Ryann Tate

Tate
1

Professor Ashlyn Walden

UWRT-1104-007
October 8, 2015

Assignment 1: Gossip Girl

Terms:
Upper East Sider- rich person that lives in the borough of Manhattan in New York
Gossip Girl Blasts- blog posts from gossip girls are mass sent via email or text message
St. Judes Preparatory School for Boys- exclusive private school that rich parents send
their kids
Constance Billard School for Girls- exclusive private school that rich parents send their
kids
Queen Bee- describes the ruler of the social structure of a school or a community
Minions- the helpers to the queen bee, minions do all of the dirty work, may or may not
be loyal
Ostroff Center- a rehab clinic
Kiss on the Lips- a social gathering hosted by Blaire
Ivey Week- representatives from the Ivey League colleges come to a party where the kids
at St. Judes and Constance get to impress them.
Figure World: A Figure World is a large social scopes rules for acceptable behavior and
conventions.
Gossip Girl takes place in modern day New York on the Upper Eastside. The Upper East Side is
the location of the very rich and powerful people in New York. Its not easy to get into the club
that is the Upper East Side. The most important requirement to join the club is to be from a very
wealthy, very connected, and very powerful family. And as for rules and conventions, there are
only a few. To quote a character from the show, the Upper East Side was something like
Fitzgerald or Thackeray teenagers acting like adults, adults acting like teenagers,. Subsequently,
one convention is that Upper East Side kids have a lot of freedom and basically do whatever they
want (drink, smoke, etc.). Another convention of the Upper East Side is to have many secrets and
to guard those secrets. Every East Sider has them, its just a matter of when they will come out,
how they will come out, and who they will hurt. Additionally, a rule of the Upper East Side is to
always dress impeccably. As a member of the club you must follow and keep up with all of the
latest style trends. Furthermore, a convention that comes with being an Upper East Sider is going
to functions and parties. Whether its a fundraising event or just a social get together if you are
not invited you are irrelevant. The Upper East Side is a superficial place with many wealthy
inhabitants. One has to stay relevant to survive in the Upper East Side.
Actors: Actors are the people perform specific positions in a community.
Serena van der Woodsen- Serena is the central character of the Gossip Girl television series. She
is the subject of many Gossip Girl posts and has been since the ninth grade. Serena is a beautiful
and charming girl who seems to get everything she wants. Jason Gay of Rolling Stone describes

Tate
2

Serena as, the bad girl gone good(ish). But It girl might be the best description for Serena
van der Woodsen because she is the quintessential socialite. Regardless of Serenas social
standings, Serena is adventurist rich kid who comes from a family that has many secrets.
Blair Waldorf- Blair is Serenas best friend. Like Serena, Blair comes from a rich family, her
mother is a fashion designer. Even though her parents are divorced, Blair is the Queen Bee of
the exclusive Constance Billard School for Girls (the school Serena and Blaire go to) and she has
loyal followers (minions). She is a control freak, snob, master schemer, and an overachiever.
Blair dates Nathaniel Nate Archibald. Although Blair is the queen bee of Constance, she has
many insecurities especially with her social status.
Dan Humphrey- Dissimilar to Serena and Blair, Dan comes from a humble upbringing; in fact,
Dan was raised in Brooklyn. He attends the exclusive St. Judes Preparatory School for Boys (on
scholarship) where he is second in his class. Dan is the son of an ex-rock star and he has a little
sister named Jenny. All Dan wants is to be accepted into the cool crowd.
Jenny Humphrey- Jenny is Dans little sister. She is a scholarship kid at Constance. Jenny aspires
to be a clothing designer. Like her brother, Jenny wants in to the cool crowd.
Nathaniel Nate Archibald- Nate comes from a very wealthy family. He attends St. Judes
Preparatory School for Boys. Although Nate has dated Blair since kindergarten, he has a crush on
Serena. Nathaniel is worried about his future, and his father is pressuring him to go to his alma
mater. Instead of being with his family, Nate opts out to hang out with his best friend Chuck
Bass. Chuck and Nate spend their time together smoking weed and talking about girls. Nate
sleeps on Chucks couch often.
Chuck Bass- Chuck is a privileged rich kid. Chuck is a play/bad boy and has sex with the many
of employees that work at his home (which is a hotel). He also goes to St. Judes. His father is
Bart Bass, a wealthy business man. Bart owns the hotel that Serenas family is staying in. Chuck
has his own sweet in his fathers hotel.
Artifacts: Artifacts are developmental emotions, physical objects, or ideas that have significance.
Gossip Girl- Gossip Girl is an anonymous blog site that broadcasts the secrets of the Upper East
Side. Everyone at Constance and St. Judes reads Gossip Girl they also send tips to Gossip Girl
for her to post. Only the popular kids are mentioned on Gossip Girl.
Teen maturity- Teens on the Upper East Side behave like adults. For example, Chuck has does
not live with his father. Furthermore, high school kids host parties at upscale clubs where they
drink and do drugs and have sex. A lot of the teens go to events with their parents who allow
them to drink alcohol.
Class system- People that are not from the Upper East Side are irrelevant. Additionally, at
Constance there is a queen b who has loyal minions. The queen b is responsible for starting

