Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2011 Mar;32(1):31-46.
doi: 10.1007/s10912-010-9124-2.

The doctor(s) in house: an analysis of the evolution of the television doctor-hero

Affiliations
Comparative Study

The doctor(s) in house: an analysis of the evolution of the television doctor-hero

Elena C Strauman et al. J Med Humanit. 2011 Mar.

Abstract

The medical drama and its central character, the doctor-hero have been a mainstay of popular television. House M.D. offers a new (and problematic) iteration of the doctor-hero. House eschews the generic conventions of the "television doctor" by being neither the idealized television doctor of the past, nor the more recent competent but often fallible physicians in entertainment texts. Instead, his character is a fragmented text which privileges the biomedical over the personal or emotional with the ultimate goal of scientifically uncovering and resolving instances of disease. This article examines the implicit and explicit messages in House M.D. and critically analyzes both the show and its lead character in relation to the traditional medical drama genre that highlights the "doctor-hero" as the central character. While at first House seems to completely violate narrative and generic norms, ultimately the program provides a new form that reinforces the presence of the doctor-hero, but highlights House's character as the central figure who is personally and interpersonally problematic but biomedically effective.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Theor Med. 1996 Jun;17(2):175-87 - PubMed
    1. J Commun. 1976 Spring;26(2):173-99 - PubMed
    1. Lancet. 1996 May 4;347(9010):1240-3 - PubMed
    1. J Drug Educ. 1987;17(3):245-60 - PubMed
    1. JAMA. 1993 Feb 24;269(8):1012-7 - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources