A quick synopsis
I remember the first time I watched Grey’s Anatomy. I was in sixth grade, and my friend, Patra, was spending the night. We decided to watch tv, and she asked me if I’d ever watched Grey’s Anatomy. I hadn’t, so we decided to watch it. There were at least eleven seasons out at the time, and I didn’t think I would ever watch all eleven seasons. Well, I did, and thensome. It didn’t take much for me to get addicted. For the few of you reading this who have never watched or somehow never heard of Grey’s Anatomy, here is a quick synopsis: Grey’s Anatomy follows the lives of a group of doctors in a hospital known as Seattle Grace (the name changes a few times).
It starts off with a group of interns, Meredith Grey, Christina Yang, Alex Karev and Izzy Stevens, who not so quickly become a great group of friends. The show leans into the ups and downs of being a surgeon, including the love and drama that comes along with it. But one thing that Grey’s Anatomy is often praised for is not only it’s diversity, but it’s choice to spotlight real world issues. There are episodes that not only deal with bombs and active shooters, but also the struggle of being a person of color fighting for their spot in the medical world. The chief of surgery, Richard Webber, is an older black man. And his successor? Miranda Bailey, a black woman. There are episodes that focus on the black struggle of these two and other characters of color in the show (i.e. season 6, episode 15 * season 4, episode 10), but the show also depicts Bailey and Webber just having people problems. Webber is an alcoholic, Bailey has anxiety and heart problems. I think Grey’s Anatomy does a great job with balancing their black struggle and their common struggles. It’s hard to choose just one, but for time purposes, we’re going to just focus on one episode from Grey’s: “The Things We Said Today.”
This episode takes place on the day of Bailey’s wedding where she is to marry Dr. Ben Warren. But, Dr. Webber’s wife is sick and in need of surgery, and the only person Dr. Webber trusts to do the job is Bailey. She’s forced to choose between the two, one of which ended her first marriage and threatens to begin the second.
Breaking stereotypes
There are a few major stereotypes that Grey’s Anatomy breaks or evades in the creation of their show. But, since we are focusing on “The Things We Said Today,” from season nine, we are going to focus in on a few. In the textbook “Media, Culture and Society,” by Paul Hodskins, the twelfth chapter mentions a few different well known stereotypes. A few examples would be black actors playing criminals, mammys, or overly angry and aggressive. Miranda Bailey is none of those. Miranda Bailey is giving to the point that it breaks her relationships outside of the hospital. To be fair, Grey’s Anatomy did teter on the edge with some stereotypes when it comes to her character. She was nicknamed the Nazi. She is loud and always giving her opinion. When I first watched Grey’s Anatomy, she reminded me of the angry black women stereotype. But as I grew to love the show, I realized that that was not who Miranda Bailey is. There is an episode that shows how she became who she is. She used to be quiet. She was the person who stood in the back that you often forgot about.
She was the girl that it was okay to speak over and ignore. She realized that if she was going to be heard, she had to be loud. She had to be stubborn. This breaks the angry black woman stereotype because the stereotype is center arounded being angry and loud because of the belief that black women are “extra” and “over the top.” Miranda Bailey’s story shows that she is not being extra or over the top. She is being loud so she can be heard because she knows that if she is not, she will be ignored. And I think that is something beautiful to show to young black women and girls. She shows them that they are allowed to fight to have their voice heard. Another barrier that I feel as if is broken in this episode is how we see black love.
Often times when we see black love on our television, it is a comedy. Literally. Black love is seen as a comedy where often times the wife embodies the angry and loud black women stereotype and the man is, to put it plainly, dumb. Ben (her fiance) and Miranda break that. Near the end of the episode after Miranda has forgotten about her wedding to save Webber’s wife, Ben comes to the hospital. Bailey is nervous and saying everything that comes to mind, promising that she didn’t forget. Then she goes quiet for a moment before saying she did forget. Instead of berating her like her ex husband had, Ben tells her that she is supposed to forget about him when she is saving someone’s life. Seeing that level of care and love and understanding that Ben has for her brings me to tears. It is refreshing and heartwarming to see black love as something other than comedy.
Changing the future
Grey’s Anatomy has taught me a lot. Grey’s Anatomy taught me that I can be anything I want to be. It taught me that I can be the chief of surgery. It taught me to stand up for what I believe in. It taught me not to be afraid to do what’s right. The list goes on and on and on. Grey’s Anatomy has tackled an uncountable amount of social issues throughout it’s eighteen season (and counting). I believe that it is a great way to break stereotypes and to set an example for all the young generations watching it. Many of the problems that the textbook warns about when it comes to tv and movies trying to represent diversity are avoided, at least partially.
When it comes to black characters, there really is not a burden of representation. Currently on the show, we have Bailey, Warren, Webber, Jackson Avery, Catherine Avery, Maggie (head of cardio) and Winston.If I were to pinpoint a burden of representation, I would point out the lack of asian representation (Christina Yang is no longer on the show) and how Levi is the only Jewish person on the show. The show may not have as much diversity in the main cast, but they seem to try to have diverse characters as patients. But, Grey’s Anatomy does not just gloss over the problems of today’s society. The problems that they do take on, they do not take lightly. The active shooter episode (season 6, episode 24) was haunting in the way it portrayed what sadly so many Americans go through today. And it wasn’t the only episode, nor did it only last one episode. It showed the effects on the characters, including PTSD, flashback and anxiety. Recently they had an episode where Winston, a black man, was pulled over by police and wrongly searched. The police even threw all of his belongings onto the road. They had an episode where a twelve year old boy was trying to climb into his house and was shot by police (season 14, episode 10). I could go on and on and on. This show not only helps empower people of color to chase their dreams, but shows all of us to stand up for what we believe in. All of the episodes named above and more help open so many Americans’ eyes to not only the evil that goes on in this country, but the effects of it on the people. Even though they are looking at it through a tv screen, watching all of the emotions and pain and grief is eye opening and can even change someone’s perspective.
Worth the watch?
As a huge Grey’s fan, OF COURSE I’m going to say it is worth the watch. Now, removing my glasses filled by bias, my opinion stands the same. Yes, Grey’s Anatomy is filled with sex and drama, but it also is filled with learning opprotunities. No, the show does not do everything right. But isn’t it our job as viewers to point out it’s wrong doings? This show has pulled my emotions in every direction during the eight, almost nine years that I have been watching. Even though I have grown annoyed that the show has not ended, I am still appreciative of all it has done. There are so many storylines and character arcs that are worth the watch. They are inspiring. They are heartbreaking. They break the mold that Hollywood has put so many movies and tv shows into.
Episode Recommendations
Don't want to watch eighteen seasons?
You don’t have to! Here’s a few episodes dealing with relevant issues!
Season 14, Episode 10 * police shot a twelve year old in his home
Season 2, Episode 16 * a bomb inside of a patient
Season 6, Episode 24 * an active shooter enters the hospital to incite revenge
Season 15, Episode 19 * a young woman comes to the hospital after being raped
Season 16, Episode 18 ** Dr. Delucca accuses a woman of sex trafficking while also going through a manic episode
Season 17, Episode 12 * patients come in from Black Lives Matter protest
Season 17 * COVID-19
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