#34 - Dan Humphrey, Vanessa Abrams, and A Bunch of ‘Overprivileged, Underparented Trust Fund Brats’ (Analyzing Class Dynamics on ‘Gossip Girl’)

Leftist Teen Drama

In the Leftist Teen Drama Season 4 finale, Maria is joined by Laura Marino and strideofpride to dissect the class dynamics on a longtime listener-requested show: the iconic teen drama GOSSIP GIRL (2007-2012)! Approaching this episode from our usual leftist lens, we mainly zero in on the “working-class” characters who are thrust into the owning-class world of the Upper East Side: Dan Humphrey, Vanessa Abrams, and Jenny Humphrey. Since Maria and Laura were OG Gossip Girl book readers, we discuss the differences between book and TV to ground us. Then, we dive into the six seasons of the hit CW teen drama, breaking down everything from the way Dan and Vanessa are corrupted by the system and the erasure of Vanessa’s biracial identity to messy arcs featuring working-class characters Juliet and Ivy and the Dorota of it all. Finally, S explains why the Dan-as-Gossip-Girl reveal isn’t considered canon to most of the Gossip Girl fandom.

TW: discussion of sexual assault, attempted rape, statutory rape

For this episode, we recommend you first watch or have familiarity with GOSSIP GIRL Seasons 1-6, streaming on Netflix and Max, but especially 1x03 “Poison Ivy,” 1x10 “Hi, Society,” 1x12 “School Lies,” 2x07 “Chuck in Real Life,” 2x19 “The Grandfather,” 2x21 “Seder Anything,” 3x01 “Reversals of Fortune,” 3x06 “Enough about Eve,” 4x09 “The Witches of Bushwick,” 4x11 “The Townie,” and 5x02 “Beauty and the Feast.”

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL | instagram, tumblr, tiktok, bluesky: @leftistteendrama | twitter: @leftyteendrama | website: leftistteendrama.com

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ABOUT US:

MARIA DIPASQUALE (she/her; host/editor) is a Brooklyn-based union communicator, organizer, and writer who watches too much TV. She splits her free time between devouring teen dramas, creating this podcast, tenant organizing, and writing and reading (fan)fiction. Follow Maria on Twitter @Maria_DiP26, IG @mdzip, and tiktok @marialovesunions.

LAURA MARINO (she/her; recurring guest) works in advertising by day and watches, reads, and talks too much about television by night. She has enjoyed yelling about television with Maria for well over a decade, and credits Television Without Pity (RIP) as the first forum to shape her love of deep character and plot analysis.

STRIDEOFPRIDE or "S" (she/her; guest) is an anonymous blogger who has spent way too much time thinking about the CW's Gossip Girl. You can find her on Tumblr under the name @strideofpride of course, where she mainly blogs about TV, movies, and Marxism.

JEFF MCHALE (he/him; producer) is an extremely online guy who plays games, works in the cannabis industry, and loves talking old TV.

CHARLES S. O’LEARY (they/them; art) is a “writer,” “designer,” and “content strategist” based in Brooklyn, NY. A survivor of the 2010s Tumblr wars, leftist media criticism is all they know. To learn about them professionally, visit charles-oleary.biz. To learn about them personally, visit their Instagram at @c.s.0.l.

Maria and Jeff’s good union cats CLARENCE and VINNY may make an appearance and/or be mentioned.

intro song: Stomping the Room by Delicate Beats

All opinions shared on this show are that of individuals and do not represent the views of any organization we may be affiliated with.

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SOURCES DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Gossip Girl book series by Cecily von Ziegesar
• September 26, 2007, Observer, All Bow to Little, Brown’s Queen of Teen Lit by Leon Neyfakh