STRUCTURAL POSITION OF CHARACTERS

Question 4

Introduction

The structural positioning of characters has certain consequences to the meaning of the narrative (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). In this essay, the structural positions of characters within the series, Grey’s Anatomy will be assessed. In studying the structural positions, the researcher will address six questions relating to the narrative. The first question will determine who or what leads to events in the narrative. Secondly, the researcher will examine from which point of view and in what order the narrative is portrayed to viewers. The third question will address the structural roles of people within the narrative. Then, the fourth question will determine the dominant discourse in the hierarchy of discourses in the narrative. In the fifth question, the researcher will look at whether women are portrayed differently from men in the narrative. The final question will consider the ending of the series and the ideological meanings thereof. Lastly, the conclusion will summarise the main findings of the essay.

Picture source: https://babbletop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/greys-anatomy-top-10-dead-characters.jpg

Who or what makes things happen?

Determinants of narratives are social or psychological in nature (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). Most narratives tend to favour the psychological over the social (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). This relates to the Western ideology of individualism as most narratives are focused on one or two main characters (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016).

Grey’s Anatomy is focused on the psychological with one individual, Meredith Grey, as the focal point of the series. The series (season one, episode one) starts off with Meredith starting her career as a surgical intern. All the other characters in the series are introduced on basis of their relationship with Meredith Grey. For example, viewers are introduced to Meredith’s surgical intern group and Miranda Bailey who will be their resident (Grey’s Anatomy, 1:1). The focus on Meredith Grey can be seen the fact that most of the episodes start with her voice-over.

The general pattern of a narrative is to show main characters going through a process of change and growth (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). This is done by showing a disruption to the stable situation in the narrative which eventually leads to a new stable situation (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). During this process, the flawed characters are presented with problems that ‘test’ them and, in the process of resolving these issues, they grow and develop in their own characters (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016).

This process can be seen in Grey’s Anatomy. Meredith Grey has grown professionally from a surgical intern in the first episode of season one to being appointed head of general surgery in the second episode of the twelfth season. In her personal life, she has been faced with many problems that lead to her character evolving. The most disruptive situation that Meredith faced was when her husband, Derek Shepherd, died in a car accident (Grey’s Anatomy, 11:9). She had to adapt to living her life without him as a single mother of three children.

From whose point of view do we hear/see things; and what are the order of events?

Point of view in a narrative refers to the positions taken by the cameras and which point of view are shown to the viewers (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). Narratives usually encourage identification with a certain character especially through making use of voice-over, point-of-view shots and close-ups (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016).

In Grey’s Anatomy, the dominant point of view is that of Meredith Grey. Most episodes start with the thoughts of Meredith Grey and ends with the life-lessons she learned. One episode starts off by Meredith saying that there is only one thing in life that is certain, other than death and having to pay taxes, and that it is that you will still make mistakes and hurt people no matter how hard you try or with what good intentions you have (Grey’s Anatomy, 4:4). She says you are going to get hurt in life and the only thing that will allow you to recover from this, is forgiveness (Grey’s Anatomy, 4:4).

The order of events in the narrative is another important aspect to consider (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). The simplest sequence of a narrative occurs when events take place in chronological order (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). The chronological order of events in a narrative are often interrupted to portray only interesting bits or to show flashbacks of older events (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016).

In Grey’s Anatomy, the events mostly follow a chronological order. The series begins with Meredith Grey starting out as a surgical intern in episode one of the first season and shows how she develops emotionally and professionally over time to eventually, in episode two of season twelve, become the head of general surgery. These events were not covered in ‘real time’ as episodes showed important events that took place over the years and did not show everything that happened. In season eleven, episode nine, viewers learn that Derek Shepherd left Seattle to take a job offer in Washington. After Derek left, he was not the focus of the cameras unless something important happened. The chronological order of events is often interrupted by flashbacks. The episode in which Meredith almost drowned was filled with flashbacks of Meredith’s life (Grey’s Anatomy, 3:16).

What structural roles do people have in the narrative?

The positions and roles of characters in narratives reflect how the audience are expected to understand these roles (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). In many narratives, for example, people of colour are placed in minor positions or as unimportant characters (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). Audiences are often encouraged to identify with a strong male character and objectify female characters (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016).

Grey’s Anatomy seems to have an effective and fair placement of characters in structural roles. There is a fair representation of people of colour, females and homosexuals within the series.

People of colour play major roles in the series. The first chief of surgery, Richard Webber, is a man of colour (Grey’s Anatomy, 1:1). The latest chief of surgery and a respected main character in the series is Miranda Bailey, a female of colour (Grey’s Anatomy, 14:1). Meredith Grey and Derek Shephard also adopted an African girl named Zola in the tenth episode of season eight.

