Predictions. December 1, 2008 Jill Who’s going to die on Gossip Girl tonight? It pains me to say it, but I’m guessing Eric.
Wait, what? Someone is dying on GG tonight? That does sound vaguely familiar. Before I hazard a guess, let me consult my TiVo…dammit TiVo, you’re useless! Well, I wouldn’t mind seeing Jenny go. She’s too whiny. I see they are introducing an ex-girlfriend of Aaron’s, perhaps she’ll bite it tonight.
Hmm… perhaps, trout. But don’t they want us to be sad when someone dies? I don’t think there will be any love lost for Bart Bass.
Oh, Bart, for sure. He is “Gossip Girl”‘s answer to “The OC”‘s Caleb Nichol, after all. It had better not be Eric — he’s adorable, generally funny, and an excellent gay teenager on TV. Who would I like it to be? Jenny — she’s obnoxious, consistently stupid and gullible, and her whole “dropping out of school to become a fashion designer at age 15” storyline has become ludicrous even by CW teen drama standards. I’m just annoyed that I have a meeting tonight and will have to watch it later! No spoilers, tomorrow, please! 🙂
I’m so glad that I’m not the only one who thinks Jenny is *HIGHLY* irritating. Ima venture to guess that it’s Bart simply because he’d be an easy character to kill off without pissing off too much (or any?) of the audience.
Another vote for Bart Bass, but it does sort of make me sad — he finally made a step towards Chuck, and now he’ll be dead.
It is going to be Bart Bass, he just started talking to his son which means he will die. Plus, this would reopen the whole Lily/Rufus thing, and probably add some guilt for Lily for walking out on Bart during Thanksgiving.
Darn, where was I when y’all got the memo that somebody is dying today?? I’m going to throw a wrench in everyone’s predictions and go with Nate. Just because. Although I wouldn’t mind Jenny being the victim. She is annoying as heck.
Ugh, SO anti-climactic! But — *SPOILERS* — You all were right. Bart is definitely dead in the next episode. The preview should Lily at a funeral. Damn.
Awww. Poor ChuckieChuckCharles. He’ll be an orphan. 🙁 Although…this is a soap…so perhaps his previously-declared-dead mother will turn up again… I’m really tired of Jenny’s storylines (all of them!!) and Humphrey/Serena angst. Dudes, get over it already! Surprisingly, Vanessa and Nate are only interesting when they’re around each other, so I want them to stick it out. (Although Dan/Nate is even more interesting, but I’m sadly not seeing that twist any time soon.) I really, really loved B and C’s dopplegangers. Amazing.
Okay, I did end up getting to watch it last night, and I am (sort of?) happy to have been right, though it was painfully predictable. I feel like it makes the Lily/Rufus storyline too easy, too, and now they’re gonna have to come up with some other reason to keep them apart. brista, I agree that Vanessa and Nate are only bearable in the context of each other. Jenny is bearable… never. Chuck and Blair continue to be the very best thing on the show, or possibly television, ever.
I know — it’s almost as bad as that sexist show “Mad Men,” which is obviously a fantasy about the days when women all had to be subservient skirt-wearing accessories for powerful cigar-smoking men! I don’t see how any “feminist” can watch this trash, since watching TV shows like this means deciding to live your life in emulation of what’s shown and convey it all uncritically to young girls whenever possible. And then still call herself a “feminist?” More like “femme-bot-nist.”
Also, some “viewers” of these television shows might argue that they’re just portrayals of sexist situations and milieus that did and still do exist, and the people trapped within them. But that’s not enough. If we want change in this world, it’s not enough to be the change that you want to see. You also have to watch the change that you want to see, on TV.
I just find it hypocritical that “feminists” are up in arms about Twilight … and then watch Gossip Girl, like it’s any better. Come ON. Way to go! Continue to support sexist crap! I can understand “Mad Men” — at least it’s intelligent and has a point. But Gossip Girl? It’s just sexist trash for the sake of sexist trash.
I’m not particularly up in arms about either of them, certainly not when it comes to the viewing tastes of adults. If you’re watching this stuff with a kid who is still figuring out their ideas about relationships and might get the wrong message, then you should talk about it with them. It should go without saying that there are plenty of kids who already have this stuff figured out and realize that no, you shouldn’t emulate certain behaviors in real life. My sister and I were worried that our youngest sister (12) was picking up too much from Twilight, and I would have had the same worry about Gossip Girl — but in her case, we were being overprotective ninnies, because she just looked at us like we were idiots and said “uh duh, do you guys think I’m dumb or something? I wouldn’t give up college for a boy.”
