Alcohol Use on Gilmore Girls - possible spoilers

[Erin]

Tonight's episode was certainly a timely one for this topic, eh?  That was definitely a low point for Lorelai.

But it was kind of realistic. Many people try to drown their anger. But as you could see, it doesn't work very well.

Oh yeah, I definitely think it was realistic, and you're right about it not working well; alcohol is only a temporary escape.

[JusTcaLLmeRedhEad]

So what if they drink alcohol?? Most of the time its the adults..there ARE allowed to do that. Its not like Lorelai drinks an entire bottle Jack Daniels and then hops in the car. She usually has a martini or two..then spends a few hours eating and drinking coffee. And about Rory..besides Spring Break..i dont really remember seeing her drink all that much. When are you thinking of?? If the drinking offends you..deal with it.

[sternen-nest]

If the drinking offends you..deal with it.

Whoa! This thread was made to discuss different opinions on the shows portrayal of drinking habbits. There´s no need to get snarky!

[1giantGGfan]

I don't think it's a big deal. Like someone said, they are usually old enough to drink. Except for Rory a couple of time. But as long as they are responcible. When Rory was drinking in the pool house with Logan and all the guys during that one party in season 5, she got a ride home. I think as long as it's respocible, the drinking age is kind of pathetic. If there was no drinking age, kids wouldn't think it's like *that big of a deal* to get drunk and they probably wouldn't as often. My parents let me drink at home, but I'm not allowed to leave the house, and once I get my lisence I'm not allowed to drive until atleast the next morning. Now I don't have to sneak out to parties to get a buzz, it's in the safety of my own home. And I don't even get drunk, I'll take a sip, sometimes more, but I'm never drunk and I don't do it all the time.

Anyway, I don't think they drink taht much. It's okay to have a cocktale during dinner and it's okay to have some fun. Just Be Safe.

[gilmoreguyforlife]

I was thinking about this myself a little while back. I, personally, am of two minds. I think that they are stretching the alchohol far too much. I mean, do you really have to have it on every episode? Do you need to have a drug, a potentially lethal drug, showcased. Ocassionally, it is ok, but every episode. Lorelei often comes of as a woman who relies on her drinks, who uses the depressant as a crutch to handle her life. That is a bad message.
But the open mindedness of lorelei about teen drinking is refreshing. It is also a good thing. As a poster before me mentioned, he drinks a bit. As long as you don't get drunk every night and storm around the place throwing things, it is ok. A glass of white wine a night is good for you! The liberalness of the newer generation of the Gilmores is refreshing on a show like this, and the jokes about getting drunk are really funny.

[LukeNLorelai4eva]

I've never thought about it before, but now that you've bought it up, i really dont think that they drink much at all.
In England, (where i live) the drinking age is 18, so i dont know if that makes a difference. but my family has a glass of wine with their evening meal, and always finish the bottle off. i had my first alcoholic drink on my 11th birthday, and im fine. i really don't see why the drinking in the show is a problem, because first of all, they are all adults, and secondly, it isn't real life, its a t.v show.

[GGOO]

I wish I was 21 and not 20 so I could drink today.... I'm having such a bad day... and I am soooo stressed.... I want to be like Lorelai who gets to have a drink everytime her mother is in the same room as her exept instead of drinking whenever my mom is around.... just drinking when anything happens in life that is obnoxious, frustrating, and life ruiening.

[1giantGGfan]

I wish I was 21 and not 20 so I could drink today.... I'm having such a bad day... and I am soooo stressed.... I want to be like Lorelai who gets to have a drink everytime her mother is in the same room as her exept instead of drinking whenever my mom is around.... just drinking when anything happens in life that is obnoxious, frustrating, and life ruiening.

Sounds good, but wouldn't that sort of make you alcholic?
I think too many things don't go our way to live life like that. It could be really dangerous.
Plus, life is too short to spend every minute drinking.
..just my thoughts.

