Grey's Anatomy

If you cannot tell from the topic of this blog, I am someone who loves stories. Movies, books, tv shows, all of it…I like to look at tv shows like a challenge. I must watch all of it and I can binge watch like no other. I go full nerd mode after watching a good movie and look up all the behind the scenes footage, casting interviews, and director notes. And with books, well let’s just say Barnes & Noble is my favorite store for that reason. I love stories. I am attached to the ability to read or watch something and be teleported into a whole other universe. The ability they have to make us feel and think. Why do we cry at the end of a sad film? Why do we have movie star crushes and favorite characters? We make connections to these people and to their stories. Writers and directors discovered long ago the power they had. They can shape our opinions and form our bias. That is why we have so many great plots that are secretly teaching us a life lesson along the way. But what about the ones that are teaching the wrong lessons? What about shows that represent characters in a negative light and cause us to shape our biases in harmful ways?

As mentioned in previous posts regarding, television series are much longer than a movie or book. They have a lot more time to develop characters, change plots, and make mistakes. Because of that, I think it is actually harder for tv shows to portray neurodiversity correctly and in a positive light. Our knowledge about neurodiversity is changing every day, so it is no surprise that some of our most beloved shows have made some mistakes. Let’s look at some of those mistakes, but also the good that these shows have created.

Grey’s Anatomy is one of the longest running American tv shows, with 17 years and 369 episodes, the show is now airing its final season. This medical based drama centers around Meredith Grey’s journey to become a surgeon, following the footsteps of her mother, the famous Dr. Ellis Grey, on her journey to greatness. In the 17 years that this show has been on, it has continued to surprise and captivate its audience, all while teaching lessons about how life isn’t always as simple as black and white, most of the time it’s just grey. We have witnessed multiple traumas, deaths, relationships, breakups, miracles, and rare cases on this show. Being an avid Grey's Anatomy fan myself, I knew this would be a good show to review. Just relying on my own memory I can think of multiple main characters from the show who had some type of neurodiversity; Owen Hunt has PTSD from the war, Alex Karev’s mother has schizophrenia, Jo Wilson struggles with depression, Ameila Shepherd and Richard Webber battle various forms of addiction, Andrew DeLuca and his father deal with bipolar disorder, and Miranda Bailey has severe OCD. And that is not even including the hundreds of patients with neurodiversities that are key characters on the show. I have always applauded Grey’s for their aptitude to stay up to date with the world and make episodes relevant to what is going on in real life. For example, in the current season, season 17, the show has shown COVID-19 struggles, both from patient and doctors points of view, and there was a recent episode regarding the police brutality marches/black lives matter. I think this is part of what makes the show so interesting. They mix in real life problems with the fiction story line, which again helps portray a message. But I want to look specifically at the message they have/are portraying about neurodiversity…

Shelbi Jay wrote an article in 2009 about Grey’s Anatomy’s misrepresentation of autism through the character of Dr. Dixon in season 5. Dr. Dixon is a heart surgeon, played by Mary McDonnell, who lives with high functioning Aspergers Syndrome. “ Not well received by the autistic community, Dr. Dixon’s character was viewed as very stereotypical in some aspects and unrealistic in others” - Jay. Some characteristics that Dr. Dixon carries out having focused interests (like her fixation with the heart), repeating facts about her first ever heart surgery, and has a strict discipline where she follows set rules and does not break them. In the episode “Break Your Heart” she shows signs of sensory overload when certain news is brought to her attention and then a stranger tries to hug her. “Following her fit she asks two doctors to hug her, explaining that the physical pressure over large parts of her body will slow her heart and calm her sympathetic nervous system. While it feels logical and well supported in the episode, to the unknown eye it is not a realistic portrayal of the “hugging machines” used on people with autism” - Jay. The “hugging machine” Jay is talking about and what Grey’s is trying to reference is a machine meant to calm you down and alleviate symptoms. It was created by Temple Grandin, an extraordinary woman who is on the autism spectrum. I got the chance to watch several of her ted talks and read some of her work while pursuing this certificate. I have linked an article here that explains the machine and shows a video of how it works:https://www.bancroft.org/bancroft_stories/temple-grandin/ I would also highly encourage you to check out Temple’s stuff! Though the characteristics being shown and the hugging scene are a very stereotypical version of someone with autism, it is Dr. Dixon’s lack of emotion that Jay says the autistic community finds the most offensive. She is unable to emotionally connect with her patients. They show the extent of this in one scene when a 16year old girl becomes brain dead on the operating table and Dr. Dixon says, “this is good news” since she will be an excellent candidate for organ donation. “Her interactions with other doctors showed the public’s lack of understanding of Asperger’s, as even the respected Dr. Bailey was called out for insulting her”- Jay. One of the positive moments for this character, Jay points out, is when she tells Dr. Bailey that she may not perceive condescension or sarcasm, but she knows she is being deceived or made fun of and does not like it (A very similar conversation to the one Sam has with his therapist in A-Typical). Jay believes that this moment confirms that the Grey’s Anatomy team was not trying to insult those with autism, they were simply proving the lack of knowledge about the disorder.

