Social Learning Theory suggests viewers will learn about acceptable societal gender roles from the narrative arc in television scripts. In medical dramas, a heteronormative plot would stereotypically place a female character as the nurse and a male character as the God-like doctor. This study examines physical and linguistic variables within the Grey’s Anatomy’s scripts that inscribe power between and among romantic couples who work together in this professional setting. Over the course of eleven seasons, not only do the characters have job shifts, but the dynamic between couples change. One important finding was couples will restate their job titles in personal, even intimate, settings to establish power within the relationship. Even though the females take on the dominant positions within the hospital as the show goes on, they are still put down by their male coworkers. As issues of feminism become more prevalent in popular culture, this study supports arguments that popular television shows should adapt plot lines that empower women to focus on their careers and not use sex to get ahead.
About the presenterBrittany Winfield
Nothing beats sitting down and dissecting your favorite television show.
For my whole life, I thought I was going to be a doctor. It’s what was expected of me. Even though I’ve always been a lover of music and television, I thought that was normal for a kid to love. Never would I have imagined that I would be analyzing the doctors that I once aspired to be on television.