Tate
3

trends, especially in fashion, she is also responsible for maintaining social order at Constance.
The queen b uses the minions to aid her in schemes, errands, and so on.
Communities of Practices: Communities of Practice are people who meet (in person, online, etc.)
and discuss a certain topic or issue.
Minions- the minions are the queen bs helpers. They do whatever she needs them to do. Even
though they are her minions, they sometimes change loyalties.
The Upper East Siders- the rich people of New York.
Domain: Domain is what a community of practice is interested in and committed to. When actors
in the community focus on one thing and learn from each other.
Gossip Girl- Everyone keeps up with Gossip Girl for the daily scoop on Upper East Side drama.
For instance, at the end of episode two, The Wild Brunch, Serena reads a Gossip Girl post as she
is walking down the street. The post talked about her being friendless and irrelevant. After
reading this post, she was so upset that she threw away her phone.
Practices of Community: Practices of the Community is a development of resources in a
community through conversation, experiences, and writing. to complete specific assignments.
Reading Gossip Girl- Everyone on the Upper East Side knows about gossip girl and reads her
posts.
Sending tips in to Gossip Girl- Gossip girl gets her ammunition (juicy gossip) from everyone on
the Upper East Side. Even lesser mortals, without the Upper East Side status, contribute to
Gossip Girls posts.
Going to school- all of the actors are high school students. They either attend St. Judes or
Constance high school. School is where a lot of the drama takes place.
Literacy practices: Literacy practice- the way communication takes place in a community or
social world
Cell phones- The cell phone is the main form of communication for the kids at Constance and St.
Judes. Gossip Girls primary form of communication is through text messages and emails which
are read on phones.
The Observation:
I will be observing the first three episodes of season one of the Gossip Girl series. The
observation for the episodes, The Wild Brunch and Poison Ivey, are started three minutes in to
the show. The time prior to those three minutes is spent giving a recap of the previous episode.
Back story: Before Serena left for boarding school in Connecticut, she and Blair were best
friends. Serena left New York because she slept with Blairs boyfriend Nate. At the time Blair

