Metro Australia — January 2018

(WallPaper) #1
http://www.metromagazine.com.au | © ATOM | Metro Magazine 195• 63

characters, the stresses of ambition, the technicalities
RI PHGLFLQH DQG SDUWLFXODUO\ WKH LQWHQVLW\ RI VXUJHU\
In Australia, the most iconic show of this kind is
"NTMSQX /Q@BSHBD 6HW LQ D VPDOO WRZQ LQ 1HZ 6RXWK
Wales, it works hard to depict a slice of Australian life.
7KH ĺFWLWLRXV UXUDO FRPPXQLW\ RI :DQGLQ 9DOOH\ SURYLGHV
the backdrop for an underrepresented part of the country



  • away from the achromatic suburbs of-DHFGANTQR, less
    political and volatile than/QHRNMDQPRUHZRUNLQJFODVV
    than3GD 2TKKHU@MR.
    6LJQLĺFDQWO\/TKRD’s casting knowingly mirrors Western
    6\GQH\pV PXOWLFXOWXUDO GHPRJUDSKLF PDNHXS^2 certainly,
    it would have been a failure on the show’s part had it
    cast in the manner of the largely homogenous KK 2@HMSR,
    or laboured the narrative by having ‘an “ethnic” story
    to tell’.A key success of/TKRDis its normalisation of
    diverse representation. It not only depicts patients and
    GRFWRUV DOLNH DV ĻDZHG DQG KXPDQ EXW DOVR WDNHV XS
    ZKHUH "NTMSQX /Q@BSHBDleft off in terms of bringing real
    $XVWUDOLD WR RXU VFUHHQV
    While the performances are consistent throughout/TKRD,
    there is always a tension between believability and the
    overplaying of roles. There are doctors ticking boxes in
    FKHFNOLVWV VXFK DV DQDHVWKHVLRORJLVW 0RQLFD 5HQHH /LP 
    DQG GRFWRUV ODXGHG DV PDUW\UV VXFK DV (OL 7KHUH DUH WKH
    RYHUFRQĺGHQW OLNH 5RZDQ %OHVVLQJ 0RNJRKORD  DQG WKH
    \RXQJ DQG QHUYRXV OLNH 7DEE $UND 'DV  7KHUH DUH WKRVH
    who are there for the patients, like Berger, and those there
    WR FOLPE ODGGHUV OLNH 7DQ\D 3DOODYL 6KDUGD  :KLOH WKHVH
    characterisations make for an interesting story, there is little
    that is underplayed by the cast It is only the role of ward
    nurse Carol (played by "NTMSQX /Q@BSHBD’s Penny Cook)
    that is afforded a sparseness, making room for an under
    stated physicality in Cook’s performance.
    The busyness of the script perhaps aims to replicate
    the relentlessness of the job. We’re made privy to the hours
    spent on tired feet, the meals skipped, the furrowed brows,
    the takeaway coffees drunk on the move. We see the inability
    to spend time on the detail because new patients need triag
    ing, and the constant pressure to clear beds. We hear the
    ticking clock that runs against the question, ‘What have we
    PLVVHG"p $V VKH LV RIWHQ VHHQ ĻXVWHUHG RYHUKHDWLQJ WDNLQJ
    desperate sips of water when she can, Frankie’s frustration
    at the lack of time and resources resonates. The pressure of
    staying well while giving her best to her job, of looking after
    herself to be able to look after others, is a constant push and
    pull, impacting her ability to provide empathetic care.


The extent of empathy


As patients, we want doctors to see into our world – to
see the frustration in the everyday things we’re forced to
endure by our ill health: the restless nights, the diminished
social lives, the numbness from the meds. We want them
WR XQGHUVWDQG WKDW ZKHQ \RX FDQpW EH \RXUVHOI \RXU IUXV
tration has to come out somehow, whether that means not
doing your exercises, or drinking too much, or not taking
PHGLFDWLRQV ZKLOH ZLWK IULHQGV t DV ZH VHH LQ ORQJWHUP
UHQDO SDWLHQW .HOO\ -HOHQD 0LOLQNRYLF  ZKR MXVW ZDQWV WR
EH D QRUPDO WHHQDJHU EXW HQGV XS EDFN LQ KRVSLWDO VHYHUHO\
dehydrated and at risk of putting herself on regular dialysis.
When Frankie stops to hold a patient’s hand or spend a
few extra minutes with a family member – as she does for


SDWLHQW =RH 0HQGRVD 0HOLVVD %RQQH DQG KHU KXVEDQG DQG
son – her patients feel less like they’re being lectured to,
and more like they’re being cared for.
/TKRDPD\ ORRN OLNH MXVW DQRWKHU PHGLFDO GUDPD RQ ĺUVW
impression, but it takes us to places that series that have
come before haven’t. It shows us the lives of both patients
and doctors. It shows us what a hospital really looks like
and how it really functions./TKRDLV DERXW WKRVH ZKR VXU
vive and those who are left behind, and the little hidden
moments that often mean the most.
As the series reaches its conclusion, Berger – forced
WR WDNH LQGHĺQLWH OHDYH LQ RUGHU WR KDYH VXUJHU\ WR VDYH
KLV OLIH t GRQDWHV D NLGQH\ WR .HOO\ -XVW DV WKH NLGQH\ LV
removed, complications from his own illness lead to his
death. The hospital, its staff, its patients and, of course,
)UDQNLH DUH GHYDVWDWHG :KHQ .HOO\ ZDNHV DQG DVNV DIWHU
Berger, Frankie replies, ‘He’s done well’ – putting her at
ease and allowing her to recover from surgery.
But/TKRDLVQpW DERXW ORVV LWpV DERXW UHQHZDO t WKH VHF
ond chances, the friendships and bonds that come from
DGYHUVLW\ DVNLQJ IRU KHOS DQG WDNLQJ LW ZKHQ LWpV JLYHQ ,WpV
DERXW WKH OHJDF\ RI LOOQHVV DQG WKH VFDUV WKDW LQIRUP HP
pathy. We don’t always see what’s going on behind the
scenes of a hospital, but this seriesproves that that doesn’t
mean it’s not worthy of our attention, or our thanks.

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/programs/pulse/

Kylie Maslen is a writer and events producer from Adelaide.
She writes on topics including cultural criticism, women’s
GD@KSG @MC GDQ KNUD NE TRSQ@KH@M 1TKDRENNSA@KK
'DQVDARHSD
HR http://kyliemaslen.com>. m

Endnotes

(^1) /HVOLH -DPLVRQ o7KH (PSDWK\ ([DPVp7KH %HOLHYHU )HEUXDU\
 KWWSVZZZEHOLHYHUPDJFRPLVVXHV"UHDG
DUWLFOHBMDPLVRQ!DFFHVVHG}2FWREHUHPSKDVLV
LQ RULJLQDO
(^2) ‘Pulse([WUDV t 6HULHV  5HDO &DVWLQJp $%& LYLHZ 2FWREHU
<KWWSLYLHZDEFQHWDXSURJUDPVSXOVHH[WUDV'0
+6! DFFHVVHG  2FWREHU 
(^3) Denise Eriksen, ‘Pulse $%&pV 1HZ 6HULHV ,V WKH $XVVLHGrey’s
Anatomy’,The New Daily  -XO\  KWWSWKHQHZGDLO\
FRPDXHQWHUWDLQPHQWWYSXOVHWYVKRZDEF>,
DFFHVVHG}2FWREHU

Free download pdf