One of my favorite U.S. television shows to watch is Grey’s Anatomy. For those that have not seen the show, it is a medical drama that started with the main characters as surgical interns at a hospital. Now that the show has just finished its 6th season, the main characters are currently residents and have their own group of interns to mold. After analyzing the show, I do not think that it would give a very good impression of Americans to someone with no other exposure to America.
First of all, most of the characters are very cut-throat and only look out for themselves, especially when it comes to being able to participate in a rare surgery. The characters are portrayed this way because the surgical field is very competitive. For someone who didn’t know this, they might assume that all Americans are ruthless and selfish, willing to step on anyone to gain professional success.
Because the characters are surgeons, they are also constantly working and hardly any of the characters’ social lives are explored. The characters are constantly being called into the hospital at all hours of the night and they put in very long days. This may cause people to think that Americans are over-worked.
In the show, the only people the characters socialize with are other people from the hospital. For a couple seasons, they all lived in the same house together which one of the characters had inherited from her mother. When there is a scene with the characters somewhere outside the hospital, the surgeons are either at home or out at a bar. This may cause people to believe that Americans’ only social life involves going out to the bars with co-workers.
Also, many characters are romantically involved with other people in the hospital. This leads to a very gray area between professional and personal relationships. The characters are yelling at each other about things that are happening in their relationship and having sex in the on-call room. This may cause Americans to be labeled as unprofessional, especially since these characters are playing surgeons which is generally viewed as a very distinguished profession.
The show does point out some good characteristics of Americans, also. Because the characters are always at work and seem excited to be surgeons, this would cause Americans to be viewed as very hard-working and enjoying their jobs. Even though this is a positive assumption about Americans, it might not necessarily be true of most Americans.
Also, not all the doctors and patients on the show are white. The show does a decent job of showing the diversity of America. Many of the characters show some level of cultural diversity whether it is race, age, social class, or even sexual orientation. Sometimes the show even highlights the internal conflicts that some of these diverse characters struggle with. This helps those that have had no other experience with America to view it as a culturally diverse and accepting place.
This activity shows how getting information about a culture from only one source can skew our perception of that culture. Are there assumptions that you have made about a different culture based on one piece of information?
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I have made assumptions about African Americans excelling in sports and not so much in other activities. I don't know very many African Americans but what I am exposed to is sports. When I attended U of M I lived in the same dorm building as all the freshmen football players and the vast majority of them were African American. They obviously excelled in sports, but from listening to their conversations they didn't seem like the smartest people on earth. In fact most of what I heard them talk about I found to be pretty offensive. Obviously my perspective is skewed because I was exposed to a group of athletes. African Americans can excel in other activities besides sports, but these aren't the people I have encountered in my life.
ReplyDeleteI have made some of the same assumptions that Cheryl has made in her life. For instance, I have stereotyped many Black individuals based on the image of notable professional athletes. This past year Gilbert Arenas, an NBA player, brought guns into the arena. I can list several small anecdotes, but the point is that I have often stereotyped Black individuals without much evidence. But I don't think I have made any other stereotypes of other ethnic groups or different cultures, mostly I think due to not being exposed to many different cultures and ethnic groups as a kid. So maybe ignorance is bliss.
ReplyDeleteI believe there are many assumptions you can make about different cultures after hearing or seeing something, especially on tv. American shows make it seem like Americans typically get things we don't always get, some shows make Americans seem rich, or getting things that we don't typically have, like huge houses or fancy cars. I think the same could be true from other cultures, if we hear a piece of information, watch some show or movie about it, or hear of anything else about a typical culture we will assume things about it. I think we do this because we don't know any better. We listen and hear how things seem to be run in other countries or cultures and assume it goes that way for them all, just like other people do about Americans!
ReplyDeleteI have also made the same assumptions about African Americans that Cheryl and Anthony have made. My town is not very ethnically diverse so my only exposure to African Americans were the sports starts and criminals that made news. Until I had some personal interaction with African Americans, I thought most of them were either sports stars or criminals.
ReplyDeleteI have also made assumptions about African Americans, very similar to many of the other's comments. Growing up in a town with very few African Americans, when I had my encounters with them I felt a little scared because of the way they walked, talked, and dressed. The statements I heard coming from their mouth scared me and made me leave the area we were in. I know this is just one group of people that has no relation to all African Americans, but I sometimes still get scared. I don't know why, my perceptions have obviously been skewed immensely. I am not judging all African Americans, in fact I have quite a few friends now that I am not afraid of at all they are great people and a joy to be around.
ReplyDeleteUm yes very much so. I am honestly not very well educated about all ethnicities, etc and so when I hear something I tend to have somewhat of a belief in it.
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