[GGOO]

You are right.... I'm just having a bad day. I'm not a drinker... I normally never want a drink but... it just one of those days that I'd really enjoy a drink or two.... not a case. Just a drink or so....

[Jess__love]

I don't think it's a big deal. Like someone said, they are usually old enough to drink. Except for Rory a couple of time. But as long as they are responcible. When Rory was drinking in the pool house with Logan and all the guys during that one party in season 5, she got a ride home. I think as long as it's respocible, the drinking age is kind of pathetic. If there was no drinking age, kids wouldn't think it's like *that big of a deal* to get drunk and they probably wouldn't as often. My parents let me drink at home, but I'm not allowed to leave the house, and once I get my lisence I'm not allowed to drive until atleast the next morning. Now I don't have to sneak out to parties to get a buzz, it's in the safety of my own home. And I don't even get drunk, I'll take a sip, sometimes more, but I'm never drunk and I don't do it all the time.

Anyway, I don't think they drink taht much. It's okay to have a cocktale during dinner and it's okay to have some fun. Just Be Safe.

I agree. I think 21 is a ridiculous drinking age, it's 18 pretty much everywhere else. & I think it's hypocritical that you can go to war at 18, but you can't have a drink until you're 21. As long as you're responsible about it, who cares if you have an occasional drink?

[cold, cold my girl]

For the longest time the consumption of Alcohol on this show has really bothered me, but not enough to say anything about it.  I don't mean to be a prude, but alcohol is drunk a lot in this show.  Examples..

Every friday night dinner begins with drinks.  Then Lorelai or whomever else there always ends up driving home with no problems at all.  Has anyone else been worried about their safety driving home?  I don't know what the legal limit is in Connecticut or how much alcohol is in the drinks they have, but it slightly bothers me.

Then there is all of the drinking involved in the L&DB.  I really don't think all of them were of drinking age in the U.S.?  And Rory had clearly experienced alcohol way b4 she was 21.  I can turn my head at spring break, but some of the other scenes bug me.

I realize that adults have the responsibility to drink responsibility and that many can.  I also worry that this show has it as something that is no big deal and that concerns me a bit.  I was just curious what are everyone's thought and feelings are about this. 

it sucks that in america you have to be 21 to drink, it's very realistic that rory drinks befores she is legally allowed to. most teenagers start experimenting with alcohol when they're about sixteen!

[MikeinLA]

I wish I was 21 and not 20 so I could drink today.... I'm having such a bad day... and I am soooo stressed.... I want to be like Lorelai who gets to have a drink everytime her mother is in the same room as her exept instead of drinking whenever my mom is around.... just drinking when anything happens in life that is obnoxious, frustrating, and life ruiening.

Some of you younger members seem to have a mistaken view of why a person would take a drink or two.

Having a drink with friends to relax, or some fine wine with dinner, makes you feel kind of mellow and sort of set back. Drinking at a party is fun IF you are responsible and pace yourself and stay in control. It can help you have fun, but it can also make you sick and make an ass of yourself.

Drinking because you're pissed off or bored or aggravated with someone won't work. You'll get more pissed off and you'll still be bored and aggravated. If you're sad, drinking will make you more sad.

Some movies and TV shows make drinking and getting drunk look funny, but it isn't. Gilmore Girls actually shows drinking pretty much realistically. Lorelai has a drink or two with her parents to relax. She's about 40 years old and she doesn't get plastered. She is shown drinking responsibly. The one time she does get roaring plowed, she embarrasses and horrifies herself and is shown with a painful hangover.

Rory sometimes seems to drink a little too much for her age, and I wish the show would show the consequences of this a time or two. Young people sometimes tend to drink too much, too fast, as they don't realize drunkeness arrives slowly, not at the same speed you drink. This is what happened to Lorelai and the eight belts of tequila. She was wasted and disgraced herself, but you saw she got drunker and finally passed out, even though she did not drink any more. Getting that drunk isn't funny or fun. It's horrible and painful, and the consequences last all the next day and you feel like crap. Trust me.

