Sunday, September 30, 2007

"Grey's Anatomy"


One of my favorite shows on TV today is Grey’s Anatomy. The cast and plot keep me coming back each week, and waiting in anticipation for new seasons to begin. The show has a variety of actors, coming from very different backgrounds, racially and ethnically. The chief of all the doctors there is played by an African American actor, James Pickens, Jr. who attended Bowling Green State University. He has the highest position with the most authority on the show. The head resident doctor is played by an African American woman actress, Chandra Wilson. She is portrayed as an angry black woman, always yelling and bossing people around the hospital. Another doctor is played by a black man, actor Isaiah Washington. These three obviously have brains because they are in top positions at a prestigious hospital, unlike in the old days when black people were depicted as being uneducated and unable to live a comfortable life.
In Hollywood throughout the years, there were very few African American actors and actresses. As shown in the movie, “Ethnic Notions,” black people were played by white actors in black face. Once black actors made it through to Hollywood, they too had to paint themselves in blackface to look even blacker than their normal skin color. As time went on, there were next to no Hollywood productions that starred an African American actor. Eventually, African Americans had minor roles in shows and movies. Usually these roles were stereotypical of African Americans, showing them as underprivileged, uneducated, or the bad guy after the innocent white girl. But not until recent decades did African Americans have leading roles in a movie or TV show, or even star in their own movies. Also, not until recently were African Americans toping Hollywood income charts, and topping the Hollywood box offices with their starring movies. Today, Will Smith, Denzel Washington, and Halle Berry are just some of the actors and actresses who top Forbes Magazines top paid actors lists (forbes.com).
Even though this is a fictional show, it is realistic and show that today African Americans have not only climbed up the ladder when is comes to high paying jobs, but also in the film industry and well-known and high paid actors.

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