Ep. 49: Grey’s Anatomy S15E17 – “Tradition” with James Chee, Navajo character
This unfortunately came out in a year where we were graced with superior Native representation in television, Rutherford Falls and Reservation Dogs. Fortunately for us we know better now because of those shows. Grey’s Anatomy having Natives, at face value sounds amazing. The actual product though, left much to be desired. I felt like I was watching someone’s attempt at being respectful to Natives. It’s obvious that this was non-natives writing about native people. The representation felt romanticized, generalized, on the nose, and performative.
Overall, I love this show as a whole. I was so excited when I heard that Robert Mesa was playing James Chee, a Navajo intern and recurring character. So I was MORE excited when I heard an episode about Natives was coming and man did it fail to deliver. I’m happy though, had this come out a year ago I would have enjoyed it. Thankfully I have a graduated taste, thanks to the shows mentioned above.
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