1/2/08-1/8/08 Gossip Girl Poster and Autographed Photo Contest

[BuddyTVDebbie]

Tonight's Gossip Girl is the first of a two-part episode arc that promises to be the best two episodes yet, and to help promote that, we are giving away five cast photos, each one signed by all the cast members, and five large posters (sadly, unsigned). This is the real deal, straight from the CW network.

To enter the contest, reply to this thread with your answer to the question "Would you like to be like one of the super-rich kids like Serena with loads of money but maybe not a fulfilling life, or would you like to be like Dan, middle-class but with a supportive sister and father? Why?" You have until Tuesday, January 8 at 11:59am ET to reply. At that time, the thread will be closed, and the winners will be selected. The winner with the best answer will receive both a photo and a poster. The remaining eight winners will be chosen at random.

Good luck to all!


Here's what the cast photo looks like:

[naomit254]

As materialistic as it may seem, I would rather be like Serena who has loads of money rather than Dan. Although Serena does not currently have such a supportive family it does not mean that her life will never turn out good. She can become the kind of person that she wants to be when she grows older, and create a different lifestyle for herself. The fact that she has a lot of money is only a benefit to her, and makes things easier.

[Fearghus]

I would most definitely choose to be more like Dan. If I had money I am almost positive I would be corrupt. Dan knows what he wants and since he has very little money, if he gets what he wants he knows he truly deserved it. Because he worked for it and not just bought it out...
And if a girl (Serena) liked him, he would know she liked him for who he is not how much money he has...

[1rstfrenchhulkus]

Honestly, I'd say than I'd prefer be like Dan than like Serena. I really feel close to Dan Humphrey because like him I'm a middle-class guy so I know what he feels and what he dreams about. I understand a little bit less what Serena likes and loves but I even like her character. And like we all know that, money can't buy happiness so being a super-rich kid with a load of money isn't the best way to be happy! By "happy" I mean the real happiness and not just having the feeling and the impression of a temporary satisfaction or of an effervescent happiness, not built in order to last ; I mean the constant feeling of not wasting the money to catch the happiness like the rich ones but making his way by himself and not thanks to any material item. The personal success in life is more important than any other success with loads of money : that means a homemade success, one really created by the person and not by another way. So, well, I'd better like be as Dan is on the show, because he's got that joie de vivre, certainly more than another person because he knows exactly what's the real life and not the life with a lot of means! He knows how to get out and to get rid of problems without the help of other people, he's a kind of independant guy but the fact that his family is much more supportive than in the van der Woosen family is an important factor in the development of his happiness. Being surrounded by his family is the thing that can be a great ally in his life : he could do some mistakes, like everyone in life, but there will be always his father Rufus and his sister Jenny for him. That's not really the same for Serena! She misses a bit human dimension, the thing which completely fills Dan, instead. So, between those two interesting characters on Gossip Girl, Dan has got my big preference!

[AKalel]

Boy some of these contests are hard to enter but I'm going to try but first I must state I have only seen a few episodes of the show. With that I am going to answer I think in most ways friends and family would say I am alot like Dan and because of that I am going to choose Serena cause while at present my life as her might seem unfulfilling who is to know it will always be like that plus with some money around if things stay unfulfilling the only one I would have to blame is myself plus while being unfulfilled I think I could have some fun and look good at the sametime while trying to find fullfillment.

[melissarfan1]

I would definitely, without a doubt, choose the life of Dan Humphrey. Comparing the life of a high class social status such as Serena to the middle loving class of Dan, the obvious choice for many would be to live the luxurious life of Serena Van der Woodson, a prominent daughter of a Harvard and Yale graduate. She was born into the life of the rich and glamorous, and her children will most likely live the same life as her, a life filled with over-privileged people doing whatever they want whenever they want just because they have the money to do so. When you have "all the money in the world", what do you do with your life? Like the people on Gossip Girl, the high class can do many things such as party hard, drink hard, and ultimately die hard. For me, I would never choose this type of lifestyle. Sure, it would be fun to live like a celebrity, but would you really want to? Considering lace w:st="on">Hollywoodlace> these days, I definitely would not. I would rather live with a middle class family and surround myself with the people that love me and like me for me, not for my money or status, which people tend to do when living in the Upper East side of Manhattan. When living in a regular, middle class life, you tend to feel more comfortable in your own skin. You don't have to dress up every single day to impress your parents or your social peers. You just wear whatever you want, whether it is a well-known brand that everyone in lace w:st="on">Hollywoodlace> wears or a new brand that you just discovered. When you live a regular life, you don't have as much pressure to impress everyone around you, you can be content with who you are and be comfortable in your own skin. When living in a high class society, parents tend to spend more time on their business and rarely see their children, and steadily start to drift away from their children. Unlike the wealthy, the middle class parents seem more concerned with their children, their overall well-being, and how their children are whether academically or socially. Middle class parents spend more time with their children, allowing for a stronger connection between them and their children than the distant relationships between wealthy parents and their children, like Chuck and his father on Gossip Girl. Having a supporting family would be more important to me than having a distant relationship with my parents and being rich.

