MEDIACASESTUDY:GREY'SANATOMY

Sahananarayan

representation of what Anti-Abortion protests look like. There’s vitriol and anger that seems entirely at odds with a “pro-life” stance. Just like every campaign has some sort of strategy, these protestors do too. In fact, recent research suggests many Anti-Abortion groups are pivoting to “Blue State” clinics, in response to abortion bans shutting down the clinics that they may usually be active at.

The difference in the Pre and PostDobbs time that it takes to get to an abortion clinic is stifling. In 2021, the mean was 27.8 minutes; it has now more than tripled to 100.4. The study also revealed that 33% of reproductive-aged women are more than an hour away from a suitable clinic. TV is a great way to digest these types of stories. It’s easy, it’s accessible. I would argue that it may even be a more lenient way to confront some of these contentious issues, far easier than a hefty data-driven study, and far more comfortable due to the familiarity of the characters on the screen. We’ve grown with these characters; as viewers, it is entirely natural to see them. Is it possible that we feel more compelled to listen to Addison’s frustrations than someone giving a speech in real life? Maybe it’s easier in fiction, to rationalize some of the grisly details as mere drama, but the fact of the matter is, art imitates life and life imitates art.

One study that looked at what students in the medical field found to be most memorable from medical dramas medical errors, bioethical dilemmas, and death. If what viewers are taking away from shows like Grey’s Anatomy is not the day-to-day routines of a healthcare provider but instead the issues and the errors of the field, clearly something is working. Now, that is not to say that these dramas are the most accurate thing in the world. Lord knows how dramatized it can be. Still, there is something to be said about the exposure we get as viewers to the variety of topics that are covered in shows like Grey’s Anatomy. The social justice and policy side of healthcare is often overlooked; it’s easy to not see how these fields intersect.