Shonda Rhimes' Impactful Writing On Grey's Anatomy | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Politics and Activism

Shonda Rhimes' Impactful Writing On Grey's Anatomy

Spoilers ahead.

176
Shonda Rhimes' Impactful Writing On Grey's Anatomy

Shonda Rhimes impactful reputation on television reigns supreme. On ABC, Rhimes takes control of every Thursday with the hashtag #TGIT, Thank God Its Thursday. Being a head writer and showrunner of her show Grey’s Anatomy, Rhimes creates an empire of strong, independent, but extremely flawed characters attempting to find their “person.” With the leading lady, Ellen Pompeo, commanding the attention of any viewer with their phenomenal performances. But besides the crazy drama that flows concurrently episode after episode, the significant moments Shonda Rhimes creates illuminate when characters fall. Rhimes manages to tackle important social issues such as: woman empowerment and racism.

Grey’s Anatomy focuses on the lives of several doctors as they tackle medical/surgical issues, as well as the tragedies of their lives. Rhimes chooses specific topics to have her characters interact with and the pain behind those messages. For example, the show produced a multi-racial lesbian couple, abortions/miscarriages, and crisis-like situations. Racism finds itself on the forefront of many episodes due to the diversity of the cast; another boundary Rhimes has pushed. The episode, “Something Against You” deals with the issue of white privilege and how to identify the facts. White privilege can be defined as the benefits from your race starting from birth. So in the case of the episode, one doctor betrays another and is afraid she did so because the two were both white. Rhimes utilizes the characters Dr. Maggie Pierce (played by Kelly McCreary) and Dr. Amelia Shepard (played by Caterina Scorsone) to discuss the issue of a certain occurrence in the show previously. Dr. Shepard figures that she didn’t believe a certain doctor due to the color of her skin, making her worrisome about her actions as it seems she maybe racist. Feeling a little prejudice, she seeks advice from Dr. Pierce, questioning her actions as a whole. What becomes remarkable is the response that Dr. Pierce configures. A simple response of “check your white privilege” as a nod to any person of color as they would not get the same treatment.

Grey’s Anatomy features a large cast of women commanding primetime TV. Throughout its thirteen season long run, which still continues every Thursday at 8 p.m., there have been a total of sixteen women who have appeared as series regulars on the show; compared to the male leads only being twelve. The series always proposes the firm idea that a woman can stand on her own, not that she doesn’t want the help of a man with her, but that a man would just get in the way of her success. This mindset can be fully explored with Sandra Oh’s Cristina Yang, and how she chooses to express her emotions to all of her sexual partners. Another case is when Oh left the show, and her final words to Meredith Grey were, “Don’t let what he wants eclipse what you need. He’s very dreamy, but he’s not the sun. You are.” Once again, showing the powerful writing Rhimes implicates.

The beginning really just scraped the palette of what the show displays on a regular basis to its wide audience. Women empowerment and racism are two of the few themes the show tackles, and it is done so effortlessly that Grey’s Anatomy manages to pull at the heart strings of many of its viewers after a complete episode is broadcasted.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

Things You Can Get Away With Now That You're At College

83% of my trends in college would have been shamed in high school.

266
college life
Google Images

Transitioning from high school to college can be a stressful experience, especially if you're like me and hate change. Over the past two years I've realized there's many things I couldn't get away with in High School that are typically applauded in college.

1. Eat

Keep Reading...Show less
Blair Waldorf

Life is hard. You know what makes it even more tough? Living with chronic b*tch face (CBF). This condition is so debilitating that I have decided to chronicle the 10 things everyone who suffers from CBF experiences. Who better to help me than the queen of CBF herself, Blair Waldorf?

Keep Reading...Show less
Harvard Students

I thought senioritis in high school was rough until I became a college senior about to go into the real world. I'm supposed to have everything figured out, right? I mean I went through four years of tough classes and serious self-searching (and crying). What I found overall was Senioritis sneaking up on me.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

8 Texts You Get From Your High School Friends

You might not see them everyday anymore, but you're still friends and your text messages prove it.

354
High School Friends
Ashlynn West

It takes a little while to get used to not seeing your high school best friends every day. Going away to college causes a lot of changes, but one thing that will never change is my love for my high school BFFs, and the texts that I get from them. Here are just 8 of the texts I get from them on the weekly:

Keep Reading...Show less
legally blonde

College is filled with many things, and we're so often lectured to make the right decisions as we head out on our own into the college life. But sometimes it's necessary to indulge in some guilty pleasures as well as just doing things because you can. And honestly, a lot of the time it's inevitable. College is no piece of cake that's for sure, so it's okay to do some things you deep down know you shouldn't....once in a while anyways.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments