Gossip Girl Satire
Gossip Girl and a Youth Obsessed Culture Breakfast at Tiffany’s, shopping at New York’s finest stores, a masked ball, an affair, drug overdose, and sex in a limo is just a common schedule for Manhattan’s elite group, Serena van der Woodsen and her partner in crime, Blair Waldorf. Yet, they are still able to make it to Algebra and Ivy League college interviews. The crazy life of Serena, Blair, and all their friends makes it a lot easier when they have a trust fund the size of a jackpot winner. Drama begins at breakfast created by the hotel waiting staff and continues throughout the day thanks to the anonymous website, Gossip Girl. Gossip Girl is the one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite (Schwartz). Whether the information is true or false, high schoolers’ drama is spread throughout New York City for everyone to see. This promotes their glamorous and outrageous lifestyle for others to follow, but no one seems to point out their underage behaviors. It is common for
…show more content…
Serena and Blair to meet up for a martini to catch up on their latest love affair, whether it was the sneaky Chuck Bass or the Prince of Monaco. Or they will reminisce of the times they danced on tables in Barcelona, partied at their parent’s country house, or shopped in Paris during their freshman year of high school. Everyone wants the life of Serena and Blair’s in-crowd, even the parents and the Brooklyn outsiders. Whether through starting rumors or grabbing connections, everyone has their fair share of the extravagant lifestyle. Everyone wants to be a part of the glamour and glitz of becoming known in a big city like New York, but people don’t realize how unlikely it is to accomplish so much power at such a young age. Serena can meet Chuck for a drink at Chuck’s hotel, the Empire, and not get their ID checked. Blair is running her mother’s world-known clothing line by the age of 18. Starting at the age of 15, their immature minds are thrown into a life where they need to make mature decisions without time to grow. One day they are smoking a blunt on the way to school and then the next their parents are lining up Ivy League interviews. What used to be a growing period for an immature mind to mature, is now skipped over. Adolescence is nonexistent in this show. In our youth-obsessed culture today, people are introducing young faces into mature environments, therefore portraying adolescence as an age, rather than a lifestyle. The show, Gossip Girl challenges the idea of adolescence by avoiding stereotypical teenage lifestyles and instead giving the characters a role of mature and stable adults. Youth has always been an element people valued. Whether it was through the modeling agency, hiring processes, or soul searching, people always wanted a young face to portray a blooming and successful lifestyle. People who are younger are perceived to be sexy, attractive, and connected, while the older people get the less respected and disconnected they become. Dale Archer believes the technological revolution has continued to promote a youthful environment because the younger generations can quickly adapt to new advances, but the 60 year olds stay behind. The faster the advances, the more disconnected the older generations become. This has led many companies to hire younger and younger people. They want linked, attractive, and innovative people to be the face of their new and improved companies. Our youth-obsessed culture has encouraged younger minds to mature faster than they physically can. Youthful faces and minds are now running major businesses, therefore explaining why a show like Gossip Girl promotes adolescents to act like adults. Lesley M. M. Blume, a famous children’s author says, “We’re not just destined to become brittle materialistic adults; we already are brittle materialistic adults by the time we hit puberty. We have no choice.” Our society has influenced our minds to believe that once we hit 13, we are old enough to make mature decisions. We are taught that the younger we are, the more successful we will become. Yet, contradicting the initial goal, our youth-obsessed culture has caused young men and women to mature faster because they are placed into grown up positions before they are ready. The show is mainly based on what the characters do during their free time and what occurs when it happens.
Dances are planned from various sources, drinking and smoking for fun, and most importantly sex, fill their daily routine. Serena, Blair, Chuck and Nate, best friends since kindergarten, are known to be part of the elite crowd, therefore they are required to make appearance at various events.
Whether it’s a debutante ball or an opening of a new strip club, there will always be drama. Gossip Girl keeps everyone updated on what occurs or what rumors come up. In “The Wild Brunch,” Gossip Girl posts on her blog, “We Upper East siders don’t do lazy. Breakfast is brunch and it includes a bottle of champagne, a dress code, and a hundred of our closest friends.” Often events are black-tie formal and include lots of alcohol. Even at the age 16, Serena can pick up a glass of champagne and casually drink it in front of family and press like it is
normal.
