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Sunday, November 27, 2016

The Gilmore Girls Have Turned Mean & Other Annoyances

So I'm really not liking the vibe of the Gilmore Girls revival. While it's fun to know that Kirk's still Kirk (now with a pet pig and Ooober ride-share business), Luke still hates cell phones (and now man buns), and Paris is a lawyer/doctor whose fertility clinic caters to the likes of Neil Patrick Harris, there's a lot that feels different about the characters and writing. Not quite Fuller House bad, but definitely not the Gilmore Girls we knew and loved.

We can let the little things slide, like blatant product placement on Doose's shelves. But the terrible dialogue, weak storyline, and general awfulness of the characters are hard to excuse. Particularly the last one -- Lorelai and Rory are more immature, self-involved, judgmental, and petty than ever. Remember (pre-season 6) when Rory used to be kind? Well 32-year-old Rory is not. She keeps forgetting she has a boyfriend (fodder for an annoying running joke) and is once again hooking up with Logan, who is also in a relationship. It's the Dean adultery debacle all over again -- except without Lorelai as the voice of reason.

The best thing about the revival is seeing the supporting characters again -- Kirk and Lulu, Taylor, Babette and Morey, Gypsy, Patty, Dean, Jess, and the town troubadour -- who are just as eccentric as we remember them.

But really, why'd they have to make the main characters so annoying and mean?

Segue into rant re: adults being mean. I've been increasingly frustrated recently with residents acting unkindly. I'm sure it happens in every profession; I just happen to spend most of my time around other residents. And it's starting to feel like high school -- all the complaining, making fun of others behind their backs, and gossip galore. It just makes me so angry! I think a few things people need to keep in mind are:


call people out -- When a co-resident is being a jerk (or vice-versa), just call them out on it right away.

don't make yourself out to be a martyr -- Don't humblebrag about how you were in the OR until midnight or only got an hour of sleep on call. I know we've all done it, but taking pride in working more than others just perpetuates the culture that if you leave last or sleep less you're a better physician for it.

there's no such thing as bad call karma -- I don't believe in call karma. It's a cognitive distortion -- that if you have one busy call shift, the next shift will be busy too. It's not logical. I know people say it tongue in cheek (myself included) but some people use it for the second point on this list, which, just please don't.

set an example -- When you're talking to a med student or resident about an elective, or exam, or whatever it may be that you've already done, but they're about to embark on, don't say anything negative (people do this without thinking allll the time -- e.g. Step 1 is awful, OB/GYN is the worst rotation, clerkship sucks). Let them form their own perceptions (which may not be anything like yours); it does no good to sully their experience before it's even begun.

I could go on, but I think that's enough. Tl;dr -- be kind; it's easy.

/rant

1 comment:

  1. Definitely agreed with you. I watched the Gilmore Girls revival and liked just seeing all the characters back to life again, but I was kinda annoyed that they were so mean/self-absorbed. Definitely understand that no one's perfect, but...sigh. I was hoping for more maturity too, haha. The four things you mentioned should be in Adulting 101. (Should actually be taught way younger, but for people who missed the memo, it'd be a great course for em'!?)

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