Assignment One

Relevant Background Information: This show takes place in

upper east side New York. It is based on the book Gossip Girl
written by Cecily von Ziegesar. Gossip Girl is about a group of
privileged teens and the lives that they live. From their love lives to
the extravagant trips they go on an anonymous blogger tells it all.
No one knows who this person is but this person is releasing all
their secrets. The important places that take place in these three
observations are The Empire Hotel, The Van Der Woodsen's
house, and the Cancer Treatment Facility. As love, death, gossip,
and disaster occur Gossip Girl records it all. Each episode is very
intense and interesting, if you miss one episode you are completely
lost!

Actors

The main actors of this show are Serena Van Der Woodsen, Blair Waldorf, Chuck
Bass, Dan Humphrey, and Nate Archibald.
Serena Van Der Woodsen: Serena is the beautiful,
blonde, bubbly, socialite. She is always in the spotlight
and is Gossip Girls biggest target. She returns home
from boarding school and tries to go back to her old
life but realizes so many things have changed. Serena
used to be a party animal but she tries to straighten
up.

Blair Waldorf: Blair and

Serena are best friends. Blair is
referred to as Queen B. In high
school Blair had her minions who
would do whatever she said. Everyone
at Constance, the high school the girls
went too, wanted to be in with Blair.
Blair is one of the biggest schemers in
this show.

Chuck Bass: In the first couple seasons

Chuck is the bad boy of his group of friends. As
the show goes on Chuck starts to mature and
become more caring about his close group of
friends. He has had a rough life. His mother died
when he was a child, or so we thought, and his
father never really truly showed him any
attention. Later on his father dies and poor
Chuck is orphaned. Chuck is in love with Blair
and they have an off again on again
relationship.

Dan Humphrey: Dan is referred to as

Lonely Boy throughout Gossip Girl. Dan
starts off as a humble boy from Brooklyn who
doesnt fit in with the rest of Manhattans
upper eastsiders. He has a love interest in
Serena and throughout the show they are off
again on again. He is a writer and writes a
book about his life and everyone in it. Dan
has the biggest transformation in the group.
He goes from being the outsider that no one
really knew or cared about to becoming
friends with the most popular kids in school.

Nate Archibald: Nate is the nice guy of the group.

Although he has a lot of girlfriends throughout the
series he remains the nice guy that everyone likes. He
has never stabbed any of his friends in the back or
sent in anonymous tips to gossip girl. He always goes
above and beyond to try to win over girls.

Artifacts
Gossip Girl.com- This website is significant to all of
our main characters as well as everyone in the
show. People send in tips anonymously to gossip
girl and she posts them. The website sends out
blasts about certain people and everyone gets the
notifications at once. As multiple people hack into
gossip girl you never know who gossip girl really is
until the very end.

Money- Everyone, except Dan, comes from money

and they have well enough. Money plays an
important role in the show because it not only
shows that to some money is everything, but also
that everyone uses money to get out of things.

Observations

Observation #1 Gossip Girl Season 5 episode 15 Crazy, Cupid, Love

6:40 - It is Valentine's day and Blair is back from her honeymoon but shes not
alone. She has a royal minder with her at all times to make sure she doesnt fall
back into bad habits. Rufus is buying a diamond necklace for Lilly, Dan is picking
up movies to bring to Blair, Chuck is walking his dog, and Serena is going to
spend her day interviewing a 70 year old celibate women. Serena tells Blair that
she hasnt had a real Valentines Date since high school with Dan. Just as she
says this Dan walks in and Serena leaves. Dan tells Blair the same thing, that he
hasnt been on a real date since Serena, and Blair starts to plot.
15:00- Nate calls Lola and asks her out but she declines. Charlie is back in town
and tries to talk to Lilly but only Rufus is there. Georgina is getting frustrated
because she doesnt have anything good to post on Gossip Girl. She comes up
with a plan to throw a party at The Spectator (where Nate works) and she posts it
for everyone to see. At first Nate tries to kill the idea but then realizes he can get
Lola to come by calling a caterer. Serena and Dan end up at the same restaurant
where they were supposed to meet 2 other people but their dates cancel on
them and they are left sitting with each other. Chuck take over Nates party and
moves it to the Empire Hotel so that Lola will work it. When Serena and Dan
continue to get these on the house deserts and drinks they realize that Blair is
trying to play Cupid.
30:15- Georgina goes to Lillys and talks to Charlie, trying to get some sort of
gossip out of her. Dan tells Nate he wont be attending his party but then Gossip
Girl blackmails him into bringing Blair. Georgina gets a copy of Blairs prenup and
realizes that Blair will go bankrupt if she defaults in her marriage. Everyones at
Nates party and Charlie shows up. Blairs royal minder goes downstairs to keep
an eye on Chuck. The real Charlotte Rhodes (Lola) runs into Charlie(Ivy
Meadows, whos pretending to be her) Dan finds out that Georgina is working for
Gossip Girl.
35:00- Dan and Blair kiss, Serena sees it, and Georgina takes a picture of it for
evidence. Lola and Charlie are catching up and talking about old times. Blair
leaves the party. Nate sits down next to Charlie and Lola and then Charlie
leaves. Nate tells Lola that her real name is Charlotte Rhodes and that her mom
made her go by the name Ivy Diggins. Lola, the real Charlotte Rhodes, is
appalled.
42:00 Dan finds Georgina in the elevator and tries to get the picture back.
Georgina tells him that shes actually Gossip Girl and if he outs her then it will
ruin Blairs life. She tells Dan about the prenup and how if Blair defaults in her
marriage then her whole family will become broke. Georgina leaves and shows
Chuck the picture of Blair and Dan kissing. Dan now knows Blairs feelings for
him.