Even though the younger generation in this show is alcohol dependent, sex is what drives them insane. Sex is used as a game. The girls tease the guys by sneaking lingerie underneath ball gowns and the guys tease the girls by small sexual gestures. High school is commonly linked with losing their virginity for the first time to a significant other, but these characters will lose it to anyone, but their significant other. Sex scandals and affairs become too complicated to follow. Blair and Nate had been dating since kindergarten and decided to wait until the right time, but the right time wasn’t until Serena came back into town. Little did Blair know, Serena had an affair with Nate before she ran away to boarding school for six months. While Chuck is pressuring Nate to “seal the deal” with Blair, Blair is pressuring Nate to win her heart again.
Gossip Girl promotes many unrealistic events in a teenage lifestyle. People believe high school is where you embrace your awkward phase and find yourself, but Gossip Girl does the opposite by promoting a “16 going on 60 lifestyle” (Blume). Blair and Serena’s life is full of schemes, booze, and overdoses, but they are also full of corporate brunches and charity events. This demonstrates the idea of young adults not fulfilling the mature lifestyle regulations. They are mixing immature behaviors with sophisticated events. In our society today, adolescents are now following the trend by wearing short skirts and tight tops to school. Adolescents are unable to determine the fine line between what is appropriate and what is expected. Some might believe a high schooler’s priority leisure time would be school, but for Gossip Girl’s plot line, it is close to nonexistent. Even when school is supposedly important, money is used to avoid future issues. Instead of taking the SATs, Chuck pays his way out of it by hiring someone to be him. Serena was accused of having an affair with one of her teachers, but her mother forged her signature and sent the teacher to prison. School isn’t about grades, it is about getting what they need to succeed later in life, by bribery or sneaking around. The show is suggesting that money can solve all issues. If there is a problem, the characters don’t have to worry about it affecting their future because one check for $50,000 will hide the issue forever. This causes people to believe the more money someone owns, the less they have to work. For this reason, the show is addressing that the privileged people are lazy and inconsiderate of their surroundings because their trust fund will solve all their problems. What you wear and who you wear is the only thing that matters in the elite culture. Gossip Girl changed the idea of consumerism. Merriam-Webster defines consumerism as, “the belief that it is good for people to spend a lot of money on goods and services.” If Serena or Blair were seen with the new Louis Vuitton purse on their shoulders, their minions and other classmates followed.
Serena and Blair to meet up for a martini to catch up on their latest love affair, whether it was the sneaky Chuck Bass or the Prince of Monaco. Or they will reminisce of the times they danced on tables in Barcelona, partied at their parent’s country house, or shopped in Paris during their freshman year of high school. Everyone wants the life of Serena and Blair’s in-crowd, even the parents and the Brooklyn outsiders. Whether through starting rumors or grabbing connections, everyone has their fair share of the extravagant lifestyle. Everyone wants to be a part of the glamour and glitz of becoming known in a big city like New York, but people don’t realize how unlikely it is to accomplish so much power at such a young age. Serena can meet Chuck for a drink at Chuck’s hotel, the Empire, and not get their ID checked. Blair is running her mother’s world-known clothing line by the age of 18. Starting at the age of 15, their immature minds are thrown into a life where they need to make mature decisions without time to grow. One day they are smoking a blunt on the way to school and then the next their parents are lining up Ivy League interviews. What used to be a growing period for an immature mind to mature, is now skipped over. Adolescence is nonexistent in this show. In our youth-obsessed culture today, people are introducing young faces into mature environments, therefore portraying adolescence as an age, rather than a lifestyle. The show, Gossip Girl challenges the idea of adolescence by avoiding stereotypical teenage lifestyles and instead giving the characters a role of mature and stable adults. Youth has always been an element people valued. Whether it was through the modeling agency, hiring processes, or soul searching, people always wanted a young face to portray a blooming and successful lifestyle. People who are younger are perceived to be sexy, attractive, and connected, while the older people get the less respected and disconnected they become. Dale Archer believes the technological revolution has continued to promote a youthful environment because the younger generations can quickly adapt to new advances, but the 60 year olds stay behind. The faster the advances, the more disconnected the older generations become. This has led many companies to hire younger and younger people. They want linked, attractive, and innovative people to be the face of their new and improved companies. Our youth-obsessed culture has encouraged younger minds to mature faster than they physically can. Youthful faces and minds are now running major businesses, therefore explaining why a show like Gossip Girl promotes adolescents to act like adults. Lesley M. M. Blume, a famous children’s author says, “We’re not just destined to become brittle materialistic adults; we already are brittle materialistic adults by the time we hit puberty. We have no choice.” Our society has influenced our minds to believe that once we hit 13, we are old enough to make mature decisions. We are taught that the younger we are, the more successful we will become. Yet, contradicting the initial goal, our youth-obsessed culture has caused young men and women to mature faster because they are placed into grown up positions before they are ready. The show is mainly based on what the characters do during their free time and what occurs when it happens.
