Coffee at Luke's: An Unauthorized Gilmore Girls Gabfest (Smart Pop Series) (20 page)
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Authors: Jennifer Crusie,Leah Wilson
Tags: #Humor & Entertainment, #Television, #History & Criticism
BOOK: Coffee at Luke's: An Unauthorized Gilmore Girls Gabfest (Smart Pop Series)
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The morality of community that we see in
Gilmore Girls
is a secular morality, as the show is distinctively non-religious; yet this secular morality has a clear analogy in the apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Exploring this analogy may allow us to see the dynamics of community on
Gilmore Girls
in a clearer light. Paul wrote to a community characterized by disunity and internal conflict. In encouraging them to get along with one another, he distinguished between behavior that destroys community (selfish ambition) and that which builds it up (self-sacrifice). He counseled them: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Phil. 2: 3-4 NIV). Paul then argued that this model of exalting the interests of others over one’s own finds its supreme example in Jesus Christ, who gave up equality with God (his own interest) in order to become human and die for others (Phil. 2: 5-8 NIV). In exhorting his readers to adopt the same attitude as Jesus, Paul provided them examples of others within their community who had done just that. This included Timothy who, in contrast to those who look out for themselves, actually “takes a genuine interest in your welfare” (Phil. 2: 20-21 NIV); or Epaphroditus who, while ill and practically on his deathbed, was more concerned about how his illness would affect the Philippian community than he was about his own condition (Phil. 2: 25-30 NIV).
Gilmore Girls
is a secular morality, as the show is distinctively non-religious; yet this secular morality has a clear analogy in the apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Exploring this analogy may allow us to see the dynamics of community on
Gilmore Girls
in a clearer light. Paul wrote to a community characterized by disunity and internal conflict. In encouraging them to get along with one another, he distinguished between behavior that destroys community (selfish ambition) and that which builds it up (self-sacrifice). He counseled them: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Phil. 2: 3-4 NIV). Paul then argued that this model of exalting the interests of others over one’s own finds its supreme example in Jesus Christ, who gave up equality with God (his own interest) in order to become human and die for others (Phil. 2: 5-8 NIV). In exhorting his readers to adopt the same attitude as Jesus, Paul provided them examples of others within their community who had done just that. This included Timothy who, in contrast to those who look out for themselves, actually “takes a genuine interest in your welfare” (Phil. 2: 20-21 NIV); or Epaphroditus who, while ill and practically on his deathbed, was more concerned about how his illness would affect the Philippian community than he was about his own condition (Phil. 2: 25-30 NIV).
This model laid out by Paul (selfish ambition versus selfless concern for others) is the same model that governs the secular conception of community in
Gilmore Girls
. Emily, Richard, and Paris represent the epitome of selfish ambition. Emily, a woman who holds a grudge like Kim Jong Il, does nothing without an ulterior motive. This is a woman who, upon being asked for a favor by her daughter, offered a list of demands in return, proclaiming, “Otherwise, I’m sorry, we can’t help you” (“Pilot,” 1-1). Status and societal position govern her and Richard’s world. Selling out a trusted friend for a business advantage, petitioning the homeowner’s association to stop neighbors from upstaging their full-size candy bars by giving out king-size ones at Halloween, or having a member of a church group bumped off a flight so Emily could make a last-minute pleasure trip to Europe is child’s play to them. In fact, upon learning that Rory wanted to go as well, Emily gleefully called her travel agent to have her “bump another Baptist” (“Say Goodbye to Daisy Miller,” 5-1). Likewise, Paris is a whirling tornado of self-involvement who never does a good deed unless it will look good on a Harvard application or job résumé.
Gilmore Girls
. Emily, Richard, and Paris represent the epitome of selfish ambition. Emily, a woman who holds a grudge like Kim Jong Il, does nothing without an ulterior motive. This is a woman who, upon being asked for a favor by her daughter, offered a list of demands in return, proclaiming, “Otherwise, I’m sorry, we can’t help you” (“Pilot,” 1-1). Status and societal position govern her and Richard’s world. Selling out a trusted friend for a business advantage, petitioning the homeowner’s association to stop neighbors from upstaging their full-size candy bars by giving out king-size ones at Halloween, or having a member of a church group bumped off a flight so Emily could make a last-minute pleasure trip to Europe is child’s play to them. In fact, upon learning that Rory wanted to go as well, Emily gleefully called her travel agent to have her “bump another Baptist” (“Say Goodbye to Daisy Miller,” 5-1). Likewise, Paris is a whirling tornado of self-involvement who never does a good deed unless it will look good on a Harvard application or job résumé.
