Question ListDay 9: Favourite FEMALE DRIVEN show
Grey's AnatomyAt first I wasn’t sure which show to pick for this question. I considered
Ally McBeal, a show I used to adore so much that my Wednesday evenings revolved around watching it and I even had an essential snack which was eaten only during Ally (rose and lemon flavoured Turkish delight, accompanied by lemonade-and-orange-juice). I thought about
Alias, another fantastic show with a strong, impressive central character. But then I focused on the term ‘female-driven’ and wondered whether these shows were exactly what I was looking for.
Ally McBeal is centred around Ally, but mostly portrays her work in a male-run law firm, her relationships with men and her competition with other women.
Alias centres around Sydney but always portrays her in a world dominated by powerful men, a world which she fights against, but which she is primarily enabled to fight against by other powerful men who give her the means to do so.
Then I thought about
Grey’s Anatomy. This is a show with not just one central female character, but various central female characters. And though they are in one of the most competitive arenas possible – a surgical intern program – and a profession traditionally dominated by men, the female characters manage both to form strong ties to each other and to excel in their careers.
There are almost as many men as women in the show, but in an unusual move, they are defined primarily by the women around them. Derek and Burke may be renowned, powerful surgeons, but their storylines, certainly at the start of the programme, revolve around the women who choose to love them. Even when a major event befalls one of them – Burke’s post-shooting hand problems, for example – the plot is contrived to show its effect on their female partner; it is Cristina’s decision to help Burke conceal his problem that is focused on.
Part of what I love about Grey’s is the way that it refuses to portray women in a stereotypical manner. Cristina, for example, would traditionally be portrayed as the sort of character viewers love to hate. She is a ‘shark’ – ambitious, cold, hates children and feelings and weakness and family. These are qualities often seen as acceptable (possibly even sexy) in male characters, yet repulsive in females. But Cristina is one of the two or three main characters; she is best friends with our protagonist; she is given some of the best storylines. You might not like her at first, but if you want to keep watching, you have to get used to her. And after a while, you see she is a pretty great person in a lot of ways, and that perhaps it’s ok for a woman to be as ambitious as she wants to be.
Then there’s Addison. Addison should have been the character everyone hated. She drove apart the show’s premier couple, she was an ‘adulterous bitch’ even by her own admission, and she was beautiful and successful. But she was never written to make the viewers hate her. Believe me, I tried. And I failed. I can only assume everyone else failed too, seeing as she ended up with her own very successful spin-off show.
There are no one dimensional females in this show. There is no encouragement from the writers for us to dislike or disapprove of any of the women, or their choices. This is a show driven by amazing women – Meredith, Cristina, Izzie, Bailey, Addison, Callie, Arizona, Lexie – who work hard, love hard, and who inspire me.
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