Every fall, the air becomes crisp and the leaves turn from green to shades of red and yellow. Pumpkin and apple pie spices begin to waft through homes, and chunky sweaters start to appear on individuals walking down Locust Walk. During the fall, many gather under their warm, fuzzy blankets and turn on Netflix to reunite with characters of a small town in Connecticut. What show are they watching? Gilmore Girls.
Gilmore Girls follows a young mother, Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham), and her daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel) through their lives in Stars Hollow. Lorelai is the manager of the successful Independence Inn (the premiere hotel in town) and Rory is an ambitious high school student at Chilton Preparatory School. Amy Sherman–Palladino’s banter and quirky characters entertain audiences. People are introduced to loveable characters such as Sookie (Melissa McCarthy); Lorelai’s best friend Luke (Scott Patterson), the owner of the locally famous Luke’s Diner and Lorelai’s love interest; and Emily and Richard Gilmore (Kelly Bishop and Edward Herrmann), Lorelai’s parents. Across seven seasons, people watch Rory’s experiences with her relationships (personally, I’m Team Logan), Lorelai and Sookie’s achievements of creating the Dragonfly Inn together, Rory’s journey through college and adulthood, and the growth of Lorelai’s relationship with her parents.
Since the release of the pilot episode in 2000, the show’s popularity has prevailed and reached the target demographics of teenagers and adults. In fact, approximately three–fourths of Penn students surveyed by Street stated that they have watched at least a couple episodes of Gilmore Girls. Although Gilmore Girls is streamed year round, Street found that it’s typically associated with being watched during the fall and (sometimes) the winter.
The National Library of Medicine states that people tend to feel more comfortable when the air pressure is higher, the weather is drier, and the winds are stronger. These are characteristics of fall and winter seasons. As the days get shorter and the weather gets cooler, we seek warmth and calmness. Autumn and winter are associated with the holidays. Families are gathered in childhood homes, the fireplace is on, the dining room table is filled with delicious home cooked dishes. The time of the year evokes many feelings of nostalgia—a sentiment that can be fueled by rewatching your favorite movies and television shows.
To examine this effect on Penn students, a survey was sent out for participants to complete. Out of the Penn students surveyed, approximately 73.3% of the participants reported that they enjoy watching certain movies and TV shows during specific parts of the year. In addition, 56.7% of contributors replied that they have rewatched some forms of media on an annual basis. Students expressed that comfort and tradition contributed to their desire to watch the media on a yearly basis.
There are qualities that consumers and audiences desire during the holiday season. This can explain why so many individuals choose to watch shows like Gilmore Girls in the colder seasons. The show begins during the fall and continues throughout winter, spring, and summer. Penn students may want to experience the seasons alongside the characters. Perhaps it is the reputation of the show as being cozy, but Penn students who were viewers of the show described it as “fluffy, feel–good, and nostalgic." Even those unfamiliar described it similarly as “heartwarming, comforting, and warm." These descriptions may explain why 100% of Penn students who watched Gilmore Girls (and 75.8% of those who did not) stated that they associate the show with fall.
Fall is a welcoming season, and Gilmore Girls is a comforting show, but this is not a universal experience. Characters in the show are often privileged, there is a lack of diversity, and there is certainly some dialogue that has aged poorly. In fact, some Penn students acknowledged the show’s limitations in their responses to the survey and described the show as being “privileged, white, and cliquey." While it’s important that the show's flaws and issues do not go unrecognized, many individuals celebrate the fall and seek comfort during the colder weather through the show. And that’s okay, so long as we are educated audience members and can understand the show’s implications.
As we leave fall and enter winter, if you find yourself anxious about finals, missing home, and wanting to feel the warmth of hot apple cider and pumpkin spice lattes, try starting a new tradition for yourself. Watch a movie or TV show from your childhood—or maybe give Gilmore Girls a try. Imagining ourselves sitting in Luke’s Diner with a coffee (or two), surrounded by characters from the show and looking out the restaurant’s windows to see splashes of red, orange, and yellow leaves on the ground, is something our sense of nostalgia may need.