Observation #2 Gossip Girl Season 5 Episode 16

6:00- Dan finished his book proposal and sent it off to Alessandra. Blair and Serena are
fighting about Dan again. Dorota locks Blair and Serena in the dining room so that they
can work out their issues. Lola stops by Nates and talks about Ivy, trying to get some
information on what shes really doing trying to pretend to be her. Ivy is performing
Dans book, Inside, and tells Nate to come by and watch.
16:00- Lola takes Nates phone to call Ivy and asks why shes using her name and
pretending to be her. Chuck convinces Alessandra to submit Dans proposal without
reading it. Ivy/Charlie tells the caregiver to call the rest of CeCes family so that they
know about her condition. Carol is back in town from her silent yoga retreat and has tea
with Serena and Lily. Nate calls out Lola and asks why shes using him to get to Charlie.
Blair gives Dan back his DVDs and stays with him to watch his book get mocked.
22:00 - Charlotte is taking CeCe to the hospital, the rest of the family is called and on
their way there as well. Blair and Dan kiss again and Serena sees it. Serena and Blair
argue over Dan once again. Alessandra misses 4 calls from Jonathan Carp. It turns out
that Dans proposal is plagiarized. Blair tries to talk to Dan as a friend but Dan tells her
that he wants to be with her and she realizes that she might have feelings for Dan a
little bit.
24:00- Lola looks up what Gossip Girl is and is astonished at how much Gossip Girl
knows about everyone. Gossip Girl sends a blast that Charlie is at the hospital. Nate
and Lola go to find out whats going on. Serena, Lily, and CeCe are already at the
hospital waiting to hear whats going on with CeCe. They think there is a blood clot in
CeCes bloodstream.
30:00- Alessandra goes to Dan and asks him whats going on with his book proposal.
Dan figures out that Chuck is messing with him. Blair is performing the Inside book at
the comedy troupe. Blair realizes that Dan has wanted to be with her for so long and
finds out he was there for her when no one else was. Lola shows up at the hospital and
sees her mom and serena, lily, rufus, and charlotte. The whole family is confused as to
what is going on when they find out that Lola is Carols daughter.
35:00- Everything is getting unfolded. Ivy/Charlie tells everyone that Carol hired her to
pretend to be her daughter to get ahold of her trust fund. Dan confronts Chuck and asks
why he switched the proposals. Serena tells off Charlie and tells her to leave her family
alone. Lola tells her mom that she wants nothing to do with her when she found out she
hid an entire family from her and hired someone she knew to pretend to be her and get
her money.

Observation #3 Season 5 Episode 17

12:00 - Cyrus may have found a loophole in Blairs prenup. Lily is having a Wake
for CeCe and Georgina and Charlie are showing up together. When Serena and
Lily get back up to their apartment the Wake is in session and it is an Irish Wake.
As Georgina goes out with Charlie she leaves Phillip in charge of Gossip Girl. But
when Philip tries to post something he accidentally outs it that Chuck Bass sent in
the tip. Realizing that Lily doesnt know anyone at the wake Rufus points out that
its all the people that were involved in CeCes life. ex. her butcher, driver,
firefighter, gardener, etc.
16:00- Lola and Nate come up to Serenas thinking that its just her there but
instead see all of the people and try to leave. Carol stops them and has a talk with
Lola. Georgina sees that Philip has messed up and tells Dan. Blair confronts
Chuck about the GG Blast and Chuck tells her that its the truth. When Dan sees
Blairs disgust he tries to apologize. Esty shows up at the Wake and tells Blair she
knows shes trying to get out of her prenup. Esty tells Blair that Cyruss plan will
not work but she comes up with a plan that will.
24:00- William, Serenas dad, shows up at the Wake and Georgina tells Lola that
talk to him may be her best shot at figuring out whats really going on. It turns out
William is the Executor of her Estate. Chuck posts a picture of Dan and Blair
kissing on Gossip Girl from Dans phone which leads to Blair getting into serious
trouble. The Grimaldis call Cyrus and ask him to pay the Dowry in full.
26:00- William is reading CeCes will in front of Serena, Lily, Carol, and Ivy. CeCe
leaves Ivy with everything. Blair confronts Dan and Dan outs Georgina as Gossip
Girl. Blair begs Esty to find out if there is anyway to salvage the deal but finds out
that there was no deal to begin with. Esty and Georgina made it up together.
30:00- Dan finds Chuck and tells him what a mess he has just made. He tells
Chuck that the Dowry is enough to cause the Waldorf's to become bankrupt.
Chuck is shocked when he finds out it was that much. Lily and Carol think that Ivy
had something to do with the will seeing as she was left with everything. Ivy
reassures them that CeCe knew everything, all her secrets and all of theirs.
35:00- Carol tells William that hes the father of her child. Georgina comes to
Blairs and apologizes to her but tells her that she may know of a way to get her
out of her marriage in return for a favor later on. Lily informs Chuck that when he
was in the hospital and needed a blood transfusion, Jack was the one who did it
for him. Chuck is completely taken back by this news.

