Happy fall! We are undoubtedly in the most exciting month of the year — August, which practically marks the beginning of fall. Unfortunately, we have been deeply conditioned to associate this season with relentless Gilmore Girls snippets plastered all over our explore pages.
Now, don’t get me wrong, the emblematic sitcom timelessly encapsulates the autumnal aura. But I am personally sick of the redundant loop of TikTok audios and overused clips from the 2000s hit series. So, here’s everything I’ve been watching to romanticize this forthcoming heavenly fall season without relying on Gilmore Girls as my sole source of dopamine.
The Live-Action Beauty and the Beast
Just a couple of weeks ago, I witnessed a horrific sight on Instagram: an utterly soul-shaking, bloodcurdling societal regression. This menacing development I am referencing is the re-release of the Unicorn Frappuccino at Starbucks. While the picture of the lurid, sugar-laden drink induced a mild panic attack, it coincidentally brought me back to 2017, when the live-action Beauty and the Beast first came out. Of course, I immediately had to rewatch the motion picture to numb the adverse emotions and aroma I associated with the frappé.
And it worked like a charm! My nervous system was instantaneously regulated. I noticed how the gently frosted castle exterior is juxtaposed with its charming candlelit interior, tenderly warming my soul like a hug. From the glimmering stone fireplaces to the towering wooden bookshelves in intricate libraries, my inner child felt healed. The film’s heartwarming lanterns and quiet corners look perfect for a rainy day, effortlessly countering the cold, gloomy outdoors. The storyline in Beauty and the Beast shifts from crisp autumn scenery to an isolating, snowy terrain, making it the perfect transitional movie to enjoy for the fall semester.
Once Upon a Time
And to continue the fairy-tale theme, Once Upon a Time (2010-2018) is an easy show to binge-watch that retells our childhood favorites in a modern setting. Our beloved characters — from Snow White to Rumplestiltskin to Captain Hook — find themselves cursed and trapped in Storybrooke, Maine, with no recollection of their true identities. Emma Swan, the long-lost daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, is the only one capable of breaking the spell and reminding the legends of their true statuses.
Not only is this show filled with nostalgia, but it shares pertinent themes surrounding identity. These icons find themselves living modern realities, conforming to societal expectations of their roles as doctors and shop owners, unaware of the legendary magic rushing through their veins. While distracting us from the monotony of everyday life, this show can also remind us that our identities aren’t so black-and-white; magic is buried within all of us — as long as we allow ourselves to remember our inner child. What a perfect lesson to take with us into the new semester where we have the chance to rediscover our true selves!
Okay, to be completely transparent, some nights when I struggle to sleep, I play a YouTube channel called Country Life Vlog. Now, what does this glamorous channel post, you may ask? A series of videos of an old Azerbaijani couple living in the countryside. Yes, I shamelessly watch this and live vicariously through them.
The channel captures a peaceful rural lifestyle in 4K — the meals they carefully prepare, their courteous treatment of animals and even clips of them picking flowers. Okay, fine, so I am slightly ashamed of myself, but I promise once you see the simplicity and authenticity of their lives, you too will be enraptured in these videos.
Aesthetic Fall Videos on TikTok
My brain rot has intensified to the point where some days I cannot bring myself to watch long-form content. We’ve all been there. Instead of watching AI slop, I have chosen to indulge in aesthetic fall videos romanticizing the forthcoming season!
Stars Hollow-esque towns engulfed in a quaint rainstorm, colored leaves blanketing the still ground and a hot latte steaming in each clip. Of course, most of these videos incessantly play Gilmore Girls audios. Still, watching the crisp crimson leaves blow into serene puddles in whimsical little villages brings me immense joy.
Fireplace and background rain
If you live in on-campus housing, you too must feel deprived of the joy of lighting sickeningly-sweet cinnamon-scented candles amid a pounding rainstorm. I can’t give many suggestions for improving the crusty dorm scent (if a bear was skinned in your dorm, maybe just hold your breath). But, at the very least, you can watch a glistening fireplace on YouTube and play lofi music to add a spark of warmth to your soul as heavy raindrops pummel your windows.
I hope this list can serve as a source of inspiration for you as we transition into the interminably Gilmore Girls-coded autumn season. This is just a glimpse into my current watches — of course, alongside my impending Gilmore Girls binge (hey, it’s just too iconic to ignore).
‘Are You Still Watching?’ is a column spotlighting what the Cornell community has been streaming. It runs every Wednesday.
Ava Tafreshi is a member of the Class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a staff writer for the Arts & Culture department and can be reached at atafreshi@cornellsun.com.
