Article Analysis - Diagnosing Drama

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.