Interviewee: Madison Popoff

This is my best friend Madison Popoff. I
chose my to interview her because shes
the one who introduced me to the show
Gossip Girl. I had heard about Gossip Girl
but I had never watched the show myself. I
was interested in it but I never had the time
to really sit down and watch the show. It
wasnt until I decided to watch the show
until she had made a reference to the show
by comparing some boys house to it.
When I told her I had never watched it she
was shocked and told me I had to start it.
She has seen every episode at least 3
times and even re-watched the series with
me. I was having difficulties trying to figure
out what I was going to research but
Madisons answer to the last question
helped me determine what I wanted to do. I
am so glad that Madison sat down and
watched the show with me because I
ended up really enjoying the show and
now I can say that it is definitely my
favorite.

Interview Questions

1. Who is your favorite character? Why?

Serena because shes the most mature out of all of the characters in the show, she
doesnt do as much manipulative things as the others, thinks of others before herself,
shes not as spiteful.
2. If you could be any character who would it be?
Chuck Bass because hes so rich, he truly, deeply cares for one person. Even though he
always messes up he gets his life together and tries to make things right.
3. Boys: Nate, Chuck, or Dan? Who would you pick?
Dan because he has a good heart, he is a lover not a fighter and Ive had my fair share
of fighters and I really need a different type of guy in my life.
4. Who did you think Gossip Girl was? Were you shocked when you found out
who it was?
I thought Dorota was Gossip Girl. I was kind of shocked but not really because I kind of
put it together at the end of the show. Because Dan is an aspiring writer and him
creating gossip girl could be a project. He also didnt get exposed as much as the
others.
5. Who do you relate to the most?
Serena because she is fun and really easygoing.
6. If you had to pick, what was your favorite part of the show?
My favorite part was watching Serena and Dan fall for each other over and over again,
especially because of the social class status issues. She had money and he didnt and
even though everyone was against them they still made it work. Even through all the
bad things that happened they always managed to come back to each other.

Analysis A.
The show Gossip Girl takes place in New York in the upper east side area. With millions
of dollars and no priorities our characters have time to obsess over who is dating who
and who is getting into trouble. In comparison with our world, anyone with internet
access can go on to the internet and post something about someone, but not like this.
The rules and conventions are a little far fetched from reality. Bribing someone is wrong
in our world but people still do it. However, not like our favorite upper eastsiders. Bribing
is definitely a big part in the rules and conventions. In this show just about everyone
bribes their way out of things or into getting some juicy information. In high school
everyone knows everyone's drama, thats true in both our world and in Gossip Girl. In

this world it is completely acceptable to obsess and plot against one another. Everyone
is running around with their phones out taking pictures, recording videos, and giving tips
as to what is going on in the lives of one another. It is also acceptable for the boys to
sleep around with everyone, have prostitutes, and go to secret mens clubs.
As it would be odd for some random person in everyday life to have their very own
private investigator it is pretty ordinary for just about everyone to have one in Gossip
Girl, or at least use them a few times. In one of the seasons Serenas mom, Lily, forges
her daughters signature and puts an innocent man in jail for years. Since the
Vanderwoodsens are so well known and rich Lily is simply put on house arrest instead
of thrown in prison. As far as our teens go, theyre getting into drugs and alcohol,
throwing huge, elaborate parties costing tens of thousands of dollars all at the age of
16/17. If one was throwing parties or at least attending then they were a nobody, which
one would never want to be. When they get into trouble money fixes everything. Another
rule and convention would be clothing. If one wasnt wearing couture then they may as
well be dirt poor.The appropriate behavior in this show is to be catty towards friends but
also to try to be mature and unbothered by the tabloids.

Chart

Analysis B.
Example 1: Gossip Girl
Example 2: Bribes- This is of interest to me because there is so much bribery going on
in the show and just about everyone seems to accept it.
Example 3: Socioeconomic status- Just about every main character in the show is from
a wealthy, high class family except for Dan but he still manages to get in with the group
of upper eastsiders.

Propose

Gossip Girl is based on the book by Cecily von Ziegesar. Seeing as the
show is based around all the ups and downs of the kids lives I searched
for a few key terms dealing with such things. After looking up different
things I decided to look up Socioeconomic statuses. Socioeconomic
status is based on a persons job, income, and education. Since most
of the characters come from such rich and well-known people I wanted
to look up how being so privileged can have an affect on others. Im
really interested in the socioeconomic statuses throughout the show.
From characters having trust funds, to owning hotels, and then some
that are on scholarship to a fancy school. I intend to research the
different statuses and how those that are more privileged treat/
compared to those who arent as privileged.

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The
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