These three characters try to worm their way into Lorelai and Rory’s lives, but their own selfish actions and attitudes continually keep themselves at a distance. When they visit Stars Hollow, they stand out as outsiders, not because they don’t live there, but because they don’t fit in. Selfish ambition can exclude one from community. Taylor Doose is a good example. Although a lifetime citizen of Stars Hollow, his love of power and obsession with self-interest isolates him. When Jackson ran against him for town selectman, Taylor lost in a landslide and we saw him sitting alone in his store, in contrast to the huge crowd of people surrounding Jackson in the park (“Tippecanoe and Taylor, Too,” 5-4).
In Paris’s case, she gradually becomes more enmeshed in Rory’s life, largely due to Rory’s tolerance of her behavior. In fact, Rory’s comparative selflessness has a positive effect on Paris. Occasionally, Paris will act on behalf of Rory’s best interests (particularly when they do not conflict with her own), and doing so strengthens their friendship. Yet Paris’s selfish ambition continues to keep her somewhat on the outside looking in on Rory’s world.
If selfish ambition excludes, selfless concern for others defines community, as best represented by Lorelai, Rory, and Luke. In contrast to Emily’s always-conditional actions, Lorelai and Rory share a relationship of unconditional love. They sacrifice everything for each other—social lives, time, even concert seats. At times they fight, but their ultimate concern is always the welfare of the other. What most distinguishes Lorelai and Rory from Emily is not their rejection of her elitist ways, but their willingness to look out for her interests even though she rarely reciprocates in kind. When Emily attempted to mold Rory into her image with portrait sittings or coming out parties, Rory went along with it, despite her personal desire not to, simply because it would make her grandmother happy. When Lorelai found out that the magazine cover story on her new inn was going to include disparaging comments she made about her mother, she urged the interviewer to pull the story, showing a willingness to sacrifice much-needed exposure in order to spare her mother’s feelings (“To Live and Let Diorama,” 5-18).
No one in Stars Hollow, however, better exemplifies selfless concern for those he cares about than Luke. Consider the evidence. Luke not only does odd jobs for Lorelai for free, but regularly fixes things on her house without being asked. He loaned her $30,000, no questions asked, to help out with the inn (“Scene in a Mall,” 4-15), and loaned her his truck for two days, despite needing it himself (“The Lorelais’ First Day at Yale,” 4-2). When angry at her, he still shoveled snow from her walk (“In the Clamor and the Clangor,” 4-11); when displeased by her fishing date with another guy, he nevertheless offered to lend her his rod and tackle box (“Lorelai Out of Water,” 3- 12). He paid money to keep Jess out of trouble (“Say Goodnight, Gracie,” 3-20), and hunted down the final twelve misplaced Easter eggs in order to help Kirk out of a jam (“Tick, Tick, Tick, Boom!” 4- 18). Luke’s true character came out when Jess, who according to Luke only takes care of himself and never thinks about others, told Luke to adopt the same attitude. While trying to decide if Jess was right, Luke decided to go fix Lorelai’s broken window—unasked (“Nag Hammadi is Where They Found the Gnostic Gospels,” 4-13).
Since food is a great communicator on
Gilmore Girls
, we would expect it to communicate the show’s conception of morality in community. We are not disappointed. Juxtaposition of dining scenes represents different perceptions of community and social interaction. In “Scene in a Mall” (4-15), Lorelai dragged Emily to a mall food court for lunch. Emily (a “food court virgin”) showed obvious discomfort at eating in such a low-class environment, an environment in which Lorelai thrived. At lunch, Emily expressed a desire to have the closeness that Lorelai and Rory shared, oblivious to the fact that it was her ambition and lust for status that was creating distance. Later, the episode cut between two dining scenes: Emily and Richard, sitting about ten feet apart, eating a fancy meal and barely speaking, and Lorelai and Rory, sitting less than two feet apart at Luke’s diner, eating pie and communicating well.