Though the show did not present an accurate or positive portrayal of a person with Aspergers Syndrome in this season, I don’t believe their intentions were impure. As I said, there is such a lack of knowledge even now, and this character was shown 12 years ago. I feel confident Grey’s has learned from their mistakes and would do better with the Dr. Dixon character now. And like I said, it would not be fair to cancel this show or throw hate at it because of this mistake, because the intention was good. Tv shows can last a long time so there are bound to be some mess ups, especially in a medical show like this. Grey’s Anatomy has done a lot more good with the neurodiverse community than bad, and I believe that they are always willing to address their mistakes and change as they move forward.

One thing that I hope you noticed in this article that is different than all the other movies and shows we have looked at is the variety of neurodiversities represented. So far, everything we have looked at has been related to the autism spectrum. But like I said in my first blog post, there is no standardized definition for neurodiversity and it encompasses a multitude of disorders that are related to neurological differences. This includes autism, OCD, PTSD, depression, anxiety, DID, dyslexia, bipolar disorder, etc. It is a great thing that Grey’s Anatomy has such a variety of neurodiversity represented, and they are mainly the beloved main characters. Also, we had a chance to get to know the main characters before their neurodiversity was introduced. The show did not make their neurodiversity all the person was but also showed the significant impact they had on the character’s life. Most recently, the kind and loyal Dr. Andrew DeLuca’s health was put in jeopardy due to his bipolar disorder. Mel Hebert wrote an article titled “How ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Got Bipolar Disorder Right”.

The first few lines of the article read,

“When I hear a TV show or book has a storyline with bipolar disorder in it I typically cringe because they get it all wrong. These storylines are over dramatic, inaccurate or portray people with bipolar disorder as villains. Usually, these characters have an unreliable job history (or no job at all) and a lack of any real relationships. That’s why when watching “Grey’s Anatomy'' take on a bipolar storyline I was so happy. I finally saw myself represented.”

Mel explains that the show does not downplay DeLuca’s symptoms but they don’t make the whole show revolve around him either. It starts out with him showing subtle depressive episodes, so subtle that we didn’t even see the mental health storyline building. Mel says that sometimes that is how bipolar disorder can be, depression symptoms, laying in bed all day, having zero motivation, and losing interest in things you once loved. But the show did not emphasize this to make it the DeLuca show. He then became manic. Again, it started out as subtle, but his symptoms grew more and more severe the longer he went on untreated. Everyone began to see something was wrong, but he was not vilified, he was met with concern and compassion. The characters on the show didn’t turn away, but rather wanted to help. There was then a very significant piece to the storyline that happened when DeLuca claimed a child was part of human trafficking, but due to his mania/illness no one believed him. The unique part was, he was right! “Again, this hits home. Because I know how I can sound when I’m manic. I know I can lose touch with reality and have some really wacky ideas. But that doesn’t mean all of my judgements are wrong. Sometimes, mania helps you see things the “normal” eye misses because your mind is thinking so quickly. Seeing DeLuca not be wrong about the human trafficking case was a surprise because I thought it was definitely just another attempt to make people with bipolar seem “neurotic” and “paranoid” when they’re symptomatic. But it wasn’t. It was showing the opposite. It was showing that bipolar can be symptomatic but also absolutely right” - Mel.

Reading Mel’s post really reinforces the idea I mentioned in my first blog, that accurate and kind representation in the media really matters. She says that so many times throughout DeLuca’s mental health storyline she wanted to cry because for the first time she felt her diagnosis was being accurately represented. She talks about searching and searching for books, movies, or tv shows that she could relate to and not feel attacked. None of them showed bipolar people with successful careers and degrees. None of them showed them as good people...

“No other media source showed me that people with my diagnosis could still be a good person. No other media showed me that people with bipolar disorder can do good and have a pure heart — or that their sole cause in the storyline isn’t to create chaos.” - Mel

“I didn’t realize how much I needed that representation until it was given to me. I didn’t realize how much it would mean to me to see a character with my illness and my illness’ severity portrayed on a mainstream TV show without being vilified or created for the sole purpose of seeming ‘crazy’ or ‘a problem’.” - Mel

In our world today, popularity and fame also comes with hate and scrutiny. Grey’s Anatomy is an extremely popular tv show that handles very delicate topics in every single episode. It would be so much easier to sit back and play it safe. Save some dying patients and call it a day. But the writers, directors, producers, and actors on this show take the riskier route and with that they create change. They are not perfect but they are effective. We have living proof, right here with Mel, on how important that underlying message is to the viewers. I have always thought Grey’s Anatomy was an entertaining show. But now, as I have grown older and recognized the deeper concepts at play, I realize it is one of the greats. They are making a difference by doing their best to show accurate positive representations of all different neurodiversities. I think any show with a message that reminds a woman like Mel that she is good, is a show worth watching.