Tate
4

was going through tough times with her family life. Blairs father left her mother for another
man. Blair had also had a past issue with anorexia. Blair felt betrayed by Serena because Serena
wasnt there for her while she was going through adversity. Serena came back to New York after
her little brother tried to kill himself.
Gossip Girl Pilot
3:00mins: There are different images of New York being projected. We see Serena van der
Woodsen on a train to Grand Central Station. Gossip Girl (the Narrator) introduces herself and
tells us that Serena is back in New York from boarding school. We are introduced to the
Humphries: Dan, Jenny, and Rufus. Dan and Jenny are back from their mothers house (where
they stayed for the summer). Rufus greets them at Grand Central Station. Dan spots Serena at the
train station as he is leaving. Gossip Girl narrates, Dan cant believe that the love of his life has
returned, if only she knew who he was. In the following scene, we are visually shown people
receiving Gossip Girl blasts (text messages) about Serenas return. Gossip girl narrates,
everyone knows who Serena is and everyone is talking. Flash to Blairs house where there is a
party. We are introduced to Serenas best friend Blair Waldorf. Blair receives the blast about
Serenas arrival and she is not happy. When Blair receives the news of Serenas arrival, she
instantly goes to find her boyfriend. We are also introduced to Blairs boyfriend Nate Archibald.
Nate is talking to his father, Howard Archibald, about college prospects. Blair grabs Nate to take
him to her room. While on the way to the room, Nates best friend, Chuck Bass (who is with two
girls aka the minions), asks him if he wants to go outside to smoke weed. But Blair drags him
into her bedroom.

6:00mins: In the next scene, Blair tries to have sex with Nate because she knows that Nate has a
crush on Serena. At the party, the minions with Chuck check Gossip Girl and discuss Serenas
arrival. In the next scene, Serena arrives at Blairs party. Flash to Nate and Blair in Blairs room.
Blair tells Nate that she loves him. Nate gives her the gesture back. The scene changes to Serena
walking in to the party. Blairs mom, Eleanor Waldorf, knocks on Blairs door to tell her about
Serenas arrival. When Nate hears Serenas name he stops hooking up with Blair and rushes out
to greet her. While Serena is walking through the party to find her mother, the party guests all
gossip about where she has been while she was away. Serena finds her mom, Lily van der
Woodsen, at the party in an effort to find out the whereabouts of her little brother, Eric. Serena
sees Nate who approaches her. Blair spots Serena and they hug and say hello. Blair asks Serena
to stay for dinner, but Serena says no because she is not feeling well. Serena bails on the party
and discloses that she will see everyone at school. Blair talks to her minions about Serenas

Tate
5

arrival. And the minions send a tip into Gossip Girl about Serena not staying at the party. Gossip
Girl narrates, Is are bad girl finally gone good or is it just an act? In the following setting,
Serena goes to visit her brother at the Ostroff Center (a rehab facility).
9:00mins: Serena stays the night with Eric. Eric wakes Serena, who is sleeping on the couch
beside his bed. They talk about the rumors of why Serena is back and how none of them mention
Eric. Lily enters the room, voicing her displeasure in Serena staying the night with Eric. Serena
asks her mom if she wanted to join her and Eric for breakfast. Lily tells her that she is just going
to get Eric something to eat from the down the street. Lily and Serena argue, because Lily has
told everyone that Eric is staying with his Aunt Carol in Florida to save face. The following
scene takes place at the Humphries loft in Brooklyn. Dans father, Rufus band is mentioned in
Rolling Stone Magazine top 10 forgotten bands of the nineties. Jenny gets invited to the Kiss on
the Lips party. Dan and Jenny prepare to leave for school. In the following scene, Serena is
walking to her hotel. Nate is outside of the hotel waiting to talk to Serena.
12:00mins: Nate asks Serena tries to talk Serena about his feelings for her. Serena admits that she
didnt come back for Nate. Nate is upset at this news. Serena explains that Blair is her best friend
and his girl friend and that they didnt have a chance to be together. In the next scene, Dan is late
running to the bus. Chuck and Nate talk about how hot Serena is on the bus. When Nate Dan and
Chuck are about to get off the bus, Chuck asks Dan why Dan is stalking him and Nate. Dan
explains to Chuck that they all go to school together. Setting changes, Blair, her minions and
Jenny are on the met Met steps. Blair gives Jenny her invitation to Kiss on the Lips. Serena
approaches eating froyo. Serena introduces herself to Jenny. Serena and Blair bump heads. Blair
doesnt invite Serena to the Kiss on the Lips Party because the party is full. Serena asks Blair if
they can meet to talk that night. Gossip Girl narrates, Did S (Serena) think she could waltz
home and things wound be just like they were, did B (Blair) think S would give up with out a
fight? Or can they work it out? There is nothing Gossip Girl likes more than a cat fight, this can
be a classic.

