Noam Chomsky referenced in new "Gilmore Girls" episodes

The new "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the a Life" one-and-a-half hour episodes have been available on Netflix for the last week. The four episodes are divided by the seasons, with the third episode being the summer season episode. It starts with Rory and Lorelei sitting by a pool as the former re-iterates to numerous people that she is not "back" in Stars Hollow but rather just visiting. In another early-episode scene, Luke's daughter April is eating dinner with her father, Lorelai, and Rory. April mentions Noam Chomsky in what is a continuation of the references that were in the original series.

Lorelai: "to Noam is to love him"

April is sitting across from Rory and claims that she took "some great linguistic courses" at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she claims that "Noam Chomsky walks the halls." In what we learn to be a lie a short time later April, who seems like a bit of a hippy, claims she met Chomsky, "chatted with him," and "laughed with him" before saying to Lorelai that Chomsky is her "idol." Lorelai then puns "Well, to Noam is to love him" a joke that April doesn't seem to get.

Chomsky known for linguistics, politics

Whether Chomsky is better known for his linguistic work or his work in politics is debatable. In linguistics he is known for his nativist positions and for his non-sensical statement "Colourless green ideas sleep furiously." The statement references how a sentence can make no sense and yet flow fine from a grammatical point of view.

In regard to politics, Chomsky has been an outspoken critic of American foreign policy and lately he has interviewed regarding the upcoming presidency of Donald Trump. Furthermore, in late November he signed an online letter involving the MIT community that opposes the cabinet appointments of the president-elect (read more on the letter).

Chomsky never appeared in any episode of "Gilmore Girls," however he was in a poster in Paris Geller's college apartment. Furthermore, he was mentioned by characters on multiple occasions. In "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life" April goes to Rory's room after dinner and starts conversing with her. April starts to hyperventilate at one point and then admits that she never actually met Noam Chomsky before going into a mild anxiety attack.