As none
of you probably know, Isiah Washington, the actor, is set to guest star and
return to Grey’s Anatomy in May of this year.
What is most interesting is that Isiah Washington was actually fired
from Grey’s Anatomy seven years ago. Here is the story behind this.
Grey’s
Anatomy is a drama television show written and created by Shonda Rhimes. Ms.
Rhimes has one of the most successful television shows on air at the present
time, and has won numerous Emmy’s for the television show. Additionally, she is praised for creating a
show with extensive interracial dating, and highlighting minorities as lead
characters. Oh, and Ms. Rhimes is also
African American. These factors have created an open space for tackling intercultural
interaction upon the show.
Back in
2009, Mr. Isiah Washington made an anti-gay remark on set referencing or
offending T.R. Knight, another actor on the show who happens to be gay. Isiah Washington apologized for the remark,
and then proceeded to follow up that remark with another one at the Emmy’s that
year. Ms. Rhimes decided to let Mr.
Washington go at the end of that season.
It is
no wonder that the media would be questioning why Ms. Rhimes has a sudden
change of heart. Seven years after the incident, she has decided to bring Mr.
Washington back to Grey’s Anatomy. While
those who follow the show will appreciate the appearance because it ties up Ms.
Yang’s story line quite nicely due to her exit at the end of this season, it
further asks why Ms. Rhimes is comfortable with having him back on the show,
seven years later.
The
show has a cultural overlap, as Halualani et al. explains in their
article. The cultural overlap would be
one that the television show is representative of minority rights, including
gay rights. However, it is also part of the American cultural narrative. These
overlaps are problematic, as Ms. Rhimes needs to be able to represent these
groups within the American (white dominant) narrative.
Could
it be that Ms. Rhimes doesn’t need to deal with the anti-gay remarks since
there are no openly homosexual men on cast this season? Or perhaps because she
wants to be able to please her audience? What about her loyalty to the LGBT and
other minority communities? Does Ms. Rhimes have an obligation to them?
Source: "Critical" junctures in
intercultural communication studies by Halualani, Mendoza & Drzewiecka
I think this is an interesting element to the show's development over the years. Disclaimer: I used to be an avid Grey's Anatomy watcher (yes, I remember when it switched from Sunday nights to Thursday nights). And so I remember the season of off-set controversy with Isiah Washington and T.R. Knight. I think you point to a very interesting struggle in the TV world of reflecting the mainstream American narrative while also truly representing minority rights. Very few TV shows have been able to strike this chord in the context of the LGBT community ("Will and Grace" being one that I argue has).
ReplyDeleteTo the specific point of bringing Isiah Washington back on the show -- though Shonda (yeah, we're close) had to have thought of the potential backlash, I think she is bringing the character back to simply tie up Christina's storyline. I say this in part because I happen to watch (obsessively) another Shonda show, "Scandal," and she includes a very openly gay relationship (marriage, in fact) on the screen between a Republican White House Chief of Staff and Democratic reporter. Either way, it will be interesting to see what reaction, if any, Isiah Washington's return will pull from the LGBT community.
In reading this, I was also reminded of the recent Duck Dynasty incidents. For those of you who may not have been aware, Phil Robertson, the father of a family of southern duck hunters on a reality show, was suspended in December from said reality show for anti-gay comments that he made. Soon after his suspension was announced, many conservative pundits, Sarah Palin among others, released a storm of backlash against A&E, mostly citing an erroneous defense under the 1st Amendment. After only a 2 week break, Robertson was brought back on. More recently, Palin has claimed that conservatives won the 'culture war' surrounding these comments.
ReplyDeleteWhether it is Ms. Rhimes or A&E that bring characters back onto their shows, it is notable that there are exceptions made where the content of a show takes precedent over the actors' personal comments. There seems to be a desire/attempt to sweep things under the rug for the betterment of the show. Or, there has at least been a decision made that the personal comments won't affect viewership. In the case of Grey's Anatomy there is probably too loyal of a viewership to change things greatly. In the case of Duck Dynasty, perhaps A&E decided that the viewers of Duck Dynasty were not of the demographic to be swayed by anti-gay comments.