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Delaney McNulty

Professor Meadows

Media Criticism

5/9/19

Interracial Couples in Media

In media, interracial relationships are misunderstood and misrepresented . There

has always been a stigma surrounding the idea of the relationship including two

different races, and it began from America’s history of slavery, illegal interracial

marriage, and finally the disbanding of the law in 1967 from the Supreme Court’s ruling .

This American history has brought a certain disgrace for older generations when it

comes to interracial relationships and its portrayal in media is underwhelming . If there

are ever any interracial couples in television or movies, there are only one or two and

most of the storyline revolves around the conflict of their race . This does not allow our

society to progress into a post-racial world because it makes interracial relationships

seem as though they are “against the norm” or different from what should be normal

love. This is where Shonda Rhimes and the show Grey’s Anatomy comes in to change

this idea. The diverse cast and the colorblind casting are an amazing way to take a step

in the right direction and normalize interracial couples . By having 35% of the couples in

the show be from different races and not bring up the fact that they come from different

backgrounds or focus on any conflicting issues with their race is what is making the

most strides in society.

Political Economy
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Grey’s Anatomy is a high-intensity medical drama, now in its 15th season,

following Meredith Grey and the team of doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial who are faced

with life-or-death decisions on a daily basis. They seek comfort from one another, and,

at times, more than just friendship. Together they discover that neither medicine nor

relationships can be defined in black and white (About Grey's Anatomy TV Show

Series). It is the recipient of the 2007 Golden Globes Award for Best Drama Television

Series and nominated for multiple Emmys, including Outstanding Drama Series

(GREY'S ANATOMY 13x20 "In the Air Tonight" Photos). The show began in 2005 and

airs on ABC Network but also can be streamed on Netflix and Hulu . The show is still

airing episodes while already having 15 seasons, with over 300 episodes . The series

claimed the number one spot in adults 18-49 with an episode that makes it the longest-

running medical drama on television. Viewers have very high ratings for this show as

97% of people like the show according to Google, it received a 7.6/10 on IMDb and a

4/5 on Common Sense Media. The show’s 332nd episode delivered an extremely high

rating and had 7.5 million viewers for the season 14 finale . Grey’s Anatomy has been

one of TV’s strongest shows on two different evenings . It began with one season on

Sunday nights after Desperate Housewives, but it became established as a standalone

megahit when ABC moved it to Thursday nights in the fall of 2005 for TGIT ((The War

of 18-49, Grey's Anatomy). When coming out in 2005, medical dramas were extremely

popular, but Grey’s Anatomy was able to surpass all of them. Some competition

included House which aired on Fox from 2004-2012 and ER which aired on NBC from
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1994-2009. Since Grey’s Anatomy enormous success, other networks and writers have

made their own medical dramas to try and compete in present day such as NBC’s

Chicago Med which started in 2015, The Good Doctor which airs on ABC and started in

2017 and NBC’s New Amsterdam which began in 2018. None of these shows have as

much success and as high of ratings as Grey’s Anatomy, but the show ER was the

second most popular at the time. The target audience is mostly for women which is 75%

of the viewers as they were usually interested from the previous ABC show, Desperate

Housewives. It is meant for all ages from 13+ and are able to keep the audience’s

attention and loyalty through hospital tragedies and intense romance storylines . There

is always something happening from shootings, plane crashes, deaths of a coworker or

family and new hookups. What made this show different from other medical dramas is

the diversity in the cast as well as how the doctors were depicted as real human beings

that are capable of faults and mistakes. Shonda Rhimes is also the creator and

executive producer of the show. She has brought a whole new visibility to black women

in television and has experienced a huge rise in Hollywood . She has created shows

such as Private Practice, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, The Catch and many

more. She brings a different type of diversity as well as “girl-power” to television that is

breaking boundaries and building new ground for media . In her shows, the main

characters are black women who are elite and professional women whose work lives

showcase their success. With her multiracial casts, race is rarely explicitly discussed,
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and they embrace interracial relationships without even noticing or bringing light to the

situation.

In America’s history, the portrayal of minorities and interracial relationships on

television and media is often under-represented or inaccurate . In the past decades,

there have been very few main characters that are in an interracial relationship and if

they are, the color of their skin is the central story line . There has been a glamorization

of diversity in Hollywood where creators and writers think that having it means it has to

be the main plot and story line. This usually has the opposite effect as it makes it feel as

though it is not normal. America seems to be far behind other cultures in this regard

when it comes to media, especially with British television . Interracial relationships have

taken center stage for years and it could be from the fact that there are historical

differences. Britain’s culture does not deal with the same difficulties from American

slavery and interracial marriage was never illegal . In the 1930s it was fairly common. In

America, it was against the law to marry someone of a different race until 1967 . In 1967,

Loving v.Virginia, was a landmark decision of the U.S.Supreme Court which struck

down all state laws banning interracial marriage as violations of the Equal Protection

and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S .Constitution.

