Gilmore Girls

I have to be honest: the moment I decided to review this brill TV-series, I reckoned it to be fit for ány age. But when I came to think of it deeper, I really came up with the notion that perhaps only teens from 11+ (give or take a year or two, depending on how mature your child(ren) is (are)) can fully appreciate this show. Again, being honest: I reckon this show as not containing things that might shock your child(ren). In fact, in a certain way, all is life-like, but without the sharp edge. Every parent knows that sooner or later his/her child learns about the birds and the bees, and so many other things that may qualify as "that's life". This show might be thé source of all of that for your child. Because it not only shows the nice, fine, and pleasant aspects of it all, it also shows that, like everything, all comes with good ánd bad, thus showing the consequences of it all. For almost everything major happening in this show, there's a balance of 'pro vs. anti', which creates an opening for you and your child(ren) to debate about it, share eachothers thoughts. Below are some topics of the show, followed by the storyline it involves with, and concluding with my review of Talk About concerning that topic. * Religion | Storyline: Lane Kim (Rory's best friend) doesn't believe in anything but music, while her mother is a very strict Korean christian, all of which make Lane turne out to be a very creative girl involving hiding everything; from CDs to (potential) relationships, and from lavalamps to her dreams. | Talk About: how do you see religion, and how does your child(ren) see it? Is there room for personal views, eventhough they may not be the same? * Virginity | Storyline: Rory's friend/rival Paris confesses to her that she lost her virginity, and reckoned it great but weird at the same time. Rory, after Paris asked for her experience, confesses that, although in her second relationship (first being Dean, second being Jess), she's still a virgin, because she doesn't feel 'ready yet'. In a later season, however, she looses her virginity to Dean, who is, at that time, married with another girl. It wasn't a secret, though, that they both still loved eachother, eventhough they were in other relationships. With both situations, the 'no glove, no love' (i.e. do it safe) is emphasised. | Talk About: what does it mean to have sex, and loose your virginity? Is it OK to have sex with someone who loves you, and you love him/her, eventhough one of the involved persons is already committed? Is there a 'wrong vs. right' in such a situation? What may be defined as being 'the right person'? * Pregnancy | Storyline: Lorelai, unmarried, had her child (Rory) when she was a teen. | Talk About: if having sex, what kind of consequences does it may have? * Virginity part 2 | Storyline: Lane Kim falls in love with a bandmate of hers. Eventhough she loves to try everything her mother told her not to, she remains virgin until she is married with this guy from her band, which turned out to be 'the one' for her. She didn't like sex (on her honeymoon), though, and she even praises her mother for making sex sound so wrong, for 'it is'. She turns out to be pregnant of twins, eventhough she used a (discount Mexican), though. | Talk About: this might be THE opportunity to speak about condoms and pregnancy in general; are they safe (enough)? If having sex, what are the basic steps to make it safe? And if something happens, is it something that your child(ren) can say to you? * Relationships | Storyline: Lorelai seems to runaway from the relationships she has with men. | Talk About: is a relationship scary? Why is it/isn't it something to runaway for? Again: what may be defined as 'the right person'? * Family | Storyline: Lorelai has many ups and downs with her parents, and although she and Rory are mostly girlfriends first and parent-child later, they also have some highs and lows during the 7 seasons. Another example is Lane Kim; coming from a strict Korean family, during the seasons she and her mother get estranged from one another, though they ultimately seem to share a relationship nearly as close as Lorelai and Rory seem to have, being able to talk with eachother as full-grown adults.| Talk About: what does family mean? Is there a point in which you and your child(ren) can see eachother as fully-grown adults/human beings?What might mark that point? Is everyone allowed to have his/her own ideas? * Social status | Storyline: The parents of Lorelai, Richard & Emily Gilmore, are of a certain high-class society, which is something that Lorelai just wanted to escape, because of its many rules and etiquette. In later years, she does her best to be 'working-class', for 'high-class' stands for strings and etiquette, and 'working-class' stands for indepence. | Talk About: what are the social classes in society? Are there many differences? Is a certain social class happier or unhappier, or even better off/ not better off than another? Are there simularities in how social classes experience life? And there are many other topics in this show that create a great opening for you and your child(ren) to talk about! My reason for giving it an "On for 11+" rating: there are so many references in this show (from film to music, and from TV-series to TV-personalities), that even many adults don't understand it all. However, the topics in this show should be seen by 11+ children, for it gives them a (for parents) safe glipmse of the teenyears that are ahead of them. I also would like to mention, though, that it depends per child; if a child is 10, but very mature for his/her age, then he/she might like it, but if a child is 13, but not as ready, than I would hold it of just a bit. It does, however, involves the objective common sense of a parent.