The Resident is a popular television medical drama which airs on the FOX network. The program just completed its first season and has been renewed for a second. Like many of its predecessors such as E.R. and Chicago Hope, as well as early entries in the genre such as Dr. Kildare and Ben Casey, The Resident features a young, caring doctor regularly at odds with his bureaucratic superiors because he places his patients’ needs as his top priority. Unlike the earlier programs, though, The Resident situates the healthcare system’s moral and ethical obligations to its patients at the center of every story. With a prominent political agenda, The Resident portrays hospital administrators and high ranking physicians as favoring financial and personal interests over patient needs. Therefore, this paper seeks to examine how The Resident positions the audience to view hospitals and doctors, as well as the American healthcare system as a whole. Ultimately, the paper will demonstrate how The Resident conveys ideologically that the American healthcare system is deeply flawed and in need of a major overhaul.
About the presenterMichael Moeder
Michael Moeder is an assistant professor in the Communication Department at Salisbury University. He is a member of the Media Studies track and teaches courses in mass media analysis and writing. Moeder received his Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Missouri and his dissertation examined the narrative structure of the television sitcom. In regard to research, Moeder is interested in the way entertainment programming shapes viewers’ values and attitudes.