Journal Analysis:
Diagnosing Drama: Grey’s Anatomy,
Blind Casting, and the Politics of Representation
In the
article, Amy Long discusses how race and stereotypes still work their way into
current culture of even casting a TV show.
In a world that is sometimes overly sensitive to stereotypes, it is
almost impossible to escape them.
However, using examples from the popular TV show, Grey’s Anatomy, she also shows us that looking beyond the stereotypes, people are all the same.
Ms. Long
begins the article mentioning the accolades bestowed on the show by civil
rights groups due to their “diverse cast and the production practices” (Long, 2011). She talks about how when the creator, Shonda
Rhimes, used a “race-blind” casting method and when writing the idea for the
show based on characters – gender was the only description given for each
character. She goes on to mention that
while casting, Rhimes got frustrated by the talent agencies continuing to send
only blond, blue-eyed actors. She had to
“actively point out and work against industrial assumptions that a racially unmarked
character calls for a white actor” (Long, 2011).
Once cast, the characters
stereotypes come out due to “gender, location of origin and individual merit or
personality traits” (Long, 2011). The characters, themselves, show signs of
stereotyping. The article gives the
example that in the first episode of the show, the chief resident has “earned”
the nickname “the Nazi” (Long, 2011). The characters, white female, Korean-American
female, blond and blue-eyed female, and white male all are surprised that “the
Nazi” is not a white male, but “a short, somewhat heavyset African American
woman” (Long, 2011). There are discussions as to why the resident
has earned the nickname. Could it be
jealousy? The med students even
stereotype each other. Meredith, is
assumed to been placed in the program because her mother was a famous surgeon
and received favorable assignments because she had slept with one of the
surgeons. They assume Izzy is one of the
“beautiful people” who had an easy life.
It turns out that she was raised in a trailer park and had to work as a
swimsuit model to pay for medical school.
As the series progresses and the characters get to know each other, the
stereotypes give way to the real conflict of the competitive world of medical
school. They learn to work together, in
spite of their differences, and even become close friends.
The cast of Grey’s Anatomy also had some stereotype conflict off-camera. Isaiah Washington, a black actor, allegedly
used of a slur toward a white, closeted homosexual co-star. This caused a stirring among the cast, and
the community, and the fans. Ms. Long
quotes LA Times writer Scott Collins:
Washington’s use of a crude slur
in reference to a fellow actor signifies the death of Grey’s as a symbol of “new Hollywood” as a utopian,
forward-thinking place, where colorblind casting can thrive, where a black
woman can create and run a successful TV drama while her large, racially
diverse cast gets along as famously as the six principals of Friends.
(Collins, 2007)
This suggests that even in an atmosphere of non-bias,
stereotypes are prevalent, even against those who are normally stereotyped.
As Ms. Long
continues on, the article focuses more on the color-blind relationship between Meredith
and Cristina. She discusses the women’s relationship
and how they bond as women, not as women of color. Stereotypes can be overcome, when people look beyond
the surface. However, stereotypes still exist.
They are a way of life, and although there
are progressive people out there who would like to change it, she concludes that
“Although “race-blind” casting may sound like a progressive way to enrich the representational
possibilities of a narrative form like television, it functions more accurately
as a discursive band-aid for a political bullet hole” (Long, 2011).
For the most
part, I agree with her analysis. I believe
people go into a situation only with the knowledge that they have learned. Unfortunately, that includes stereotypes. However, with more knowledge, such as getting to
know a person outside of the predetermined notion of that person, stereotypes fade.
I find hope in this. The important piece of this article, to me, is
that there are others who also find hope, and working to make the positive changes,
even though it is not always the easy thing to do.
References
Collins, S. "Kiss and Makeup?". Los
Angeles Times. 5 Feb 2007.
Long, A. (2011).
Diagnosing Drama: Grey's Anatomy, Blind Casting, and the Politics of
Representation. 44 (5), pp. 1067-1083.