Yeah, but not all women are as lucky as your younger sister. TV, movies, books, etc., can be very influential (otherwise … eating disorders wouldn’t be so common among young teens). I’m not advocating censorship, but I think it’s rather hypocritical that so-called feminists actually support this crap.
If you don’t advocate censorship, then I assume you agree with me when I say “If you’re watching this stuff with a kid who is still figuring out their ideas about relationships and might get the wrong message, then you should talk about it with them.” Or do you have a better idea? Boycotting anything that’s not good for kids, even though as adults we’re perfectly able to recognize and enjoy (and not emulate) the problematic, even antisocial, behaviors of fictional characters that are totally counter to our politics? A widespread mandate to send impressionable kids to bed at 9 pm until they pass a test? If you were complaining about parents letting their kids watch television without discussing the problematic aspects of what’s being shown, I might have more sympathy for your hand-wringing.
How about … watching something better? There is a difference between advocating censorship and choosing to watch something that is better, and choosing NOT TO SUPPORT sexist material. If you SUPPORT sexist material with your money, they have no reason to stop the sexist material because … it makes money. If your child watches it, then talk to them about it, but also encourage them to watch other things, and maybe give them books and DVDs that better portray what you would like to see. I am complaining about feminists SUPPORTING sexist material and bragging about it. You brought up children; not I.
How about… watching what I find entertaining and mind-numbing, since I spend a lot of the rest of my spare time engaged in feminist activism? I’m not cutting Gossip Girl a check; I’m not promoting it as a feminist choice. But you know, I reserve the right to have some unfeminist indulgences. I’m not “bragging” about it, any more than I’m “bragging” about the fact that my parents sang to me as a baby in another semi-personal post I put up yesterday. Also, if you can explain how one goes about not supporting sexist material ever, you should win some sort of prize (but not the Nobel, because I’m pretty sure that has a history of sexism). It’s impossible. We live in a deeply sexist society, and sexism permeates a great many aspects of our lives. I try to pick my battles, and I realize that sometimes, things I enjoy are going to be a little bit sexist (see, for example, American literature, U.S. politics, and high heels). I’m just curious: Which TV shows pass your feminist muster? Because my other favorites are The Wire and LOST, and I have a feeling those aren’t going to fly. Finally, aren’t you SUPPORTING sexist, anti-feminist material by reading and commenting on a blog run by such sorry excuses for feminists?
I make an effort not to support sexist material. I don’t actually seek it out and then write about it IN A FEMINIST BLOG. LOST and The Wire have some merrits. Gossip Girl? Not so much. It’s about rich, snooty high schoolers who just fuck and buy shit and have to look perfect all the time. You call yourself a feminist and watch Gosspi Girl?! Really? I don’t claim to be perfect, but come ON. There is a million other entertaining shows out there that aren’t so blatant and so horrible for teenage girls.
And fine … watch it. But write about such a blatantly sexist show without even commenting on the problems with it? Just “OMG! I love this show omg!” You didn’t even say, “I know this show has problems, such as this and this, but I like it because of this and this…” You’re just like, “YAY sexist, shitty shows! I love sexist, shitty shows!” LOL @ fake feminists.
If you give me your address, I’d be happy to mail you my Feminist Card and my keys to the clubhouse, since I guess I won’t be needing them anymore.
I don’t really watch enough Gossip Girl to know as much as you guys — apparently you must watch enough of it to have an informed opinion, littleapples, or you wouldn’t have gone on so long about it — but from what little I’ve seen it does seem to be about spoiled rich brats who are appearance-obsessed and indulgent in really decadent behavior. I’m not sure what’s inherently sexist about featuring characters like that in any text unless there’s an omniscient AND reliable narrator bent on convincing you how great those characters are. Gossip Girl does have a sort of omniscient narrator, right? If that narrator is exalting the lifestyle uncritically in the same way that say, the musicals of Busby Berkeley made the lives of the rich look incredibly beautifully amazing and dramatic and perfect with happy endings back in the 30s, then I’d say you have a point. If the interpretation of whether these characters are role models or despicable is more open to the audience, then I think you have a much more complex situation on your hands. Complex enough that you can’t just say “this is a sexist text and it is unfeminist to watch it” without coming off like a simplistic fool, if you ask me. Just having characters who are bratty, spoiled, reprehensible rich girls who engage in gross behavior is far, far, far from enough to declare something “unfeminist.” But maybe there’s more, enlighten me, I don’t watch enough TV.
But you know, I played through all of every Grand Theft Auto, and I even picked up a little animated sex worker, paid her for sex, then ran her over with my car so that I could see how the whole thing worked and form an opinion about it — so maybe that disqualifies me too 😉