Gilmore Girls
, we would expect it to communicate the show’s conception of morality in community. We are not disappointed. Juxtaposition of dining scenes represents different perceptions of community and social interaction. In “Scene in a Mall” (4-15), Lorelai dragged Emily to a mall food court for lunch. Emily (a “food court virgin”) showed obvious discomfort at eating in such a low-class environment, an environment in which Lorelai thrived. At lunch, Emily expressed a desire to have the closeness that Lorelai and Rory shared, oblivious to the fact that it was her ambition and lust for status that was creating distance. Later, the episode cut between two dining scenes: Emily and Richard, sitting about ten feet apart, eating a fancy meal and barely speaking, and Lorelai and Rory, sitting less than two feet apart at Luke’s diner, eating pie and communicating well.
Morality on
Gilmore Girls
is a recipe containing equal parts of sacrifice, community, and selfless concern for others. Members of the Stars Hollow community demonstrate their concern for each other through the giving of food. Lorelai and Rory, for instance, are rarely allowed to experience an illness, a relationship break-up, or even to do a good deed without copious amounts of food coming their way in sympathy or gratitude. It is also the way they express love for each other. For Lorelai’s birthday, Rory ordered a cake with double frosting, spelled out “Happy Birthday” on the kitchen table with Malamars, and commissioned the local pizzeria to try to create the world’s biggest pizza, which eventually required a crane for transport (“Happy Birthday, Baby,” 3-18).
Gilmore Girls
is a recipe containing equal parts of sacrifice, community, and selfless concern for others. Members of the Stars Hollow community demonstrate their concern for each other through the giving of food. Lorelai and Rory, for instance, are rarely allowed to experience an illness, a relationship break-up, or even to do a good deed without copious amounts of food coming their way in sympathy or gratitude. It is also the way they express love for each other. For Lorelai’s birthday, Rory ordered a cake with double frosting, spelled out “Happy Birthday” on the kitchen table with Malamars, and commissioned the local pizzeria to try to create the world’s biggest pizza, which eventually required a crane for transport (“Happy Birthday, Baby,” 3-18).
Luke presents an intriguing example of how food communicates concern for others in the context of community. Luke is a person with a hard tootsie-roll exterior that masks a soft, chewy center. Where Lorelai and Rory are concerned, that hard exterior quickly melts away. He is their primary source of food (his diner regularly substitutes for their kitchen), and he uses that food to show his love, whether it’s special meals to celebrate a birthday, chocolate chip pancakes in times of pain, or agreeing to let Lorelai pull linked sausages out of him for a Halloween skit. During one Christmas episode, Emily uninvited Lorelai to her annual Christmas party, thus depriving Lorelai of her beloved apple tarts. Lorelai said that the Christmas party represented the only holiday where she enjoyed going to her parents’ house, indicating that the apple tarts represented good memories as much as good food. Despondent, Lorelai went to Luke’s where, instead, she found solace in another food. Luke offered her a burger, in a later season described by Lorelai as “the food that sustains me” (“Help Wanted,” 2-20). It being Christmas, however, Lorelai wanted something festive. Recognizing her sadness, Luke returned with an improvised Santa burger (a depiction of Santa made from Wonder Bread, ketchup, and cream cheese). Lorelai was clearly touched by his culinary show of concern: “No one has ever made me something quite this disgusting. I thank you” (“Forgiveness and Stuff,” 1-10).
Luke’s relationship with the other members of Stars Hollow is more complex. With them, the hard candy exterior remains largely intact. Luke fights with them, intimidates them, and generally acts as the town grump. Yet when the need is truly there, the soft, chewy center shows through. The Luke who constantly mocked Stars Hollow’s Revolutionary War re-enactors is the same Luke who later brought them free coffee as they stood freezing in the snow (“Love and War and Snow,” 1-8). Likewise, when Taylor brought his group of Christmas carolers into Luke’s and requested free hot chocolate for all in the spirit of the season, Luke pointedly and gruffly refused. Just then, however, Lorelai got a call that her father was in the hospital. Without a moment’s hesitation, Luke, leaving to drive Lorelai to the hospital, announced the diner was closed, that all food previously served was on him, and that Taylor could get all the hot chocolate he wanted (“Forgiveness and Stuff,” 1-10).
