Thursday, June 15, 2006

The most offensive plot-line in Grey's Anatomy 2:19

This may become a regular feature. It almost certainly is if this show is the best TV has to offer right now, and I keep on watching it. Tonight's episode was called Yesterday

Given that every single relationship plot-line pissed me off and offended me, you'd think it'd be a hard decision. Am I most pissed off about the way Burke's condescending speech to Cristina was supposed to be attractive? Or possibly the idea that you can tell much a guy likes you by whether or not he punches out another guy for talking to you? Or just the existence of McDreamy?

Luckily the writers spared me having to choose, by concocting the most offensive B-plots that I have ever watched (and I have watched a whole bunch of television). I hated the plot from the first moment it was on screen, and it just went down-hill from there. A young male patient called Jake had craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, or lionitis, which is a disease where you get tumors on your face. Cristina, despite being a fucking health care profession stares at him because he looks funny. He replies in a sassy but wise way, because disabled people's rolein this world is to teach people that they're human, and there's no reason they'd resent this, instead they endlessly give out joy and specialness into the world.

As if his illness wasn't enough Jake then has the unfortune to get involved in the great McDreamy plot, and even worse McDreamy's pissing contest with McSteamy (if you don't watch the show - all you need to know is that both these men are dicks). McSteamy is a plastic surgeon who offers to fix his face. But then in order to prove that McDreamy is better than McSteamy they kill off the guy with lionitis on the operating table.

So this disabled character was created to maintain stereotypes, and then killed to service the most annoying love triangle ever created. He never got to be a person, he was just his disability and the lessons that his disability could teach us all.

That's not even the worst of it - after Jake dies they perform the plastic surgery anyway on his dead body, in order so that he can look 'normal'. Because obviously that's worth dying for.

So just in case any of my readers are as stupid as the Grey's anatomy writers - disabled people are people. If you're incapable of treating those who look different from you as people - then that's something you're going to have to deal with. There are no plot-devices to teach you lessons in real life. So don't expect people you can't be bothered to treat as people to give you little lessons, expect them to hate you.

4 comments:

  1. Well, I personally love a professional complainer. What I have trouble with is an ignorer of apostrophes.

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  2. Anonymous12:03 pm

    I think it was a good post. It's true that people who are different are walking public service messages and that's not fair.

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  3. Anonymous7:40 am

    You are on the money about so many things! I loved this post... =)

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  4. Anonymous11:57 am

    Lol that's exactly what I thought! I hate that show! Plus, the lionitis wasn't even accurate. Jake would have been blind and/or deaf. Don't you love how the "medical professionals" laughed at the other girl with the orgasm problem?

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