The Human Side of Medicine
A REFLECTION OF SEASON 1 OF THE GOOD DOCTOR
This is my first reflection of a television series, but it won't be the last. Not very often does a TV show capture the rawness of being human. Not very often does a TV show get real with its audience.
TV has been ruled by the sitcom since the 1980s, situational comedies that ultimately fall short of capturing the complexity and authenticity of the human experience. They give us a laugh and they have their place, but where they fall short is continually challenging us and the way we see the world around us.
When a show gives us insight in a realm of our world that is meant to be unemotional, nonhuman, and insensitive with morally ambiguous characters we wish we could know personally in our lives, it becomes a buffet of entertainment in our binge watching hulu universe. When celebrating diversity isn't a cheesy Saturday morning cartoon and when they present both sides of controversial situations, that type of show draws you in and makes you think on what it means to be human.
As someone in a family of medical professionals, the Good Doctor personifies the struggles of those we take for granted, experts entrusted with our very lives, who revel in saving lives but must forever carry the burden of remembering every patient that dies on their watch. And then when they are on the receiving end of care, when their knowledge is a curse rather than a blessing, all that is left is to call in sick, take a drive, and run on love, hope, and a friend. Like Bob Ross said, everyone needs friend. Like Mr. Roger's said, won't you be my neighbor?
Because it is in those moments when our world comes crashing down, when we lack the will to carry on, that we have those that will fight our battles until we see hope cut through the darkness like a scalpel. And those same friends who will hold us to a higher standard of integrity, come what may.
May you have friends that love you enough to celebrate when you get lucky and believe in you when you make mistakes and fight for you when all hope is lost. Just beware of the ones who steal your 70in television to watch March Madness and doesn't even invite you to the poker party. Yeah, those type of "friends" you can live without.
~Michael DeNobile
This is my first reflection of a television series, but it won't be the last. Not very often does a TV show capture the rawness of being human. Not very often does a TV show get real with its audience.
TV has been ruled by the sitcom since the 1980s, situational comedies that ultimately fall short of capturing the complexity and authenticity of the human experience. They give us a laugh and they have their place, but where they fall short is continually challenging us and the way we see the world around us.
When a show gives us insight in a realm of our world that is meant to be unemotional, nonhuman, and insensitive with morally ambiguous characters we wish we could know personally in our lives, it becomes a buffet of entertainment in our binge watching hulu universe. When celebrating diversity isn't a cheesy Saturday morning cartoon and when they present both sides of controversial situations, that type of show draws you in and makes you think on what it means to be human.
As someone in a family of medical professionals, the Good Doctor personifies the struggles of those we take for granted, experts entrusted with our very lives, who revel in saving lives but must forever carry the burden of remembering every patient that dies on their watch. And then when they are on the receiving end of care, when their knowledge is a curse rather than a blessing, all that is left is to call in sick, take a drive, and run on love, hope, and a friend. Like Bob Ross said, everyone needs friend. Like Mr. Roger's said, won't you be my neighbor?
Because it is in those moments when our world comes crashing down, when we lack the will to carry on, that we have those that will fight our battles until we see hope cut through the darkness like a scalpel. And those same friends who will hold us to a higher standard of integrity, come what may.
May you have friends that love you enough to celebrate when you get lucky and believe in you when you make mistakes and fight for you when all hope is lost. Just beware of the ones who steal your 70in television to watch March Madness and doesn't even invite you to the poker party. Yeah, those type of "friends" you can live without.
~Michael DeNobile
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