15:00mins: In the contiguous scene, Dan and Rufus hang fliers around the city. Rufus hopes that
his wife will end their separation. Dan ditches Rufus to help Jenny because he thinks she has an
imergency. The scene changes to the Ostroff center where Serena kidnaps Eric to go shopping at
Henri Bendels (designer clothing store). Scene changes to Jenny at Bendels trying on a dress.
Dan arrives and asks about the emergency. He is disappointed when Jenny asks if he liked her
dress. Jenny and Serena run into each other at the store. Serena walks over to talk to Jenny, and
introduces her brother to Jenny. Dan hides so Serena doesnt see him. Jenny gives Serena an

Tate
6

invite to the Kiss on the Lips party. Serena tells Jenny that her dress would look much better if it
were black. Flash to Nate and Chuck smoking pot in the park.
18:00mins: Nate and Chuck discuss why Nate isnt excited about sleeping with Blair. Nate tells
Chuck that there is no problem. Nate asks Chuck if he ever feels like their lives are planned out
for them. Chuck dismisses his question. Chuck tells Nate to smoke up and seal the deal with
Blair. Scene changes and Blair and Serena are having drinks at a bar. Blair and Serena discuss
Blairs mothers divorce. Serena tries to mend her relationship with Blair. Blair is bitter because
Serena had not called or written sense she left for boarding. Serena tells Blair that she misses her
and she wants things to be like they used to. Blair forgives her and they hug. Serena tells Blair
that she loves her, and Blair says it back. Gossip Girl narrates, S, you may have won over B
for now, but we still think youre hiding something. Flash to the Humphries. Dan comes home
where Jenny is sewing a dress. Jenny convinces Dan to go and find Serena. Flash to Serena at the
bar.

21:00mins: Chuck approaches Serena at the bar. Serena wants something to eat so Chuck offers
to give her the hook up. Chuck and Serena leave the bar to go to the hotel kitchen. A new scene
takes place in Blairs room. Blair is waiting in her room for Nate in lingerie. Blair tries to kiss
Nate but Nate isnt into it. Nate tells Blair that there is something that she needs to know. Flash
to the Bar (in the kitchen) Chuck tries to convince Serena to have sex with him. Chuck knows
why Serena left town. The subsequent scene goes back to Blairs room. Nate tells Blair that he
slept with Serena. There is a flashback of Nate and Serena hooking up at a bar. The scene
changes back to the kitchen. Chuck tries to force himself on to Serena. Serena hits Chuck and
runs out of the kitchen. Flash to Blair being upset with Nate. Blair is emotionally distraught,
crying and yelling at Nate. Blair kicks Nate out of her house. Flash back to the bar where Serena
runs into Dan and drops her cell phone. Dan picks up her phone.
24:00mins: The next scene takes place on the subsequent day. Nate and his father, Howard
Archibald, are on a run. Nate tells his father that he broke up with Blair. Nates dad convinces
Nate to get back together with Blair to ensure a business deal with Blairs mom, Eleanor Waldorf
(fashion designer). Flash to Serenas hotel. Dan tries to give Serenas phone back, but the hotel
worker gives him a hard time. Serena sees Dan as she is leaving the building. Serena apologizes
to Dan for bumping into him that night. Lily comes in with a dress to wear for the Kiss on the
Lips party. In an effort to make an excuse of why she is not going to the party Serena makes`
plans to hang out with Dan.