Dances are planned from various sources, drinking and smoking for fun, and most importantly sex, fill their daily routine. Serena, Blair, Chuck and Nate, best friends since kindergarten, are known to be part of the elite crowd, therefore they are required to make appearance at various events.
Whether it’s a debutante ball or an opening of a new strip club, there will always be drama. Gossip Girl keeps everyone updated on what occurs or what rumors come up. In “The Wild Brunch,” Gossip Girl posts on her blog, “We Upper East siders don’t do lazy. Breakfast is brunch and it includes a bottle of champagne, a dress code, and a hundred of our closest friends.” Often events are black-tie formal and include lots of alcohol. Even at the age 16, Serena can pick up a glass of champagne and casually drink it in front of family and press like it is
normal.
Even though the younger generation in this show is alcohol dependent, sex is what drives them insane. Sex is used as a game. The girls tease the guys by sneaking lingerie underneath ball gowns and the guys tease the girls by small sexual gestures. High school is commonly linked with losing their virginity for the first time to a significant other, but these characters will lose it to anyone, but their significant other. Sex scandals and affairs become too complicated to follow. Blair and Nate had been dating since kindergarten and decided to wait until the right time, but the right time wasn’t until Serena came back into town. Little did Blair know, Serena had an affair with Nate before she ran away to boarding school for six months. While Chuck is pressuring Nate to “seal the deal” with Blair, Blair is pressuring Nate to win her heart again.
Gossip Girl promotes many unrealistic events in a teenage lifestyle. People believe high school is where you embrace your awkward phase and find yourself, but Gossip Girl does the opposite by promoting a “16 going on 60 lifestyle” (Blume). Blair and Serena’s life is full of schemes, booze, and overdoses, but they are also full of corporate brunches and charity events. This demonstrates the idea of young adults not fulfilling the mature lifestyle regulations. They are mixing immature behaviors with sophisticated events. In our society today, adolescents are now following the trend by wearing short skirts and tight tops to school. Adolescents are unable to determine the fine line between what is appropriate and what is expected. Some might believe a high schooler’s priority leisure time would be school, but for Gossip Girl’s plot line, it is close to nonexistent. Even when school is supposedly important, money is used to avoid future issues. Instead of taking the SATs, Chuck pays his way out of it by hiring someone to be him. Serena was accused of having an affair with one of her teachers, but her mother forged her signature and sent the teacher to prison. School isn’t about grades, it is about getting what they need to succeed later in life, by bribery or sneaking around. The show is suggesting that money can solve all issues. If there is a problem, the characters don’t have to worry about it affecting their future because one check for $50,000 will hide the issue forever. This causes people to believe the more money someone owns, the less they have to work. For this reason, the show is addressing that the privileged people are lazy and inconsiderate of their surroundings because their trust fund will solve all their problems. What you wear and who you wear is the only thing that matters in the elite culture. Gossip Girl changed the idea of consumerism. Merriam-Webster defines consumerism as, “the belief that it is good for people to spend a lot of money on goods and services.” If Serena or Blair were seen with the new Louis Vuitton purse on their shoulders, their minions and other classmates followed.