Females are also strongly represented in the series. The main character, Meredith Grey, is a woman and the other females in the series such as Miranda Bailey are all portrayed as strong, independent and successful women. In the second episode of season two, the attendings discuss the success of female doctors in the hospital in that most of the department heads are women.

Homosexual couples are not presented as different from heterosexual couples and are not made fun of by any of the characters in the series. Arizona Robbins is a lesbian who married and later divorced Calliope Torres (Phillips, 2018). The couple even had a custody battle over their daughter (Phillips, 2018).

What is the dominant discourse or the hierarchy of discourses?

In a narrative there are numerous discourses that explain events (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). There are different character voices from characters who all see the world in a different way (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). In Grey’s Anatomy, the audience are exposed to the discourses of several characters. The dominant character voice in the series is that of Meredith Grey, who is seemingly not an overly happy person but shares her thoughts with the audience at the start of every episode and her life lessons at the end of every episode. The researcher perceives Miranda Bailey to be goal-oriented and a respected character in the series whose opinions are valued. Richard Webber is perceived as someone who is a leader and the ‘wise owl’ in the series. Nearly all the characters in the series have some voice in the series and a discourse the portray to the audience.

A narrative will organise these voices in such a way that some voices are deemed more important or truthful than the others (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). In Grey’s Anatomy, the most dominant is the voice of the main character, Meredith Grey. Since the audience is encouraged to identify with her, everything she says will matter. Miranda Bailey will be second on the hierarchy as her opinions are portrayed to be highly valued and respected. Richard Webber will be third on the hierarchy as this is the person Meredith turns to for support and advice. The voices of Meredith’s close friends, Christina Yang and Alex Karev as well as the voice of her half-sister, Margaret pierce will be next on the list as these characters are important to Meredith and thus the discourses they present are also important. The other characters in the series will have a lower place in the hierarchy of discourses especially due to the less important role they play in Meredith’s life and the series.

The dominant discourse in the narrative is not only that what is intended by the director but also what comes forth in the text (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). In Grey’s Anatomy, the dominant discourse is that of the challenges faced by humans in everyday life and how these challenges allow people to change and grow.

Are women positioned different from men in the narrative?

Many critics argued that most narratives encourage viewers to identify with male characters and objectify female ones (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). Sometimes when women take on lead roles, they are portrayed as emotional beings rather than as professionals (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016).

In Grey’s Anatomy, there is a substantial representation of women in the professional field of medical surgery. The main character in this medical drama, Meredith Grey, is a woman. In the series, men are mostly not portrayed as more powerful as women since women also get impressive jobs at the hospital and are shown to be just as successful in the medical career as men (Grey’s Anatomy, 2:2). The series has a balanced representation of gender which can also be seen in the dress code as there is no difference between how the men and women dress within the hospital.

What does the ending tell you about the ideology of the film?

Endings play an important role in portraying ideological meanings of the narrative (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). Endings can be either closed and circular; closed and progressive; or open and unresolved (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016).

Several of the episodes in Grey’s Anatomy are open or unresolved. One example can be seen in the ninth episode of the eleventh season. At the end of the episode, Meredith and Derek has a big fight about his job offer in Washington, he then makes a call to let the president know that he will be taking the job just before the episode ends. Viewers could only see in the next episode that Derek really left for Washington. The use of this type of ending for some of the episodes can be a way to encourage the audience to watch the next episode.

All the seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, however, generally have closed and progressive endings. In these endings, things are not exactly as they were in the beginning but evolved just as the characters evolved. It suggests events can change, characters can learn and it is possible to break away from the status quo (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2016). In Grey’s Anatomy, the group of characters we came to know as interns in the first season all moved on to different things. George O’Malley passed away in episode twenty-four of the fifth season. Soon after in episode twelve of the sixth season, Izzie Stevens moved away. Christina Yang also left Seattle in episode twenty-four of season ten. Meredith Grey and Alex Karev were the only two of the original intern group who remained in Seattle and became attendings in season nine. The ideology portrayed is thus that situations can change but humans can grow and become better people from these experiences.

Conclusion

The structural positioning of characters plays an important role in how the audience can make sense of the meanings presented in Grey’s Anatomy. In this essay, the researcher analysed the structural position of characters through addressing six questions. First, it was determined who or what makes the events in the series happen. Secondly, the researcher determined the point of view from which the narrative is portrayed and the sequence of events the narrative. Thirdly, the researcher examined the structural roles of characters after which the dominant discourse of the narrative was described. The fifth question that the researcher addressed concerned the portrayal of women in relation to men within the series. The final section addressed the ending of the series and the ideological meanings it presents. In the end, these questions assisted the researcher in constructing how the audience understands the series, Grey’s Anatomy.

2044 words (excluding in-text referencing)