The O.C. vs. Gossip Girl

Josh Schwartz is a screenwriter and television producer, best known for creating and executive producing the drama television show The O.C. and recently the CW’s teen drama series, Gossip Girl, based off the hit Gossip Girl books. He attended USC’s film school, and he was only twenty six years old when he became the youngest person in network history to create a network series. During an interview Schwartz said, “I never thought I would be doing a serialized teen drama set in Orange County, but it was very much based on sort of the experiences I had when I was in college. Certainly when I was in high school and college, the ladies religiously watched 90210, Party of Five, Dawson's Creek. Those shows were definitely out there. I understood their popularity and how they're accessible and, I guess, try to infuse them with the spirit of the kind of shows that I like to watch.”(Epstein) The O.C. is a teen drama series set in Newport Harbor that closely connects with the show, Gossip Girl, most recently created by Schwartz. The show is set in New York City, and is about a group of rich teenagers that attend an elite school on the Upper East Side. Both shows are filled with teen and adult drama, gossip, money, relationships, etc. Now that you know the background work and inspirations of Josh Schwartz, the question I then raise then is: What thematic motifs connect The O.C. and Gossip Girl, and how do these similar elements display the signature of the auteur’s work?
Being a big fan of both shows, I have continuously tuned into episodes of The O.C. and Gossip Girl, and am very familiar with plot and the inside workings of both shows. Although the two shows are filmed on opposite sides of the country, California and New York, there are many similar themes. The first thematic motif open to explore is the similarity of the rich families that have many struggles along the way. There is also the idea that money doesn’t buy happiness, and how money affects families. Both shows are about a group of teens that are transitioning from high school to college life. In both shows the teens are under a lot of pressure to get into good colleges and lead promising, glamorous, and sophisticated lifestyles. Among the families in general, there are many similarities. The Waldorf’s from Gossip Girl are much like the Cohen family in The O.C, and the Van der Woodsen’s have a lot of similarities to the Cooper family. The first piece of evidence to display the common thematic motif is that both shows have a father of spoiled rich children who ruins his entire family’s reputation through business deals, eventually causing them to lose their home and their wealth entirely (Tassi). In The O.C., the Cooper family has the problems. Marissa Cooper has always had a troubled and tough life, and the divorce of her parents didn’t help. Her family was destroyed when her father, Jimmy Cooper, steals others money he is supposed to be investing, and ends up getting caught causing the family to lose all their money and fall apart. One can see this in episode 4 of season 1, “The Debut”, when it is revealed in front of Sandy and Kirsten Cohen that Jimmy has been stealing money from his clients in order to cover his personal debts when a man from Securities and Exchange Commission's Enforcement Division comes to their home (Schwartz, DVD). The next episode, “The Outsider”, Julie Cooper, Jimmy’s wife, is shunned by her friends because of the scandal and is being treated differently because her friends do not want her to accompany them on an upcoming spa retreat she has already paid for. Julie fights with Jimmy and Marissa is unable to do the things she normally can with her friends because she doesn’t have the money to do so anymore thanks to her father’s mistakes(Schwartz, DVD). In Gossip Girl, Howie Archibald has similar problems with business money scandals and he destroys his family in the process and flees to South America. Both families are affected greatly and they both are humiliated in their community. Also in the Cohen family from The O.C., Kirsten deals with alcohol abuse and addiction almost causing her family to fall apart. Marissa’s drug and alcohol problems in The O.C. also display the troubles of rich families torn apart by scandal. In episode 7 of season 1, “The Escape”, Marissa overdoses on drugs and alcohol in Mexico, but is revived. Her parents are devastated and worried about her(Schwartz, DVD). This compares to Howie Archibald in Gossip Girl because of his issues with drugs, causing the destruction of his family. In episode 7 of Season 1,"Victor, Victrola", Nate confronts his father about his drug problems, and Howie denies that he has a problem. Tension begins to rise within the family(Schwartz, DVD). In episode 8 of season 1, “Seventeen Candles”, Nate's parents ask him to make a huge sacrifice in an effort to save his father's business as he faces charges of embezzlement and fraud (Schwartz, DVD).