Tate
7

27:00mins: In the adjoining scene, Blair and Nate having dinner in a restaurant. Nate tells Blair
that he will never talk to Serena again. Blair instantly forgives him. Flash to Jenny getting ready
for Kiss on the Lips. Rufus tells Jenny how beautiful she looks. The scene changes to Blairs
room. Blair is trying on a dress, and her mother, Eleanor, disapproves. Eleanor tells Blair, to put
product in her ha. Subsequently, clips are shown of Blair, Nate, Chuck, and the minions riding in
the limo to the party. They drink and smoke and laugh. Dan goes to get Serena for there date.
Flash to Jenny at the Kiss on the Lips party. Chuck spots Jenny and instantly likes her. He
approaches Jenny and asks her to go somewhere quiet to talk.

30mins: Dan and Serena walk down the street. Serena meets Dans dad. Flash back to the party,
Jenny goes somewhere quite with Chuck. Chuck kisses Jenny and Jenny is uncomfortable. Jenny
texts Dan for help. Dan and Serena go to the Kiss on the Lips party to look for Jenny. Dan and
Serena split up to search for Jenny. When the party attenders see Serena they start gossiping
about why she was there and if Blair knew. Blair finds out that Serena is at the party, spots her at
the party, and they have a stair off. Dan finds Serena and Serena suggests that they look upstairs.
Flash to Jenny and Chuck on the rooftop, Chuck is forcing himself on Jenny and Jenny is
protesting. Dan and Serena walk onto the rooftop. Dan punches Chuck. Chuck threatens to reveal
Serenas secrets. Dan and Serena save Jenny and leave the party in a taxi.
The Wild Brunch
3:00mins - Various images of people preparing food. Gossip girl says Chucks dad is having a
brunch for his charity. Flash to Dan and Jenny in Brooklyn. Dan checks on Jenny after her night
with Chuck. Jenny feels really stupid about how she acted with Chuck. Dan and Jenny discuss
how the night ended between Dan and Serena. There is a flashback of the previous night, when
Serena got out of the cab Jenny told Dan to go and walk Serena to her door. When Dan attempts
to get out of the car he hits his head. When Serena turns around to see if he is okay, Dan waves at
her. Flash to Serena and Eric. Serena thinks that Dan doesnt like her because after their date he
just waved. Eric tells her that he was probably nervous. The scene changed back to Dan and
Jenny. Dan makes a plan to win a second shot with Serena. Flash to Serena and Eric. Serena
wonders why Blair was so mean to her the other night. Serena thinks about going to go to Blairs
house to make up with her. The subsequent scene is set at Blairs house.

Tate
8

6:00mins - Blair doesnt want Serena anywhere near her. She doesnt want to see her at school or
at brunch. Blair calls Nate to remind him to come to brunch. The subsequent scene is set at
Blairs house. Blair doesnt want Serena anywhere near her. She doesnt want to see her at school
or at brunch. Blair calls Nate to remind Nate to come to brunch. Scene change to Chucks hotel
room. Nate and Chuck discuss Dan sucker punched Chuck. Dan tells Jenny, before he leaves,
that if she ever needed anyone to talk to that wasnt him to let him know.
9:00mins - Nate unwittingly tells Chuck about his feelings for Serena. Flash to Brooklyn. Dan
leaves to see Serena and Jenny leaves to talk to Blair. Flash to Serena walking down the street.
Serena calls Blair to let her know she is coming over. Flash to Nate at the hotel. Nate calls the
front desk to find out what room Serena is staying in. As Serena is getting in a taxi Dan shows up
at the hotel. The front desk attendant tells Dan that he can wait for Serena in the lobby
12:00mins - Nate walks to the elevator when she sees Serenas mother. Lily tells Nate that
Serena is gone but and that he could wait for her. Nate and Dan get stuck waiting for Serena in
the lobby of her hotel. Serena goes to Blairs house to apologize. Blair kicks Serena and her
apology out of the door. Jenny arrives at Blairs house. Jenny wants to know what Chuck is
saying about her. Jenny helps Blair get ready for brunch. Flash to Nate and Dan outside of
Serenas hotel.

