February 16, 2012

"Smoke signals" in Gossip Girl

In Crazy, Cupid, Love, this week's episode of Gossip Girl (airdate: 2/13/12), the following exchange occurs between Blair and her maid:Dorota (Zuzanna Szadkowski): Miss Blair! You’re back! I was worried you’d be locked away in big, stone tower somewhere and only way to speak is through smoke signals or coded messages on Twitter.

Blair: Thankfully, Dorota, we don’t need to learn Navajo just yet.
Comment:  Since Blair is an upper-class white socialite, it's in character for her to conflate smoke signals and the Navajo language. It's out of character for her to know anything about Indians at all. This is someone who's barely had any contact with blacks, Latinos, and Asians, not to mention Indians.

I appreciate the Native reference, but I doubt Blair would've said it. She probably would've referred to the Twitter part of Dorota's comment instead. Perhaps something like:Ugh. Twitter is for the unwashed masses, Dorota. That's what we have Gossip Girl for: so we don't have to get our hands dirty.For more on Gossip Girl, see Native Census Ad on Gossip Girl and Poppy Lifton in Gossip Girl.

No comments: