Project 1 Draft

Project 1 Draft

Section 1: Description Summary

Gossip Girl follows teenagers in the Upper East Side of New York City as they navigate growing up amid immense wealth and high-society connections. Through high school drama and scheming exists an underlying narrative concerning wealth and the power that accompanies it, in addition to the difficulty of moving between classes and being accepted among Manhattan’s elite.

Section 2: Context: Application of Lanham

Material possessions and pure amount of money are fixated on a great deal- designers are mentioned constantly to indicate wealth, sophistication, and high class (stuff). With that comes the component of fluff, seen in the existence of the Gossip Girl webpage, which functions as an economy of information in the form of secrets. This results in the fixation on a few individuals, the main characters of the show, giving them celebrity status by transmitting information about them and giving them more attention than others.

Section 3: Context: Application of Zelizer

Entitlement is a main form of of capital in Gossip Girl, as most characters have a trust fund and expect to be given money and continue their current lifestyles because of the families they were born into- their names hold a certain value and thus entitle them to certain treatment and praise from their peers as well. Gifts are seen in the lavish exchanges between friends, designer clothes and expensive jewelry commonplace in this society. Compensation is more seen among the adults in the show, as the kids do not expect to work, other than the outsiders, who do not have money to fall back on. Compensation again ropes in the notion of power, as people in charge are not seen doing much work, yet make money nonetheless. 

Section 4: Context: Application of Bourdieu

Boudieu’s forms of capital are incredibly relevant in this series, as cultural background, including class and family background, create the perception of each student by their peers and essentially dictate their value, and cultivate the opportunities and advantages available to them. Social capital, too, holds great power, as social connections/network give already privileged characters a leg up and allow them to leverage connections to increase the advantages they hold.

Section 5: Using Rhetorical Terms to understand what’s going on

Amplification- “Your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite”

Intro- every episode- power of Gossip Girl and the status of characters

Labels- “Lonely Boy”- reinforce outsider

Narration- Gossip Girl is a character known only by name and voice, but is never seen despite her power over the characters in society- her narration clues the audience in on 

Section 6: Using theories of rhetorical context to understand what’s going on (Btizer, Selzer)

Selzer:

Epideictic- give importance to certain things, every moment holds value

Forensic- the past (an one’s family history/background) used as blackmail, belittlement, us vs them/insider vs outsider

Contextual rhetoric- Gossip Girl site assigns meaning to people and events on a larger scale- environmental factors, personal histories influence and are influenced

Bitzer

Existence of classes and the drama that goes on in the lives of the characters enables Gossip Girl to exist

Show is social commentary on this world- replica with embellishments

McMillan Cottom- audience– character’s fixation on drama and trivial interactions/events allows Gossip Girl to develop- all tips are submitted by characters- they feed into the system

Main Ideas: wealth, inequality, power, class, insider/outsider

“It girl”- name carries meaning, brand, advances them > form of currency, power

Argument: Gossip Girl’s intense fixation on money and power illustrate the advantages and access those in upper classes receive versus the disadvantage and exclusion seen among non-elite members in a world dominated by wealth. The fact that teenagers are the center subjects of a show about money shows that the reach of money influences the lives of everyone, regardless of age, but also proves that wealth still brings along a plethora of issues, even though people may think money can solve any problem. Gossip Girl as a site and character highlights the troubles of relationships amid a world this dominated by money, as events are blown out of proportion and characters continuously target each other with the goal of furthering their own opportunities and prestige.

The existence of the show itself is a piece of commentary on the importance money is given in society and the degree of control it possesses; this show ran for 6 seasons (5 years) and brought in up to 3.5 million viewers at its peak, giving insight into the entertainment and drama that is centered around class differences and unimaginable amounts of wealth, and the marketability of it all.

Format: choose your own adventure story- illustrate constant advantages that wealthier get