I know no one likes a scold or a sanctimonious preacher, so I'll just say I've been over 21 for a long time and I know what I'm talking about. Most people do not have addictive personalities and do not become alcoholics. I am not an alcoholic, but I've known a couple. It is a special kind of hell which can ruin your life and the lives of your families and loved ones.

If you're of legal drinking age, drinking isn't a moral issue, it's a chemical process and you need to know how it works and that it can be both fun and very dangerous.

Well, phooey. I didn't mean to get all heavy and bring everybody down. It's just that this is a serious subject and young people need to understand it and approach it seriously and carefully.

[lessa]

Loreali gets drunk a lot on the show, though. When it's under controlled conditions for a party or a celebration, everything seems okay (plus hangover.) Like, the night she took her last exam, she spent the evening drunk to celebrate finishing school while responsible Rory was studying. And When she proposed to Lunk, they got drunk on Zima together and cleared the air about the Twickum House.
On the other hand, when she uses it as a band-aid for depression or to help her deal with bad feelings, it always ends up disastrously. As a former heavy drinker, I know that that can't be a coincidence, and I think the writers may secretly be making a point.

Rory, on the other hand, has always treated alcohol conservatively and with a keen eye to her own limits. She didn't really drink enough to affect her life (read: her grades) until she took up with Logan, and even then she only experimented while cradled in a safety net of money, privelege and experienced companions. The Founder's Day incident emphasized her hangover more than her tipsiness, probably to balance things out and explain Lorelai's permissive attitude; sometimes misusing alcohol is it's own punishment.

I doubt it's any accident that none of the main characters drink and drive. (Dinner is two hours long, and her parents probably wouldn't let her drive if she had too much wine.) The one time drinking and driving was mentioned (In 'Last Week Fights, This Week Tights' when Rory's bar-hopping 'date' went sour and she bailed) I think they treated it too lightly, but it was only there to illustrate how stranded she was so she could call Dean.

To me, it seems like the show is secretly conservative about drinking, but that they wish to appear extremely liberal for purposes of realism on the surface.

[MikeinLA]

Loreali gets drunk a lot on the show, though. When it's under controlled conditions for a party or a celebration, everything seems okay (plus hangover.) Like, the night she took her last exam, she spent the evening drunk to celebrate finishing school while responsible Rory was studying. And When she proposed to Lunk, they got drunk on Zima together and cleared the air about the Twickum House.
On the other hand, when she uses it as a band-aid for depression or to help her deal with bad feelings, it always ends up disastrously. As a former heavy drinker, I know that that can't be a coincidence, and I think the writers may secretly be making a point.

Rory, on the other hand, has always treated alcohol conservatively and with a keen eye to her own limits. She didn't really drink enough to affect her life (read: her grades) until she took up with Logan, and even then she only experimented while cradled in a safety net of money, privelege and experienced companions. The Founder's Day incident emphasized her hangover more than her tipsiness, probably to balance things out and explain Lorelai's permissive attitude; sometimes misusing alcohol is it's own punishment.

I doubt it's any accident that none of the main characters drink and drive. (Dinner is two hours long, and her parents probably wouldn't let her drive if she had too much wine.) The one time drinking and driving was mentioned (In 'Last Week Fights, This Week Tights' when Rory's bar-hopping 'date' went sour and she bailed) I think they treated it too lightly, but it was only there to illustrate how stranded she was so she could call Dean.

To me, it seems like the show is secretly conservative about drinking, but that they wish to appear extremely liberal for purposes of realism on the surface.