15:00mins - Dan and Nate talk about Serena Chuck spots Dan and Nate together outside of his
fathers hotel and tries to fight Dan. Nate holds him back. Flash to Blairs house. Jenny tells
Blair how great she looks in the dress Blair is trying on. Jenny tells Blair about her brother going
out with Serena. Blair gives Jenny the dress that she was wearing. Blair recruits Jenny in her
arsenal for the war against Serena. The scene changes to Dan in front of Serenas Hotel. Serena
spots Dan and goes to talk to him.
18:00mins- Dan apologizes to Serena about the wave. Dan invites Serena to go and eat and talk.
Serena accepts when but her mother forces her to go to brunch. Serena agrees to go to brunch if
Dan can come too. Images of the party guest having brunch. Dan and Serena arrive. Blair and
Chuck spot Serena and Dan. Nate and Serena decide to meet in Chucks suite to talk. Blaire

Tate
9

decides to have sex with Nate in Chucks room. Blair threatens to tell Dan about Serenas past
when she finds Serena in Chucks suite.
21:00mins- Nate and Serena run after Blaire to stop her. Flash to Dan at the party looking for
Serena. Dan hears Lily and Bart Bass having a private conversation. Dan over hears that Lily is
dating Bart Bass. Dan tells Lily he will keep quiet and rejoins the party. Blair finds Dan to talk to
him. Serena and Nate approach Blair and Dan followed by Chuck. Serena pleads with Blair to
not tell her secret.

24:00mins- Blair asks Serena if she wanted to tell Dan. Serena tries to tell Dan her secret. Chuck
tells Dan that Serena slept with Nate. Chuck also says that he has some unfinished business with
Jenny. Dan pushes Chuck. Dan and Serena argue outside of the hotel. Dan leaves to go back to
Brooklyn. Dan storms off after hearing the news. Chuck offers to sleep with Serena. Serena runs
after to stop Dan.
27:00mins- scene change to Dans house in Brooklyn. Jenny and Rufus enter to find Dan
drinking coffee at the bar. Dan tells Jenny and Rufus that he lost Serena and Serenas world
wasnt for her.
30:00mins- Scene change to Blairs house. Blair and Nate are laying in bed. Nate tells Blair to
either forgive him or end their relationship. Blair takes Nate hand. Flash to Dans house where
Dan is sulking about losing Serena. Flash to Serena walking alone down the street. Serena reads
a gossip girl post that wasnt very nice. She throws away her phone.

Poison Ivey

Tate
10

Back story - St. Judes and Constance have an annual Ivy Week for high school Juniors to meet
representatives from Ivy league colleges. A party is thrown for Ivy Week and the Constance girls
plan it. The St. Judes boys escort the representatives around the party. The St. Judes boys have
to interview to get an Usher spot.
3:00mins - Flashes of characters getting ready for school. Characters are at school and walk
inside. Scene change to an auditorium where all the students are at an assembly. Flashback to
Dans house before leaving for school. Dan is second guessing himself because he doesnt feel
that he has the status to make it into an Ivey league school. Rufus tells Dan that he will do great
at his interview to be a Dartmouth usher. Scene change to Nate and his father in the park. Nate
beats his father in a race and his father doesnt take the loss well

6:00mins - Nates father tries to convince Nate to be the usher for the Dartmouth University
representative, but Nate wants to keep his options open. Flashback to Blairs house. Blair talks
about her dream to go to Yale. She also talks about her future with Nate. Flashback to Serenas
house. Serena is running late. Serenas mom tells her that she shouldnt stay with her brother Eric
at the Ostroff Center because it is Ivey week. Serena talks about how she wants to impress the
representative from Brown University.
9:00mins- Scene change to Serena running up the steps at school to get to the assembly as its
being dismissed. Serena runs into Dan who treats her coldly. Blair runs into Serena and insults
her. The scene changes to a field. Blair and Serena are on opposite teams playing field hockey.
Serena is trying to talk to Blair but Blair keeps striking Serena. Serena gets fed up and tackles
Blair and they struggle on the ground. Serena asks Blair for a truce but Blair denies it.

