Topic > Series Review, Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl is a popular television program aimed at teenagers and young adults. This drama series focuses on a group of friends who attend a private high school in New York City. Of course all the friends are very rich to be able to attend this school. The group of friends faces many typical high school problems and more throughout the series. The main characters of this show include the most popular and pretty one, Serena, her best friend Blair, a less rich and unpopular boy, Dan and a sometimes rude but attractive teenager, Chuck. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the gripping series, the four friends face a lot of drama together due to their similar lifestyles. Chuck, Blair and Serena are all very rich and have indulgent parents. Dan, on the other hand, is not very rich and does not always understand the carefree lifestyle of his rich friends. Dan is usually the one who stays away from parties and focuses on his homework. The reason the show is called Gossip Girl is because of an unknown blogger who constantly spies on friends' lives. Gossip Girl targets these friends and anonymously posts mean, secret things about them online for the rest of the school to read. Most of the drama in the series comes from something published by Gossip Girl. There are various communication concepts involved in this show such as identity management, self-concepts, and stereotypes. Identity management is a popular concept among most people, but especially young adults and teenagers who are trying to find their place in this world. Identity management is “the communication strategies that people use to influence how others see them” (Adler, 2005, p. 62). Similar to the stereotype of rich and conceited teenagers, the three friends Serena, Blair and Chuck really care about what others think of them. These three characters always make sure to wear the nicest clothes when they leave the house, travel in a limousine if they have to go somewhere, and that their less popular peers always look up to them or do what they say. People change their personalities deliberately or unconsciously depending on the situation to maintain relationships, explore new selves, and to be liked. Blair and Dan are the two characters who manage their identities the most. They really focus on their perceived self. Blair always wants to be the best and most popular, so she is constantly changing for people. This doesn't work in her favor because sometimes she turns into someone she's not and ends up not liking her instead of liking her. For example, in one episode, Blair is romantically interested in a boy who isn't too interested in her. Blair changes her normally arrogant attitude to experience the very sweet person she is deep down. Although he is really kind, the change does not go in his favor and the boy ends up falling in love with his best friend, Serena. Unfortunately, Dan is automatically different from his peers because he is not as rich as them, which means he has different clothes, different privileges and lives in a different area. To maintain his relationships with his friends, he must always give his best to feel on their level. This doesn't mean he pretends to be something he doesn't have to fit into, he just makes sure he behaves a certain way in front of his peers. The way he gets carried away by his rich friends and behaves very politely is not the same as the way he behaves in front of his father and sister. For the most part, themanaging his identity is positive for him because he ends up fitting in with the popular kids by being a different him. Serena and Chuck aren't very similar in personalities but they are similar in that they don't change identities. often for others. Both characters are very confident and feel like they shouldn't change personalities for anyone. However, when appropriate, Serena and Chuck behave differently with their parents at a fancy party than they do with their friends at a high school party. Their wealth requires them to attend many formal parties and be mature enough to spend time with other wealthy adults. It's easy for them to change personalities when they change settings. Self-concepts are another important part of the show. Self-concepts are simply how people see themselves. “Physical appearance, health, friendships, achievements, or abilities” (Adler, 2005, p. 41) are all examples of things that play into one's self-concept. Gossip Girl characters have a variety of self-concepts due to the many different personalities surrounding the show. Serena is well aware that she is popular and attractive and that almost everyone loves and admires her. This strangely doesn't make Serena arrogant. If anything, Serena thinks she's less beautiful and put together than everyone else thinks she is. Unlike Serena, Blair's idea of ​​herself is that she thinks she is wonderful and beautiful. This self-concept makes Blair more arrogant than he should be to others. She has trouble understanding why no one loves her as much as Serena and why she isn't as popular as her best friend. Blair's jealousy towards Serena is a constant problem in every episode of the series. As far as kids go, Chuck and Dan are extremely different characters. Chuck is a lot like Blair because they are both arrogant. Chuck considers himself one of the best people around even though his personality isn't great. He is not well liked by his peers and many adults. Most of the time he feels superior because he has a lot of money and nice things. Dan is the exact opposite of Chuck and is quite intimidated because he knows he may not fit in with the rich, preppy kids. Dan knows he is an intelligent, thoughtful and kind-hearted person. But he is also aware that his peers make fun of him because he is much less rich than them and will always be different from them. In one of the first episodes, Dan is excited and ready to go to his new school because he is sure that people will like him for his charming personality and intelligence. However, when he arrives at school, his classmates automatically notice his unkempt hair, different clothes and undesigned backpack. Dan's self-confidence decreases because the way he sees himself changes when he sees how others perceive him. Stereotypes are another main communication concept that happens anywhere in the world and at any age. Stereotypes are “exaggerated generalizations associated with a categorization system” (Adler, 2005, p.86) and there are many highlighted in this series. For example, a common stereotype is that rich children are unkind, usually arrogant, and spoiled by their parents. For Serena, Blair, Chuck, and most of the other kids they go to school with, this stereotype is true. The only person who doesn't fit the stereotype is the one who doesn't follow the same criteria as others. Dan is the only one who stands out in the group, making him the outcast in virtually every episode. In this plot, Dan is the one completely different from the others and the show's writers obviously make him the strange and least confident character. Please note: this is just an example. Get a personalized document now.