Katelen Pick

Date

4-30-2018

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

According to Symphony Advance Media, the 2016 reboot, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, pulled in an average of five million viewers among the 18-49-year-old age demographic in its first three days on Netflix ('Gilmore Girls' Early Ratings). The original series, broadcast on the WB Network (2000-2007) was nested into the everyday life of women in American society. It included a mother/daughter duo that problematized what it meant to be a feminist during its initial run. This project considers: How Gilmore Girls might be understood as a feminist intervention in 21st century US television? Prior research into the show is limited and fails to explore feminism and the show in general. Research has been done on television shows and feminism specifically on shows like Friends and Frasier (Brinkema, Eugenie). Research has also been done on how gender is represented and portrayed in television but nothing has ever been specifically researched or applied to Gilmore Girls. My project investigates the show from three different perspectives: text, industry, and audience. By looking at the show in this way, I am able to assemble a more complete picture of what was going on when this show was filmed, how it was written, and what it meant to the audience in feminist terms. This will lead us to be able to see how the show really was a feminist reflection of society in the United States.

Department

Communication Studies

Thesis Comittee

Bjorn Ingvoldstad (Thesis Advisor)

Jason Edwards

Jessica Birthisel

Copyright and Permissions

Original document was submitted as an Honors Program requirement. Copyright is held by the author.

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