12:00mins - The next scene features Dan in an interview for the Dartmouth usher. Dan seems to
be struggling in his interview. Flash to Nates interview for the Dartmouth usher. Nate has an
effortless interview. Nate says that Dartmouth isnt his number one pick so if there was anyone
who wanted it more they could have it. Flash to Chucks interview. Chuck tells the interviewer

Tate
11

that he should be an usher because he is Chuck Bass. Scene changes to the school hall way. The
interviewer puts up the list of ushers on the bulletin board.
15:00mins -Dan finds out that he wasnt picked to be the usher for Dartmouth but Nate was. Dan
gets upset and storms out of the school. Dan runs into Serena. He tells Serena that Nate got the
spot he wanted. The scene moves to Blairs house. Blair gets a call from Chuck. Blair enlists
Chuck to help her find the reason Serena came back from boarding school. Flash to Dans house.
Rufus tries to comfort Dan after he wasnt chosen to be Dartmouths usher. In the subsequent
scene, Serena is walking down the street.

18:00mins - Chuck follows her to the Ostroff Center in his limo. Chuck reports his findings back
to Blair. Flash to Blairs room. Chuck and Blair try to piece the information they have on Serena
together. The scene changes to the Ostroff Center where Serena, her mom, and Eric are in a
counseling session. Serena wants her mother to take Eric out of the Ostroff Center. Eric wants to
leave the Ostroff Center but he doesn't think hes ready. Eric agrees to be Serenas date to the Ivy
League party. Rufus gets Dan a job at the Ivy Week party as a drink server.
21:00mins - The following scene take place at the Ivy Week party. Serena finds Blair with the
representative from Yale and steals the rep. away from her. Blair greets Doctor Ostroff from the
Ostroff center. Flash to Nate speaking with the Dartmouth representative, Nate is having trouble
striking up conversation with him. Flash to Dan and Serena at the punch bowl. Nate approaches
the punch bowl but doesnt acknowledge Serena. Nate lets Dan takeover as usher for the
Dartmouth rep. Nates father isnt pleased. The scene changes to Eric and Jenny outside of the
party. Eric tells Jenny why he was staying at the Ostroff Center. Flash to Blair. Blair welcomes
everyone to the party. Blair announces Constance and St. Judes have decided to donate money
to the Ostroff center. Blair outs Serena as a drug addict. Serena takes the fall for Eric and talks
about forgiveness to the crowd.

24:00mins- Serena leaves the party followed by her mother. Serena tells her mother that she
admitted to being a ex-drug addict because she loves Eric. Serena goes to confront Blair. Blair
doesnt want to end their fight. Serena storms out of the party followed by Dan. Dan says that
what she did for her brother was cool and that she would be there for her if she needed him. He