Mildred Loving, a woman of color, and Richard Loving, a white man, who had been

sentenced to a year in prison in Virginia for marrying each other. The decision to take

away this law and no longer have it be illegal resulted in an increase in interracial

marriages in the United States and is remembered as Loving Day ((Loving v.Virginia).
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In 1967, only 3% of American newlyweds were interracial, in 2015, it was 17% .

Multiethnic families are increasing and becoming the most prevalent families in

America, but the media does not portray this. 1967 was also the year that Sidney

Portier starred as the Black boyfriend meeting Katharine Hepburn’s white family in the

Oscar-winning Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, which hit theaters exactly six months

after the Supreme Court ruling. This was the beginning of interracial relationships being

portrayed in media. Decades since the release of the film, there still have not been

many characters that are involved in interracial relationships until the 2010’s . It has

taken a long time to begin to see anything comparable to the wide variety of media and

entertainment with main characters and love stories that are different shades and aren’t

constantly talking about it. Shonda Rhimes creating Grey’s Anatomy in 2005 was an

early game-changer as well as her creation of Scandal and How to Get Away with

Murder. Seeing the unconventional pairing in popular dramas that are targeted for all

ages is helping the topic be almost conventional . There are many things in media that

must change in order for more stories such as those be portrayed more, starting with

behind the camera. Shonda Rhimes uses a technique called “color-blind casting.”

Shonda Rhimes is one of television’s few black showrunners and created Grey’s

Anatomy around her vision of diversity. When writing the pilot, she did not specify the

characters’ ethnicities, so her casting process was wide open . Many shows are

struggling with this concept and the idea of not talking about race in an interracial

relationship. The reality of America is that we are not completely in a post-racial society,

so sometimes it is important to not avoid race so that the problems are addressed and
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faced head on. Past examples of interracial relationships in the media makes the love

story around the conflict of their race. People have realized this issue and now

representation is starting to change to have the relationship be normal and just like

everyone else’s and have normal issues instead of having it revolve around the issue of

the color of their skin. It is an issue of people being more open-minded and more

progressive which is why the media is willing to represent things in different ways than

they did in the past.

Textual Analysis

Grey’s Anatomy has been praised on numerous occasions for their diversity and

admiring Shonda Rhimes for her use of colorblind casting . She does not assign a

specific race to the character she writes which results in a racially diverse fictional

storyline and more interracial interactions and relationships . The show lead media with

the number of interracial couples that were featured in comparison to shows that only

include one or two. Since 2005, there has been a variety of races and it shows the

difficult relationships that the surgeons have with each other . There are 39 major plot-

related relationships that are featured on the show and 14 of them have been

interracial, putting them at just over 35%. This is in comparison to the 17% of interracial

marriages in the United States. Even though each pairing does not always get married,

the percentage of interracial couples on the show is much higher than both real-life

statistics as well as in other television shows.

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This show comes face to face with some of the most difficult and complex

situations and usually capitalize on them, but not when it comes to race . Interracial

relationships happen very frequently, and race is treated as a very low-key subject

which makes the relationships characterized by the personalities of the couples and

their personal drama instead of their racial and cultural differences . Racially specific

conversations and problems are not created which is why most of the characters are

racially neutral and this also creates a post-racial show . Someone’s race and culture

are not the focal point in a relationship, but instead something that is normal and

nothing to point out. This approach can be perceived as polarizing social issues in a

non-political way. Queer and interracial relationships, multiethnic families, and co-

parenting are all different types of situations that are normalized and accepted by both

the characters on the show and the audience .

A character that is part of interracial relationships during her time on the series is

Cristina Yang. Yang starts as a surgical resident and is a main character who started in

season one. She has had a few interracial relationships that have stood out as she, an

Asian doctor dates a Black doctor, Preston Burke . They are known as one of the shows

ultimate power couples as their relationship is complicated, messy and heartbreaking,

but none of these problems came from their differing races . They had a captivating,

romantic and sincere relationship that ultimately came to an end . They have the

common interest of being doctors but come from very different backgrounds, but this is

never addressed. The complications that may rise from an interracial relationship are
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never brought up. Instead of focusing on the race difference between the couple, other

differences are highlighted in the series. The personality so the characters is the main

focus, and this shows how the producers put more of a focus on factors other than race

when choosing who will play the part. The character Preston Burke, who is Cristina

Yang’s partner for some time in the series is played by Isaiah Washington . Isaiah would

be asked in many interviews about his character’s romance and he did not want to talk

about it because he believed that by drawing attention to their race will take away from

that fact that it is quietly and happily existing without being an issue . When there is not a

lot of focus on the race of a couple, it can disappear and become normalized in our

society. Another interracial couple on the show is Callie and Erica as well as Callie and

Arizona who also happen to be a lesbian couple . Grey’s Anatomy was the first show to

have a lesbian couple in a medical drama series . Callie and Erica focus on Callie

discovering her sexuality while Callie and Arizona focus on the problems of children and

infidelity, but none of these interracial couples mention their race .

