Opposites Attract, Especially on TV

In class we discussed the idea of “otherness” by contrast of the majority. Many of the characters we see on TV are not simply defined by their race, but more implicitly defined by the races that surround them. In the age of early television where characters were not quite integrated, shows like The Cosby Show, Good Times, and The Fresh Prince of Bellair.

However, we now have a much more diverse and more closely integrated array of characters. Take Grey’s Anatomy for instance. Some critics might applaud ABC for producing such an ethnically diverse show, where race is simply an objective factor and episode encourage problem-solving teamwork versus culture classes. However, are these characters truly a representation of diversity? Or are the ethnic minorities simply defined as their otherness to other characters.

Let’s compare and contrast a few pairs of characters:

First, Meredith and Christina. Meredith is 100% female. She’s a woman, she has vulnerabilities (one most notably being men), she wears her heart on her sleeve although it may be hidden by a rather transparent cocoon, and she’s a fair-skinned dirty-blonde even-tempered doctor. She’s the main character, after all. Let’s contrast her to Christina Yang. Christina Yang is perhaps more masculine than a few male characters. She explicitly has no emotions, few weaknesses, practically asexual, and all her sharp edges make her last-runner up for a beauty pageant. This plays directly into the dragon-lady stereotype, a man-eating asian with a savage-like inability to emote. Now, I wonder whether or not Christina would look nearly as emotionless if she weren’t directly contrasted with her overly-emotional unstable counterpart. I wonder if Yang’s wavy long hair would mark her as a beauty, and I wonder if her emotionless would be revered rather than critiqued if her direct contrast, her foil, weren’t so explicitly presented to us as “correct.” Meredeth is the main character, therefore we are supposed to like her the most, therefore anything opposite we dislike the most.

Let’s take another example. Dr. Shepherd vs. Dr. Burke. Shepherd is known as McDreamy, he has luscious locks that seem to be the center of hospital conversation and he is as close to the Statue of David as Seattle Grace Hospital could hope to get. Talented but not stubborn, confident but still modest, and once again, fair-skinned. Now we have his supposed “best friend” in the early years before the Grey’s Character Fiasco (another blog for another time). Burke is stubborn, he blindly regards himself as the best. Yet he is soft-spoken, reveals quickly his vulnerabilities. He is one of the more effeminate characters on the show, quickly getting caught up in the hospital drama. Burke is much darker, much more internal, and much less intimidating than Dr. Shepherd. Oh yeah, and Burke’s Black.

It’s funny how opposites tend to attract each other on TV. Unless it’s the case of relationships. In that case, the two golden characters, the two icons of majority perfection become involved, while their two counterparts also get involved. I could’ve guessed it. However, I don’t remember the last time I had a best friend who was my direct opposite, or the last time I was attracted to a person who was exactly like me. If opposites really do attract, it seems like these allegedly diverse Prime Time TV shows are very strong, very widely broadcasted magnets.