TV Series: Greys Anatomy - Essay Example

Grey’s anatomy Grey’s anatomy is arguably one of the most watched television programs in the United s of America. The television show, which falls in the drama genre of television programs, revolves around the daily lives of surgeons at a local hospital. The drama explores the daily activities of the surgeons, the challenges that the career presents to the surgeons and how amicably they solve their problems. The stories of each episode develop from the lead actor, Meredith Grey a denizen of the health facility and the relationship between her and her husband Derek Shepherd and other doctors at the Seattle Grace Hospital. Market model of media contents dictate that media practitioners develop content that appeal to the market. The market in this aspect refers to the consumers of the mass media product. In this, a program developer considers the trends in the market and incorporates them in the program to help capture the intended market (Crain 31). Grey’s anatomy is a drama revolving around the lives and activities of surgeons at a local hospital. The choice of surgeons and a hospital for a setting should tell a lot about the program, its developer and the primary target. The process of developing a program relies heavily on creativity alongside knowledge on a particular field. The developer has therefore studied the market but he has knowledge on the practices of doctors and the structure of their daily lives. He therefore infuses his knowledge on human psychology with his understanding of the human behavior to develop a hilarious drama that targets a general viewer. The program’s primary target is any adult most preferably a family man or woman. This gives the developer a great opportunity to expand the viewership of his show as much as he is best capable. The show addresses issues that affect most families and relationships. The themes of friendships, trust and betrayals are common in daily lives and the developer espouses on these so clearly only that he uses a hospital setting. The effect of the setting is to expand the viewership thus the primary market. Everyone has at one time gone to a hospital and entrusted the doctors who receive credits every time a patient recovers. Patients believe in doctors, it thus becomes interesting to have an opportunity to watch how doctors live their lives and the factors that affect their productivity at the health facilities. The developer manipulates this strength of his show in amassing viewership. This way, he keeps the program relevant to the ever expanding market. The public sphere model on the other hand analyses the role that media contents have on the public. As public communicators, creators of media content have obligations to the public. The main purposes of the mass media content are to educate, inform and entertain. However, in doing these the contents must uphold the societal norms and values thereby playing a part in developing a holistic society. Grey’s anatomy entertains, informs and educates depending on how an audience views the program. The developer lays much emphasis on the essence of relationships both at work place and in social places and he cleverly develops how stress from one relationship affects the productivity of yet another. For psychologists and behavior scientists, the program is educative enough on developing and maintaining healthy relationships. In doing these, the television program uses characters and themes. These require precise balance to avoid misleading the public or imparting vices on the viewers (Crain 71). The program shows at nine in some states and some different hours either later or earlier depending on the time zones of each state. This implies that the viewership is difficult to predict and may include minors. The program runs a parental guidance warning an indication of the producer’s attempt to safeguard the interests of the society by letting only the adult access the contents of the products. However, the warning alone is ever effective in keeping minors from accessing the content; the producer therefore has an additional responsibility of ensuring that relevant content is relayed to relevant consumers. This he does by regulating his content. The themes of the drama are familiar themes and the characters dress modestly and use modest language. This way, the producer rests assured that his content does not have any adverse effect on the viewer. The public sphere model and the market model may at times conflict since some of the features that may expand the market for particular media content maybe derogatory to the public. The producer thus has a responsibility of striking a balance by understanding both his market and the public and ensuring that he takes care of all the structures of the society and develops a piece that neither destroys the societal values nor loses market. The American society is a multiethnic one; the producer reflects this by using both black and white characters and apportions them roles regardless of their orientations (Crain 43). While this looks ordinary, some sensitive members of the society identify it. The producer thus needs caution in balancing stratifications when developing media content since they invoke emotions a feature that may affect the market balance. Industrialization of the mind is a relative feature of most media content. This depends on the type of audience that accesses a program. Just as stated earlier, different stratifications exist in the society all of which result in different types of viewers. Such factors as the educational level of the audience determine the level of understanding and interpretation they have on the contents. Media contents should always spark some form of mental activity on the audience in terms of understanding and interpretation. However, the type of interpretation that viewers have on the program depends on other features. Greys’ anatomy invokes mental activity in the viewers. It gets viewers thinking along different social and economic lines but all these depend on the viewer. Producers should exercise restraint in ensuring that their contents do not spark wrongful mental interpretation of the programs. From the interpretation of television programs and other media, the content affects the audience thereby resulting in different people referred to as audience commodity. The audience commodity behaves in accordance to their interpretation and understanding of the media content and the intensity of the interaction with the same. Content developers owe the society this much. Hey must ensure that the media content they produce are either better people are unaffected by the programs. Grey’s anatomy results in holistic individuals who are better equipped with life skills on how to handle social relationship and how best to disassociate such relationship from professional life. All these come out clearly on the dramas as the characters struggle with their double lives. Work cited Crain, William. Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc, 2011. Print Read More