Tate
12

apologizes for the things he said about her. The scene changes to the party where Lily and Eric
are about to leave. Eric finds Blair to talk.
27:00mins - Eric tells Blair that he is a patient at the Ostroff center because he tried to kill
himself. Blair feels bad immediately. Chuck enters and asks about the problem. Blair brushes it
off. Flash to Dans house. Dan thanks his dad for the opportunity he gave hime. The next scene
takes place at Chucks house.
30:00mins-Nate gets a call from his dad about being late for their run. Flash to the park. When
Nate arrives he sees the Dartmouth representative. Flash to the park. Blair approaches Serena as
shes reading a book. Blair reads Serena the letter that she wrote her when Serena was away.
Serena and Blair end their battle.
Interview questions
This was a group interview. I interviewed three females from ages eighteen to twenty-one. The
interviewees have watched all of the Gossip Girl series or are very familiar with Gossip Girl.
They are fans and have watched the series anywhere from three months to two years ago.
1. Tell me about what you enjoyed the most in the Gossip Girl series. (the gossip, the fashion,
the drama, and etc.)
(A) I liked the friendship between Blair and Serena. I liked how sassy they were. They had
dramatic but relatable moments. (Rebecca)
(A) The gossip is interesting to watch all the characters that are friends and talk about each
other behind their backs. Finding out who is Gossip Girl. (Kaitlyn)
(A) I love the drama. I like Chuck and Blairs relationship. I like that they did bad things to each
other. (Emily)
2. What are some of the pros and cons of living on the Upper East Side?
(A) Being very rich is always fun to go shopping. But in the show Serena got places because she
was rich but not for her personality. (Kaitlyn)
Being rich is a pro and everyone knows your business is a con. (Rebecca)
Their very judgmental but they live a lavish lifestyle. (Emily)
3. Which character did you relate to the most and why?
(A) Serena because she likes to party. (Rebecca)
(A) Blair, but not bitchiness of Blair the vulnerable Blair. (Kaitlyn)
(A) Blair because I like how she is independent and she stands up for herself. (Emily)
4. Throughout the series, we follow Serena and Blairs friendship. What does their relationship
show you about friendship on the Upper Eastside?
(A) Friendship on the Upper Eastside can be complicated. Their school is so small they always
have sex with each other. (Emily)
(A) I guess how it can be in genuine people are because they spread rumors about each other
even though their best friends. (Kaitlyn)
(A) Even though they like back stabbed each other, they would have each others backs when
someone out of their circle tried to mess with them. (Rebecca)
5. What are some of the conventions of the Upper East Side (for example, riding to school in a
limo) that resemble or differ the conventions that you follow in your life?

Tate
13

(A) The partying, I party a lot in college, not so much in high school. The rumors, I was very
surrounded by gossip, even it wasnt about me I was around it. (Kaitlyn)
(A) I dont know, there is a lot of things that I cant do that they do. But I party and I carry my
phone everywhere. (Emily)
(A) Shopping, just shopping till I drop and partying. (Rebecca)
6. Who is your least favorite character on the show and why?
(A) Vanessa because she is annoying and she was always up Dans butthole and she schemes a
lot. (Emily)
(A) William van der Woodsen. I thought he was sketchy, especially when he prescribed messed
up pills to Lily to keep her sick. Whenever I saw an episode with him in it, I was like, no.
(A) I hate Dan because he was so emotional all the time and it was very annoying. Like,
seriously stop. (Rebecca)

Ashlyns Feedback

Ryann-Excellent work on this first assignment. I was really impressed

with the extra elements that you added to this assignment-especially your choice to conduct a group interview.
Great use of a specialized vocabulary list at the beginning of your
project. As someone with little knowledge about "Gossip Girl,"
having these terms defined was really useful to me as a reader.
Small Formatting Issue: The bulleted list appeared a little odd-there was large spacing between the bullet and the note. Take a
look at this to see what it looks like on your end.
Your use of the backstory descriptors was an excellent move on
your part. What you showed here is the larger connection
between episodes, and this helped create an overarching
narrative throughout your observations.
You give us some context about the ladies you interviewed for this
project, but I would like to know a bit more. Are they regular fans
of the show? How long have they been following the show, etc?
This can be answered along with your brief descriptions before
the interviews.
Definitely add some photos of the significant characters/action
throughout the show. While I was reading your observations, I
kept picturing some of these scenes, so having a visual reference
would be really useful. You may consider using the slideshow
feature in Wix to add a running selection of relevant photos; this

Tate
14

will add both to your assignment one and the overall course
portfolio.
Ashlyn