Influence and the Power Elite: Jenny's Inability to Integrate with the Rest of the Elite in Gossip Girl [Revised]

Lily Ader

Taylor Momsen. 2008. "The Blair Bitch Project" S1.E14. Gossip Girl. The CW. 

Above is a still of Jenny Humphrey from the hit teen drama on the CW,  Gossip Girl. Gossip Girl is a teen drama from the late 2000s and early 2000s, that features the "scandalous lives of the New York elite," and the young adults in particular that are involved in the circles of the power elite through the narrative device of "Gossip Girl"; an anonymous blog that blasts secrets and tips about drama within the lives of these teenagers. The Humphreys (Jenny and Dan), represent the outsiders among the elite New Yorkers who go to Constance-St. Jude, or the elite private school that the first few seasons of Gossip Girl surround, as they do not come from significant generational wealth, like the other major characters, like Chuck, Nate, Serena, and Blair among others. The image above depicts one of many moments that establish Jenny's status as an outsider, among the exorbitant wealth and resources of the other students at Constance-St. Jude, where she steals an expensive dress to wear to her birthday dinner from the closet of the mother of one of her wealthy friends. Jenny is eventually ousted for this offense at a birthday party that "Queen B," Blair throws for her, trying to oust Jenny for being a fraud, to reclaim her role as "Queen B," after a short-lived fall from grace. This image, and instance, represents one of many in which Jenny tries to emulate the wealth of those who surround her, therefore attempting to claim a seat at the table with these elites. However, her efforts are fraught, and she is unsuccessful in her attempt because the status of the elites around her is unattainable due to the generational roots of their wealth, as well as their backgrounds and long histories of acquaintance with one another essentially from the time that they are born. 

The core of Jenny's story arc within the grander scheme of Gossip Girl is that no matter how hard she tries, and though she briefly appears to succeed, she is doomed to fail to become liked, well respected, and undetectable among Manhattan's elite. This is because of the third trait of those that Mills considers being the power elite, suggesting that the reason that the people of similar origins stay in power, is because, "as the institutional mechanics have opened up avenues to men pursuing their several interests, many of them have come to see that these several interests could be realized more easily if they worked together," (Mills 20). In other words, nepotism exists, and the powerful remain powerful, as it is easy for them to work together to maintain their power, rather than inviting other people, of different backgrounds in. The elite in Gossip Girl is composed of teenagers that come from multiple generations of wealth, and therefore, have essentially grown up together, and remain loyal to each other, through the trials and tribulations of the drama that encompasses Gossip Girl. Jenny is not able to become a part of this "power elite", because of their coordinated efforts to keep this power and influence among themselves. This is why Jenny goes to extreme lengths, like stealing and lying, to try to achieve the facade that she belongs in this group and ultimately fails in the process. 

Sources: 

Mills, C. Wright. [1956] 2002. "Higher Circles." 3-21. The Power Elite. Oxford University Press.