Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook, free of charge,from Rowan & Littlefield, via Netgalley, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it, all opinions are my own.
If you've read this blog for any period of time, then you know I can be found sprinkling 'Gilmorei-ism' throughout posts at any given time.
So I was uber- thrilled to be able to review this latest book about the show!
Synopsis:
Airing from 2000–2007, Gilmore Girls focused on the relationship between thirty-something single mom Lorelai and her teenage daughter, Rory. While exploring themes of family, romantic love, friendship, and life’s choices, this quirky show featured fast-paced dialogue, funny quips, and a steady stream of pop-culture references. Created by Amy Sherman-Palladino (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Gilmore Girls served as a launching pad for the careers of its stars—including Lauren Graham, Melissa McCarthy, Alexis Bledel, Jared Padalecki, and Milo Ventimiglia. The series’ popularity was so enduring that ten years after its initial run, a revival season was released on Netflix.
In Gilmore Girls: A Cultural History, Lara C. Stache and Rachel Davidson offer an engaging analysis of the popular series. The authors examine how the show serves as a representation of American culture and politics, reflects complexity within multiple mother-daughter dynamics, and employed literature, movies, and music to drive the dialogue and plot. They also explore how the choices made in the series reflect social values of the time, reinforce and challenge traditional ideas of gender and feminism, and unpack the cultural significance of this endearing series.
As both a mirror and a construction of contemporary American culture, the series achieved critical accolades and became a cult classic, at once both unassuming and dynamic.
This book offers new ways for fans to appreciate the appeal and value of this binge-worthy favorite as part of the larger culture in which it exists. Gilmore Girls: A Cultural History will be of interest to fans of the show as well as to scholars and students of television, media, and American popular culture
Review:
The Gilmore Girls was a show that my mother and I finally found our connection, after a turbulent period, and found our way back to being besties, just not as crazy as 'the girls'. The show kept both of us on our toes, with so many cultural references, that we ended up with movie nights for movies we hadn't seen (though Mom passed on the music sampling, LOL).
In this book, the authors LITERALLY went through all the shows, and found the commonalities,and offer different essays on them. You might just be surprised at HOW well rounded the series was, and how the central themes of writing were always there (well except for that last regular series year, we all want to forget THAT one)- love, family, upset, recovery, and success. The authors really give the fan, a reason to say proudly, "Yes, I love Gilmore Girls, and I'll tell anyone!". The episode breakdown is also very helpful, if you're tying to remember WHICH DVD to pull out/ episode to select on streaming, that you want to show someone else! The book is literally the book fans need and have truly wanted. And just in time for the holiday season, it has arrived!
About the Authors:
Lara C. Stache is an assistant professor in the Division of Communication, Visual, and Performing Arts at Governors State University and writes about gender, rhetoric and popular culture. She is the author of Breaking Bad: A Cultural History (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017).
Rachel D. Davidson is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at Hanover College. Her research broadly addresses rhetoric and popular culture with interests in motherhood, caregiving, and social advocacy.
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