Topic > Death and Dying in TV Shows

Death is everywhere around us. It's as natural as living and happens in different ways. We base how we handle death on the situation. Using examples from the television shows Orange is the New Black and Scrubs, I will discuss our society's understanding of death and dying by comparing death in hospitals to that in prisons. The depictions of these programs are quite accurate, since they are still fiction. I will also reference similarities to Dying, Death, and Bereavement articles by Dickinson and Leming to support my examples. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Hospitals see death, probably, more than anywhere else. Scrubs explores this reality and how addicts mentally deal with death. In the world of doctors and nurses, caring for the sick and dying is a daily task. While it can be overwhelming work, it teaches the inevitability of death as a part of life. Funeral directors also bring with them their experiences with death (Wilde 128), so doctors are not the only ones who often face death. In this show, JD experiences death in his first days working as a resident. His patient refuses dialysis, stating that she is dying and that saving her life at this point is useless. On the same day, the patients of Turk and Elliot, friends of JD, also die. Unlike JD, they had tried to save their patients who ended up dying anyway. This teaches the three doctors a valuable lesson that day; they must learn to see death daily. They learn that they can delay death, but they cannot stop it. Anyone involved in medical sciences must deal with health-related issues, which regularly involve the possibility of death. And with this comes responsibility for the lives of patients. When this is a job expectation, it is reasonable for doctors to feel remorse when a patient dies in the line of duty. Doctor Cox feels guilty for the death of a patient he had been treating for some time. He temporarily entrusted his patient to JD because he was busy and the patient died during that time. He blames himself and struggles to forgive himself. Similarly, in “The Promise of Presence,” Dr. Rousseau also feels that he has failed in his life (82). This is, in fact, a problem in the medical field. Trying to save everyone is an impossible goal, but doctors attempt to achieve this goal with each dying patient. Death is inevitable and mistakes happen, even among professionals. Taking blame is natural when the job is to care for the patient. While this is a reality, it should not discourage doctors from trying to save future patients. Compassion is necessary in the medical field. Genuinely caring for patients is essential to the job. The only question is to what extent doctors should take their compassion into consideration. One of JD's patients will die during the night and will have no family with him. JD neglects him at first, since he had made plans with Turk that night. However, JD and Turk decide to spend the night with him instead and discuss life and death all night. The two doctors realize that death terrifies them even though they see it every day. The patient is also terrified, but feels comfortable knowing that he will die. He may have been able to accept it on his own, even if it was good for him to spend his last hours in company. Even if doctors are helpful, patients spend too much time alone in their rooms, especially at the end of their lives. Turk and JD are thoughtful enough to.