The second common motif that I would like to examine is the common theme of teen drama and love. Gossip Girl and The O.C. have similar and comparable characters and love stories. In The O.C., Marissa Cooper is the main beautiful female character that meets Ryan who has moved in with the Cohen’s. He is from a low class area, Chino in California, and is seen as the poor bad boy and outsider of the show. episode 1 of season 1, “The Pilot”, shows Ryan’s lower class lifestyle coming from Chino, and his bad boy self when it reveals that he was involved in stealing a car(Schwartz, DVD). Ryan and Marissa have an on and on and off relationship that is filled with drama, heartbreak, and jealousy. Ryan looks out for Marissa when she falls for other guys, and Marissa is jealous of Ryan’s relationship with other girls when they are separated. He comes to her rescue in season 1 episode 18, “The Truth”, when her friend Oliver that is completely crazy for her pulls a gun on her when she discovers he has lied about his true life and self. Ryan and Marissa reconnect here and she falls for him displaying their on an off relationship and how he always comes to the rescue(Schwartz, DVD). Ryan was seen as a lowlife, poor, bad boy, but his life with the Cohen’s and his on and off love relationship with Marissa evolves him into a well liked heartthrob. Comparable to Gossip Girl, Serena Van der Woodsen falls for Dan Humprhrey, a boy that doesn’t have the same riches the rest of the characters do, seeing he comes from Brooklyn and the rest of the cast is from the rich and prosperous Upper East Side of New York City. In episode 3 of season 1, “Bad News Blair”, it shows how Dan and Serena come from two very different worlds and classes of people. He is seen as the outcast and poor boy like Ryan from The O.C.. He begins dating Serena Van der Woodsen, a character very to comparable to Marissa from The O.C., and Serena and Dan begin to fall for each other(Schwartz, DVD). In episode 6 of season 1, “The Handmaiden’s Tail”, it shows that Dan’s growing popularity and fondness among girls causes him to have to choose between two girls. His longtime friend, Vanessa, comes home and professes her love for him, just as he and Serena are trying to figure out how much they like each other(Schwartz, DVD). Dan becomes popular and well liked by girls, as did Ryan in The O.C.. Hands down, they go through the same relationship issues as Ryan and Marissa do. There are break ups, arguments, make ups etc. Both shows are centrally based around the love lives and friendships of the young men and women on the show. The O.C. and Gossip Girl also both include cheating and deception, as well as friends backstabbing other friends with their boyfriends. The common thematic motif of love and teen drama is carried heavily throughout both shows. The drama doesn’t stop at the teens though, there is still room left to get the parents involved.
The third common thematic motif The O.C. and Gossip Girl possess is the role of the parents and how they interconnect with the teens and their drama. In an interview Josh Schwartz said, “Having fleshed-out adult characters is incredibly important to me, and for the show as well. For me, the character of Rufus is kind of the soul of the show. That guy is the way into the show for a lot of people, including myself in a lot of ways. The way he views that world is the way I think a lot of people view that world – with some degree of skepticism and a little concern for his kids being in that world. He's a really fun character to write”(PopGurl). Rufus in Gossip Girl is very comparable to Sandy Cohen from The O.C.. Both parents play a key role in the lives of their families and sons, and Schwartz explains above that parent roles in the show are very important because they guide the teens. The parent’s roles in both the shows are key to the drama of the show and their advice heeds well to the teens seeking it. They know that both areas growing up in are dangerous when money and scandal is mixed in. Their relationships, breakups, flings, and affairs add to the plot of the story and also display that the life of the rich and glamorous is filled with drama on the parents end as well. Another example of parents adding to the show and having a connection with the teens is Julie Cooper’s affair with her daughter’s teenage ex-boyfriend on The O.C.. Marissa, her daughter, ends up finding out about this and the deception and anger add to the plot and leads to more family problems. In episode 23 of season 1, “The Nana”, Marissa has just found out about the affair and is upset and feels betrayed by her mother and Luke who she feels have betrayed her(Schwartz, DVD). There is drama among the married couples as well. Lily Van der Woodsen and Kirsten Cohen are both happily married, but they both still have friendship/relationships with former lovers, Rufus Humphrey in Gossip Girl, and Jimmy Cooper from The O.C.. The drama between the women, their former lovers, and husbands displays infidelity, jealousy and deceit in the world of the parents. In episode 12 of season 1, “School Lies”, it displays Lily and Rufus’s former love flame and how she contemplates telling him how she really feels about him. The issues continue throughout the seasons and their relationship becomes more complicated(Schwartz, DVD). In season 1 episode 7 of The O.C., “The Escape”, Jimmy kisses Kirsten and she uncomfortably leaves. She still has feelings for Jimmy but she knows it is wrong and wonders if she should tell her husband Sandy or not(Schwartz, DVD). The common thematic motif of the parent’s presence shows Schwartz’s auteur signature because he finds the roles important to the makeup and plot of both shows.
Comparing The O.C. and Gossip Girl, one can see how there are common thematic motifs in the shows. The connection that they are both teen drama series, and Schwartz’s background and inspiration to create the shows are vital pieces in what make up his auteur signature. Family problems dealing with money, teen drama and love, and parent involvement and presence are displayed in both The O.C. and Gossip Girl. Schwartz’s background attending USC film school and his experiences with young people like the characters on both shows have inspired his style and thematic motifs that are carried through his works. The O.C. and Gossip Girl both individually and together display the auteur signature of Josh Schwartz.
Bibliography:
Tassi, Paul. “Battle Royale: Gossip Girl vs. The O.C.”. Unreality Magazine. 28 Jan 2009. http://unrealitymag.com/index.php/2009/01/28/battle-royale-gossip-girl-vs-the-oc/
Amy. “PopGurl’s Interview: Josh Schwartz”. PopGurls. 18 July 2007. http://www.popgurls.com/article_show.php3?id=670
Epstein, Daniel Robert. “Josh Schwartz of The O.C. Interview”. Ugo Entertainment. < http://www.ugo.com/channels/filmtv/features/theoc/default.asp>
The O.C. Dir Sanford Bookstaver. Prod Josh Scwartz. DVD. 2003-2004.
Gossip Girl. Dir Mark Pizarnski. Prod Josh Scwhartz. DVD. 2007-2008.