Luke’s treatment of the townspeople mirrors theirs of him. When Luke’s uncle Louie died, none of the citizens agreed to come to the funeral because none of them liked Louie. He was mean and belligerent and, some noted, Luke was just like him. Yet, one fundamental difference distinguished Luke from Louie: when push came to shove, Luke genuinely put the interests of the townspeople above his own. So when Luke and Lorelai returned to the diner after the funeral, they were greeted with a diner full of food and throngs of people there to celebrate a wake. Luke was touched that they finally decided to remember his uncle until Lorelai pointed out that the town was there for him, not for Louie (“Dead Uncles and Vegetables,” 2-17).
Food, and another juxtaposition of dining scenes, represents also the forging or dissolution of relationships. Emily and Richard threw a fancy, catered tailgate party at a Yale football game that led to division between Emily and Richard and between Emily and Lorelai. Then Lorelai went out on a first date with Jason in which they ended up scrounging for food at a supermarket. When Lorelai wanted short Pringles cans and there were none on the aisle, Jason went to great lengths to locate them in a back room. Emily and Richard’s fancy party was marked by selfishness and so led to the weakening of community, while Lorelai and Jason’s improvised supermarket meal brought them closer together because Jason was looking out for her interests (“Ted Koppel’s Big Night Out,” 4-9).
In many episodes, food plays a prominent role in the plot as a symbol of selflessness. Oddly, the Danish is a particularly frequent symbol. When Lorelai’s grandmother died, the Danish symbolized Lorelai’s willingness to put aside her own needs in order to help her mother. Lorelai offered to bring Danish and help with the funeral arrangements, but Emily refused. But then Emily, clearly overwhelmed, asked for help, and Lorelai replied, “Two cherry Danish coming up” (“The Reigning Lorelai,” 4-16). In “Nick & Nora/Sid & Nancy” (2- 5), the Danish symbolized forgiveness and reconciliation. After a fight between Luke and Lorelai, Lorelai was afraid to go into Luke’s on “Danish Day,” knowing he would not sell her one. In frustration, Rory expressed the true meaning of the Danish, “So you guys had a fight, big deal. . . . What better day to make up than Danish Day, the happiest of all days. The day when we all say, ‘Hey, let’s forgive and forget over a nice Danish and a cup of coffee.’” Rory’s wise words rang true. When Luke later encountered Lorelai, he demonstrated his forgiveness not with the traditional words, but by telling her to make sure she came to the diner the next day to get her Danish—even though the next day was not Danish Day.
Although Emily’s default mode is selfish ambition, occasionally she attempts to exalt the interests of Lorelai and Rory over her own. When she does, those efforts find symbolic expression through food. At one Friday dinner in honor of Rory, Emily abandoned her typical high-brow fare and served Rory’s favorite foods, Beefaroni and Twinkies—of course, she had them made from scratch (“Sadie, Sadie,” 2-1). After all, Emily’s descent into the lower class goes only so far. Still, being Emily, these good intentions often go awry. When she fixed mashed bananas on toast for a laid-up Lorelai, under the assumption that Lorelai used to like it when she was younger, it turned out as horribly as it had when Lorelai was a little girl (“Rory’s Dance,” 1-9).
The prime example of Emily attempting a measure of selflessness through culinary symbolism is pudding. At Friday dinner, Emily served pudding for dessert to a stunned Lorelai. The shock stemmed from the fact that Emily not only hated pudding, but viewed it as hospital food. For Lorelai, the pudding symbolized Emily putting someone else’s interests above her own for once. So when Lorelai later took Emily shopping for Rory’s birthday and Emily kept selecting gifts that she liked as opposed to what Rory would like, Lorelai counseled her to “Think pudding.” It worked, but the effect was short-lived. Emily later acted in a selfish manner with respect to Rory, and Rory chose not to tell Lorelai about it “because of the pudding,” as her conversation with Lane attested.
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