Gilmore Girls (2000-2008), is a story set in Stars Hollow, Connecticut, (a fictitious location) in the same time period that it was filmed. My daughter introduced the show to me. It is light and entertaining but also presents several sides to the human experience. There are issues between the rich and the working class, issues of working women vs. the stay-at-home woman of the house, issues condoning premarital sex vs. abstinence from sex until marriage, issues of religion vs. non-religion, issues of education vs. no education, issues of single parenting, issues of eating healthy vs. eating fast foods, issues of parenting. And what father would ever be okay with looking at his daughter's cleavage? As the story progresses, we find it easy to root for Lorelai and Rory, by whom the liberal side of all of those issues is made to appear better and not unreasonable, while the conservative side is made to seem ridiculous. Lorelai's mother is portrayed without a heart and beyond controlling, and Lane's mother lives her part as the inane orthodox religionist. Underneath the pervading viewpoint, Lorelai, at one point, revels over the fact that her daughter "is the good one" when Rory reveals to Paris that she has never had premarital sex. Lane, although she fought her mother's conservative principles and disobeyed most of her mother's rules, cannot give herself to Zach when they are dating or engaged because of what she had been taught through her life. Emily and Richard, Lorelai's parents, have a lasting, happy marriage amidst trials.


Although there are conflicting issues throughout the series, one idea is a constant theme agreed upon by all sides, and that theme is that "it is imperative to communicate everything that goes on in one's life." This seemingly simplistic idea is one I don't agree with. I have been aware of people who complained of not being told something, and I have wondered, "Well, why are they required to tell you?" Having felt wrath or belittlement from people who were upset with me because I didn't tell them personal information (at all or soon enough), I must say, "Where does it say that I must tell anyone within a certain time limit about things that are happening in my life?" If they think I have been amiss, they ought to first consider why I might be unwilling to divulge information. What kind of relationship invites open interaction...  Not every relationship deserves that, and surely, not everyone can demand that. Yes, I realize that if I were to tell what news I may have freely, I would avoid their wrath, but their wrath should never be a reason I do anything. They should just be happy to hear my news however or whenever because I am going to give them exactly the same consideration. Also, being fine with waiting to hear develops respect and trust that might eventually result in a relationship where the parties feel comfortable sharing any information.


The show also has an infatuation with or need to ridicule Mormonism. (After all, during some of this time Romney was running for president.) There are seven episodes in which Mormons are mentioned.



1. Season 2, Episode 2:  Lorelai said to Rory, "...reminisce about how I never forced you to become a missionary." They didn't actually refer to Mormon missionaries, but which church has the greatest organization of missionaries?



2. Season 3, Episode 7:  Jaxon said, "I didn't realize I was a Mormon." He was referring to polygamy because Sookie and Lorelai were both putting in their opinions about how many children Sookie should have.



3. Season 4, Episode 9:  Lorelai pours an alcoholic beverage into a cup and asks her dad, "How's that?" He responds, "Oh, that's fine if we were in Utah."



4. Season 4, Episode 10: Tobin said, "I moved to Utah because I heard there were a  lot of job opportunities for industrious Mormons." Lorelai questioned, "I didn't know you were a Mormon?" Tobin replied, "I wasn't so I became one. The paperwork took weeks. And I didn't know about the alcohol thing." Lorelai interjected, "They famously abstain." Tobin continued, "No coffee, either. The choir was fabulous, but then there's the funny underwear. It didn't last. I spent a lot of time online when I was a Mormon. There wasn't much else to do."



5. Season 5, Episode 6:  Paris says to Rory, "You want to go check out the Mormon bingo around 5th?"



6. Season 5, Episode 10:  In a speed dating event at which both Paris and Doyle found themselves, Doyle says to Paris, about the previous suitor, "I believe the words Latter-day Saints were about to come out of her mouth."


7. Season 6, Episode 10:  Lorelai says to Rory, "The last time they triple-teamed me with a priest, a rabbi, and a Mormon missionary."


Although this show seems to glorify issues or condone behaviors that I don't approve of, and I have often thought that I should find something better to watch, it has taken me through several mass grading sessions of term papers. I tune to the show and have it on in the background, with volume low, while I read and correct term papers, coming up for air and breaks to see where we are in the seven-year story. I don't know how many times I have watched through the entire series, but, watching it so many times, I've realized some very profound moments of dialogue and plot that the writers may not have even been aware of. I can always find a silver lining.