Grey's Anatomy is a medical television
series that premiered on ABC in 2005. The series is set
in Seattle, Washington and focuses on
the fictional lives of surgical interns and residents as they evolve
into seasoned doctors, while trying to maintain balanced personal
relationships. The intended audience
for this show are females ages 18 to 49.
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| http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/shonda-rhimes-opens-up-angry-738715 |
The creator, Shonda
Rhimes serves as an executive producer on the
show. Rhimes initially conceived Grey's
Anatomy as
a statement against racism. She endeavored to create a show that featured a
racially diverse cast that allowed viewers to relate to characters regardless
of race. While creating characters and writing the first script, the
series' writers utilized a color-blind casting technique; which is considered a non-traditional casting practice
"defined as the casting of ethnic minority and female actors in roles
where race, ethnicity, or sex is not germane." Rhimes
has explained that if the ABC had not allow her to create characters this way,
she would have been hesitant about moving forward with the series. Rhimes is also the creator to two other TV hit
series, Scandal and How to Get Away
with Murder.
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| http://imgur.com/gallery/BjlaeWP |
In my opinion, Shonda Rhimes' TV show
Grey's Anatomy certainly accomplished successfully challenged the social dynamics of gender, ethnicity, and power,
but it still has unfinished business. The show has been well received by
critics and is considered to have had an impact on culture. The series has
received numerous awards, and has been included in various critics' top
ten lists. The show is currently on its eleventh season. In my search for clips
of the several controversial stories covered on Grey's Anatomy, I found that many were posted by several individual YouTube users, expressing how
they personally identified with particular scenes. Many of these YouTube posts
also had comment threads of support and agreement.
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| http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/greys-anatomy/images/79148/title/cast-photo |
Female roles in Grey’s Anatomy were
developed as multi-faceted complex characters. These characters are portrayed
as struggling and successful young professionals. On the show, gender is
represented in a complex, yet traditional socio-cultural context aligned with
mainstream portrayals’ of gender. Gender being the social characteristic of
individuals in our society that only sometimes are consistent with biological
sex (Schwartz-Rutter 2004). Sexuality and sexual behavior referring to the
sexual acts that people engage in is explored through a multidimensional approach
that challenges its conservative socio-cultural portrayals. These characters
struggle to balance, defy, and redefine expectations of gender and sexuality
imposed on them in their personal and professional lives.
In the majority of the
scenes, the characters of Grey’s
Anatomy are dressed in scrubs and lab coats and in the remaining
time, the characters are either: dressed in warm clothes conducive of Seattle's
rainy weather, dressed for a wedding, or undressed. Only two of the female lead characters on the show have
curvy figures. The first is Dr. Callie Torres, a Latina Orthopedic surgeon with
a tall curvy figure. The second is Dr. Miranda Bailey, an African American
General surgeon with a short and thick figure. The characters on the show, both
men and women are thin, fit, and beautiful by mainstream media standards which
are not reflective of the average viewer. Both men and women on the show, tend
to be hyper sexualized.
The landscape is predominantly composed of
the surgical teaching venue, Seattle Grace Hospital. Other landscape settings
throughout the show are sporadic flashes of Seattle’s popular tourist
attractions, and the homes of the characters. The show is composed of powerful
contrast images of people in need of medical attention. There are a lot of
images of blood, bruised bodies, open body cavities, broken limbs, and sick
patients. The gore is a strong visual contrast to the beautiful and
attractive cast of doctors, nurses, and staff at Seattle Grace Hospital.
The series' stars, Dr.
Meredith Grey, who is assigned to work at
Seattle Grace Hospital as an intern under Dr. Miranda Bailey, along with a cohort of fellow residents
Cristina Yang, George O'Malley, Izzie Stevens,
and Alex Karev. However, for the purposes
of this critical discourse analysis, I will focus on how the relationship
between Dr. Callie Torres and Dr. Arizona Robbins is portrayed on the show. I
propose that the following scenes in the show serve as a dialogue that affirms
Jose B. Torres argument that today’s urban environment is characterized by
rapidly changing sociopolitical conditions, gender role ambiguities, and
contradicting cultural expectations and values.
Dr.
Callie Torres is a Hispanic female
orthopedic surgeon. Callie has a rocky relationship with her father, who
supported her financially as long as he believed she was living the life she
ought to be living. Callie was brought up Catholic and her parents continue to
adhere to these strong religious principles. Callie is initially a love interest for George O'Malley on the show,
whom she eventually married, but her love life took a different turn when she
enters into a lesbian relationship. However, it is important to note that Callie
identifies herself as bisexual. As a result her character develops a
particularly unique relationship with Dr. Mark Sloan. Callie is a passionate
and hot-blooded woman who doesn't mind challenging the status quo in the
male-dominated profession of medicine. Her strong family values and fiery
temper are stereotypical character traits of Latina women.
Dr.
Callie Torres is a Hispanic female
orthopedic surgeon. Callie has a rocky relationship with her father, who
supported her financially as long as he believed she was living the life she
ought to be living. Callie was brought up Catholic and her parents continue to
adhere to these strong religious principles. Callie is initially a love interest for George O'Malley on the show,
whom she eventually married, but her love life took a different turn when she
enters into a lesbian relationship. However, it is important to note that Callie
identifies herself as bisexual. As a result her character develops a
particularly unique relationship with Dr. Mark Sloan. Callie is a passionate
and hot-blooded woman who doesn't mind challenging the status quo in the
male-dominated profession of medicine. Her strong family values and fiery
temper are stereotypical character traits of Latina women.
Dr.
Mark Sloan is the chief of
plastic surgery at Seattle Grace. Sloan is portrayed as a playboy and a
womanizer. His hyper-sexualized character earned him the nickname,
"McSteamy". Sloan has a special friendship with Callie Torres, which
began as a sexual one that eventually resulted in Callie’s pregnancy, this was
after Arizona broke up with Callie and left to Africa.
Sources:
Schwartz, P., & Rutter, V. (2004). The gender of sexuality. In Hill Collins, P. & Anderson, M.
(Eds), Race Class and gender: An anthology. United States: Thomson
Wadsworth, pp. 448-454.
Torres, J. B.
(1998). Masculinity and gender roles among Puerto Rican men: machismo on the US
mainland. American Journal of
Orthopsychiatry, 68(1), 16.
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