What is it about medical dramas that lures people to them? According to the article by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Americans are viewing close to eight hours of television a day. Eight hours?! The article also includes that teenagers are spending as much time viewing televison as they are online. From previous class readings and discussions, we know that's quite a bit.
In the last few years, medical dramas have taken over primetime television: House, Grey's Anatomy, Chicago Hope, Strong Medicine, and the ever-popular ER.
As asked above, what is it about these shows that makes us watch them religiously, then go out and purchase each season on DVD so we can watch them again? The Kaiser Family Foundation article says that we are becoming less and less tolerant of commercial breaks that interrupt our shows. It's true. Is it the drama and the suspense of the unfolding story that keeps us tuned in for so long? Is it the theme of urgency in these shows that satisfies us and fulfils some sort of need? Is it the opportunity to see some of our favorite stars be heroes and the opportunity to see them in action that gets us?
I'm questioning, because I don't know. These are not rhetorical questions. I struggle with this myself. Shortly before Thanksgiving break of my sophomore year at Lipscomb, my roommates and I would have Grey's Anatomy marathons. It was an addiction. We watched every episode of a season until we ran out of episodes to watch, at which point we all went out and bought the next season. Just a few months ago, as I was studying for finals at the beginning of December, a House marathon was going on in the lobby. I was tempted to leave my studying to go watch.
These shows depict real situations. The bomb in the body on Grey's Anatomy may not be too realistic, but most every other health situation that puzzles and challenges physicians in these shows is. With as much health content as the media is producing, and as America is watching, you'd think we'd be a healthier nation. But, we're not. Perhaps the burst of medical dramas onto the scene is the media's way of conveying subliminal messages to direct our attention towards our own health and the health of our children.
So, is the increased amount of television viewing, and the viewing of medical dramas particularly a bad thing? Or is it bringing on positive effects?
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I know exactly what you are talking about and I am totally guilty of it as well. I don't know if Nip/Tuck would be considered a "medical drama" but I totally conducted season long marathons of the show with friends! I also caught up with Grey's anatomy by the same process. The reality of the medical shows is a very dramatic reality. I think it is funny that the majority of the health issues that are addressed are the fantastic and improbable, and thats exactly why we are so drawn to them. The reality of everyday health problems like STD's, cancer, AIDS, and smoking related illnesses would most likely be to close to home and thus, in a sense, boring. I believe this is also the reason that we are one of the most unhealthy nations even though we are the biggest consumers of medical dramas.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that marathons are an entirely new phenomenon. Some stations still have an Austin Powers marathon or a James Bond marathon which attract a lot of viewers. True, one has to watch commercials, lots of them, during those times, an annoyance eliminated by DVDs. What fascinates me is the preponderance of shows dealing specifically with medicine. Could that arise from our general unhealthiness? Since so many Americans have experiences with hospitals, either as patients or as friends of patients, perhaps we develop a fascination with what goes on behind the scenes. In another life and topic, we might discuss further whether or not the soap opera-ish story lines of the prime time medical dramas reflect the reality of hospital life. How much work gets done on these shows? How much of the routine of the hospital or even of the emergency room appears? How many cold and flu patients get treated? That doesn't make for very good television and wouldn't atract many viewers.
ReplyDeleteThe subject of addition is more interesting. When does this start? If teenagers and younger children are watching so much television, can they possibly avoid an "addiction" to television screens, whether a television or a laptop? If the answer is "no," the job of food marketers (to bring the topic back to obesity), is that much easier.
It seems to me that "medical dramas" that tend to incorporate soap opera story lines with medical diagnosis may increase an interest in the medical profession, but i don't see the benefits for health and healthy living.
ReplyDeleteWatching House, as we have discussed in class, only exposes different rare medical cases that are far removed from our daily experience with the flu or even more severe, yet more widely known, illnesses.
It's hard for me to say that this impractical experience of medicine is beneficial to the health of viewers in any way other than being mildly educational.