Audience Reception

Grey’s Anatomy has been praised among critics. With such high ratings, it makes

sense that people have given such great feedback about the show . They have built a

very strong and loyal following that have fan accounts, blogs, social media pages and

more all dedicated to the show. Most people know who McDreamy is even if they have

not watched the show, because of the praise and word-of-mouth reviews about his

character. There are also many jokes on social media about how much this show has
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hurt them emotionally and how much pain it has put them through . There is a tweet that

asks “Who is the most interesting serial killer? Shonda Rhimes.” This is It is usually not

to be taken seriously, but it shows how much the audience connects with the characters

and how all the twists and turns really affects them .

When it comes to the interracial couples, there is not a lot of reviews that were

found that were specifically about the interracial couples, but instead talking about the

couples in general and how they were perceived . This is a great example of how

Shonda Rhimes executed her plan accurately and has the audience talking about the

couple’s personalities and not how they are great even though they are different races .

A Buzzfeed article mentions Cristina Yang and Preston Burke’s relationship and say,

“Has there been a more beautiful looking couple on our screens than Cristina and

Preston? Methinks not. But, looks aside, as much as I liked aspects of their relationship,

as a whole, I did not approve. I felt like Preston wanted Cristina to be someone she

wasn't, so as much as it pained me, I couldn't 100% support them . Their relationship

was constantly in a state of waiting for the other shoe to drop . Though, the scene when

Preston climbs into Cristina's hospital bed to comfort her in that mustard

turtleneck...gets me every time.” There are many different opinions about their

relationship where some people love them while others are sad about the ending and

how bumpy their relationship was. Another section about Cristina and Owen said,

“Passion for DAYS!! I know I'm gonna get shit for this, but I liked Owen and Cristina

together. There was passion and understanding between them, and, even though they

didn't stand the test of time, I'll always have a soft spot for Crowen . Not to mention,
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when homeboy pulled that icicle out of Cristina??” Once again, race was not mentioned

once or anything about how they had any cultural differences . The last comment about

Callie and Arizona said, “When Callie and Arizona were good, they were GOOD. They

loved and supported each other and encouraged each other’s growth . Arizona helped

Callie's dad come to terms with her sexuality and helped Callie becomes the boss lady

she was meant to be! Without standing in her way! They did have some rocky times,

A.P.C.(after plane crash), but B.P.C.? It was honestly just great seeing these two ladies

fall in love.” Many people have different opinions on the relationships that are in the

show, but there is so much talk about it because there are so many viewers and so

many people that get personally invested into the storyline, which is why it is on for its

15th season and the longest running medical drama on TV .

Works Cited

“About Grey's Anatomy TV Show Series.” ABC, abc.go.com/shows/greys-

anatomy/about-the-show.
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Davis, Arianna.“Why It's So Important Hollywood Is (Finally!) Normalizing Interracial

Love.” Interracial Couples Movies, TV Shows New Normal 2017,

www.refinery29.com/2017/08/167215/interracial-dating-normalized-movies-tv-

shows.

“GREY'S ANATOMY 13x20 ‘In the Air Tonight’ Photos.” ScreenSpy, 28 Mar.2017,

www.screenspy.com/articles/greys-anatomy-13x20-air-tonight-photos/.

“Interracial Relationships on 'Grey's Anatomy'.” Bitch Flicks,

www.btchflcks.com/2016/02/interracial-relationships-on-greys-anatomy.html.

“Loving v.Virginia.” Legal Information Institute, Legal Information Institute,

www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/388/1.

Nittle, Nadra Kareem.“Difficulties Faced by Interracial Couples Historically and

Today.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 25 May 2018, www.thoughtco.com/common-

problems-interracial-couples-have-faced-2834748.

Osifo, Ehis.“This Is The CORRECT Order Of ‘Grey's Anatomy’ Couples From Best To

Worst, And I Stand By Every Word.” BuzzFeed, BuzzFeed, 22 Jan.2019,

www.buzzfeed.com/ehisosifo1/greys-anatomy-couples-ranked.

“The War of 18-49, Grey's Anatomy.” Next-Level TV Ratings and Scheduling Analysis

at SpottedRatings.com, www.spottedratings.com/2010/07/war-of-18-49-greys-

anatomy.html.
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