[chellb]

You know, i know this is just a show, but i've come to notice that Dan and his family sure look like they have more than a middle class family usually have. Their clothes are a little on the designer looking side and where they live looks kinda nice (their decor anyway). but with that being said, i would like to live like Dan on one hand because his family is very artistic (isn't that the way any middle class family in the tv shows are anyway?) but the family has a loving quality, but yet they fight just like any tv family does. but i would also like to be like serena in the fact that she does have what ever she likes whenever she wants it. but she puts her money to good use as well and i would do that too. i like to help people out if i can and having the social status that she has as well as the money i would be able to do that as i please. but i don't think i could live in a hotel, that would bug me. i mean its like "look at me, i'm helping people, but my mom is redoing the whole house so we're held up in this hotel, oh drab me".
i hope that is what your looking for.

[bobbinrob]

oh awesome prize!!
For sure I would prefer to be like Dan. I mean yes to be like Serena would be fun for a while, but at the end of the day having people who will support you no matter what is the bes thing you could ever have..money does not buy you happiness is such a true statment..it would make you become materiatlistic and changes who you are as a person
I think fmily/support network is way more important than money
plus Dan is adorable llol

[AllHailTheHeartbreaker]

As an overstressed high school student with an obsession of getting into one of the most competitive programs at an extremely praised school, with little more than volunteer work and extracurriculars to put myself higher than the privileged, the life of an upper east sider like Serena seems incredible. The opportunity that is associated with someone that has money, power, and status is overwhelming. The knowledge that I could do whatever I wanted, when I wanted to, in terms of career, schooling, and travel is something that would be extremely rewarding. I could be a doctor, I could go to Yale, followed by Harvard, or vice versa. Whereas, conversely, Dan is really fighting for his chance at Dartmouth, and is on a partial scholarship for his elite prep school. Additionally, although Serena and other Upper East Siders don't have the most stimulating home lives, all of them seem to learn from their parents mistakes. For example, Serena and Blair have a truly dynamic friendship, and Serena and Dan have a reciprocated relationship. It would also be gratifying to defy (later in life) the stereotype of being a middle aged socialite that has substandard parenting skills by providing for your children, granting them the benefits of being wealthy, but also making them work and pushing them to be all that they can be by being an attentive and supportive parent. Overall, I think that there is more to being someone like Serena. The complexity of your parents working for (trust fund, luxurious home) and against you (such as Nate's dad getting arrested, affairs, etc.) is something that would propel me to go beyond the traditional personality of a first class teenager. The relationships and the understanding that is common among all youth with similar high social standings, I would argue, is more tight knit and shares more commonalities than the variety of situations within a middle class household. It is those reasons that mark my belief that, especially being someone similar to Jenny Humphrey, the life of an upper east sider is my preference, particularly at this stage in my life where status and money do matter for success and opportunity in the future.

[xtiffybaby]

I would want to be more like Serena. Though Dan's family is close and can be depended on, Dan himself is not always looked apon in a good way in society. An example of this is in last night's episode, when St.Jude's principal made it a point to mention that he was a scholorship student, and therefor could not buy his way back into that school or into a different one. Serena, however materialistic she is, has everything going for her. If she chose, she could rule the world. And though she is rich and her family cannot always be depended on, she has a great group of friends who she can count on when things get tough. And if those friends aren't there.. well, she always has her credit card, and can be comforted by buying herself a Burberry purse or two. By growing up with so much money, she has learned not to really depend on anyone other than herself to grow up [other than her mother's money, of course]. She is free-willed and does what she wants, and her future is almost guarenteed.

Maybe I feel this way only because I already have the life of Dan, and I'm tired of it. Serena's life is fast-paced and exciting, where Dan's is repetitive and boring. Without taking chances, one can't really enjoy life, and Serena takes many more chances then Dan does. She lives to have fun, and Dan lives to survive and grow up. But if one was to grow old and find that they'd done nothing but the typical, and never broke out, they'd be disappointed, because they missed so much life.

And that is why I'd rather be like Serena than Dan.