You have a good perspective, too. And I just remembered the ep in which Stobe died and Lorelai took a bottle of tequila to Christopher and they supposedly killed it. This is difficult to believe, as just two people downing an entire 750ml bottle of booze would produce disastrous results and possible alcohol poisoning which could require medical treatment. I didn't notice they got all that wasted on Zima. I'm not even sure what it is, but I think it's a much less potent beverage than whiskey or tequila. I think it's kind of like beer, and two or three of them wouldn't make a person blind staggering drunk.

You are certainly right that misuse of alcoholic beverages is its own punishment. It still makes me cringe to recall some of my worst experiences. Ouch!

I just wanted to make the point to the younger members that drinking is a thing for adults to do responsibly, not a way to escape the day to day aggravations of life.

What liquor does is first lower inhibitions. It also clouds judgment and perception, especially of things like your own estimate of your ability to speak or drive, for instance. It screws up your thought processes and ruins your physical coordination. This is why drunks stagger and fall down and wreck their cars and kill themselves and others. It isn't a stimulant, but acts as a narcotic and depressant. In large amounts, it renders the drinker unconscious, and in very large amounts, is poisonous and deadly. In these regards, it is nefarious because the onset of effects is some time after the actual drinking. A drinker can already have had far too much to drink and not yet realize it. You can't just decide to stop when you feel good, because you'll continue to get drunker even after you quit.

A really bad hangover is misery beyond belief. The onliest thing I've ever experienced which is worse was seasickness, and between the two, it's close which is actually more horrible. At least with seasickness, you don't also have a pounding headache. It lasts for hours, by the way. Drinking all the coffee in the world doesn't help.

Even if you're 21, think about it and take it easy.

[Dani257]

Rory sometimes seems to drink a little too much for her age, and I wish the show would show the consequences of this a time or two. Young people sometimes tend to drink too much, too fast, as they don't realize drunkeness arrives slowly, not at the same speed you drink. This is what happened to Lorelai and the eight belts of tequila. She was wasted and disgraced herself, but you saw she got drunker and finally passed out, even though she did not drink any more. Getting that drunk isn't funny or fun. It's horrible and painful, and the consequences last all the next day and you feel like crap. Trust me.

I can only think of two instances (one a one time thing, one extended) where Rory drank too much.  The Founder's Day punch, and I suppose she was drinking regularly during her Sloth Queen days.  But, I think they were trying to show the consequences of it, and the issues related to it.  With the punch, we saw Rory sick on the bathroom floor, and also we knew she was trying to drown out her sorrows over her assumed rejection by Logan.  And, although I can't think of any particular time she got drunk after leaving Yale (they spent more time showing Logan drinking), I think it was implied, and I think it was shown as just another sign of her life spiraling out of control.  So, I think they do sort of show it.  Unless you mean specifically physical consequences?  And, have there been any other times when Rory was shown drinking? Did she actually drink during Spring Break?  I don't recall.  But, I'm not sure I'd count that.  I mean, yes, she was underage, but I don't think it's that unusual or bad for someone to drink at least once before they're of legal age, if the necessary precautions are taken.  And, I'm saying this as someone who doesn't drink at all. 

I didn't notice they got all that wasted on Zima. I'm not even sure what it is, but I think it's a much less potent beverage than whiskey or tequila. I think it's kind of like beer, and two or three of them wouldn't make a person blind staggering drunk.

Okay, I don't remember the exact words in that scene, but even if Lorelai did say "get drunk" I think this was probably a time when she wasn't speaking literally.  I don't think she honestly was suggesting that she and Luke actually get drunk, but just simply drink as part of a celebration.


Gack.  I hate when that closing quote just sticks there and puts everything into a big purple box.  And, no matter how many times I edit, it won't go away.  Anyway, I thought it was interesting at the party Rory threw Logan, the scene where Logan asks Rory to tell him not to go, that's the scene where he refuses her offer of a beer.  I thought that was interesting, because that's the same scene where she won't make a decision for him, and where he doesn't insist.  I wonder if that was symbolic?  Before, he might not have accepted that she wouldn't give him an out, and he might have continued drinking until he was wasted.