Diagnosis Drama: Grey’s Anatomy, Blind Casting, and the Politics of Representation
The journal article Diagnosis Drama: Grey’s Anatomy, Blind Casting, and the Politics of Representation
begin with praising the nearly thirty-eight million viewers who choose to watch
the multi-racial cast instead of the Super Bowl post game celebrations. Using
blind casting Shondra Rhimes assembled a diverse group of actors that was a
marked contrast to the all white cast that appear in many television shows. The
article reveals that Shondra, the only current African-American woman running a
show on network television, had no preconceived physical description other than
gender when they were casting members of the show. Shondra acknowledged, “We really
read every color for every single part” (Diagnosis Drama, pg 1067).
Because of the cast diversity the article points out that
show chooses to focus on the relationships built through friendships, shared
experiences, professional responsibilities, or romantic love.
I think the article serves as an important example of how to
change stereotypes that we each can have. Movies like “Boomerang” were
criticized because some critics didn’t find it believable to see a successful
corporation that was owned and operated by African-Americans, and also
television show like “The Cosby Show”, were deemed unbelievable to see a
thriving African-American two parent household, with flourishing children. When casting directors can enter a room of
actors with an open mind and regardless of color choose the best person for a
role there will be many more movies and television show with more diverse cast.
The main points of the article were focused on how Shondra
Rhimes allows her characters relationships to develop through their shared
experiences, common strengths, and romance which I agree is the reason why the
show is so popular to so many people from different cultures.
The article Diagnosis Drama; Grey’s Anatomy, Blind Casting, and the Politics of Representation
is important to read because it give you an idea about how stereotypes are
continued when you only portray certain characters by certain races. Depicting many
races in out of the ordinary character roles can make a difference in the way
each race stereotype continues to be viewed in the media.
References
Long, Amy, Diagnosis Drama; Grey’s Anatomy, Blind Casting and the Politics of Representation,
The Journal of Popular Culture, Vol. 44, No 5, 2011, Wiley Periodicals.
