A stunning blonde, hair highlighted to perfection (clearly the work of a triple digit stylist) catwalks down Park Avenue in an outfit that probably costs more than a year’s worth of college tuition. She exchanges witty comments with her strong-jawed, artfully attired and downright sexy date, whose “bold gestures” throughout their relationship would make any girl swoon. The couple ends up at the swankiest and trendiest club in New York City, bypassing both lines and bouncers, and turning heads in the process. Headlines and gossip blogs scream the spotting of this pair – and television viewers across the country can keep their eyes glued to the fantastical world that is Gossip Girl.
Gossip Girl is just one of many ways in which television distorts reality. Any show about over-privileged 14- to 16-year-olds indulging themselves in dry martinis at “The Palace Hotel” instead of shotgunning the nearest Natty Ice in their friend’s basement (quietly though, because their parents are upstairs) is completely absurd. In a startling representation of elite New York City teenagers, Gossip Girl is so extravagant and lavish that it struts into the territory of being gaudy and outlandish – trading in its Manolos for the latest pair of plastic Paylesses in the process.
In a scathing review of the show and its morals, children’s author Lesley Blume points out that, “Gossip Girl represents nothing less than the soft death of youth culture and rebellion and self-determinism.” She’s right – it does. Through an inflated portrayal of a certain lifestyle, Gossip Girl’s exaggerated and oftentimes silly portrayal of upper-class youth culture is, in fact, parallel with the characters it immortalizes: far-fetched, excessive and overdone. This show treats immature children like full-fledged adults, erases money of its value, obliterates any rules without consequence and regards wealth as a privilege that will open any door, no matter where it may lead. Despite the Gossip Girl producers’ intricate ploy to make viewers believe this lifestyle is real, i’s simply not. As New York magazine says, “the glory of Gossip Girl is in its implausibility.”
In reality, television is pure entertainment, with a splash of conniving advertising genius. Its programming portrays an overly lavish, seemingly impossible way of life to lure viewers in solely for broadcaster’s bragging rights and fiscal gains. It is no secret that the entertainment industry can be unrealistic. In this day in age, however, it seems as if the portrayal of certain lifestyles is downright quixotic, especially through the entertainment industry’s out-of-this-world depictions of supposed realism.
The great Oscar Wilde once stated that “life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” I believe this to be true. Shows like Gossip Girl, Sex and the City, The O.C., Entourage and Las Vegas conceptualize and execute the portrayal of a glamorous, far-removed and fictional lifestyle. By making these ways of life accessible to viewers, society will want to emulate them and access a world that barely exists. In essence, people are ultimately going to strive for their lives to imitate art – and real life will become nothing more than a lurid fantasy.
SESP sophomore Alexandra La Manna is a PLAY pop culture columnist. She can be reached at [email protected].
