My eldest sister, Katherine, was confabulating tonight at dinner about her favourite show, Grey’s Anatomy. She was imagining being one of its writers and the changes she would make. Her opinions about what is presently wrong with the show, got me to thinking about something that is most right about this recently started season five - the introduction of manly man, Dr. Owen Hunt, played by actor Kevin McKidd.
Major Hunt’s scenes in the season premiere on September 25th had him triaging victims from a car crash, performing a tracheotomy with a ball point pen and attending to “his patients” after he showed up at Seattle Grace in the ambulance with the EMTs. We witnessed him passionately trying to save the walking ability of one of the car crash victims, now a patient of Dr. Sheppard and Dr. Torres’. We also discovered that Major Hunt does not worry about stepping on toes when it comes to fighting for his patients. He accomplished all of this while injured, from being at the tail-end of the car crash domino himself. Once Chief of Surgery, Dr. Webber, ordered Dr. Cristina Yang to tend to Major Hunt’s injuries, he proceeded to staple his own skin without freezing it first . These are the things we know about manly man Major Owen Hunt so far. Oh yeah and that the army doc on leave from Iraq can kiss a woman and curl her toes, though Dr. Cristina Yang has yet to admit he did.
What sort of manly man he really is is quite unknown at this point, but my curiosity is piqued, my hopes are high and I am delighted by the chemistry between his portrayer Kevin McKidd and talented actress Sandra Oh. I hanker to know what makes Major Hunt tick, what his personal and professional history is, how he ended up in the military and does he always kiss women like he kissed Dr. Yang at the end of episode one, in my opinion the best TV first kiss in a decade. If my curiosity is shared by enough Grey’s fans, then there exists a real opportunity to write an unforgettable story.
My welcome of his character has got me considering whether there are less manly men about in 2008, on screen and in real life, such that when we see one, like Major Owen Hunt, we are struck by his testosterone-self? Is it possible North American men are not as brave anymore?
What a manly man is in 2008 is a hard enough question to answer in and of itself. My opinions are certainly from the female perspective.
It has always been easy and simplistic to see the competition between the male archetypes, if you will, with the men on one side who are gentlemen, who respect women as equals, are aware of their own feelings and take care of their families and on the other side guys whose manhood is reliant on macho behaviour, whose chauvinistic beliefs demand having control of 'their' women and are generally perceived as emotionally repressed.
But to me, the ‘greys’ somewhere in the middle of that continuum are the most interesting and definitely the more sexy. The manly men who can who trach your throat with a ball point pen, save your life and respect a women as equal to himself. Now that is sexy!
Who are these ‘grey’ manly men. Men of action. Brave men. Men who are ingenious. Men who see and act, not freeze, look away or walk away. Men who are passionate. As Major Hunt said to Dr. Yang, shortly after meeting her, “You should ditch this place. Go for the adventure. You telling me this place gives you a rush, a high”. Men who care. Men who say this is who I am, not as an excuse for any behaviour, but to own themselves and take responsibility for themselves. They hide behind no one. If something goes horribly wrong, these are the guys you want around. Hence Major Owen Hunt is a 'trauma' surgeon.
‘So’, I am looking forward to finding out what shade of grey this “Grey's” boy will be?
Sage Spencer
Next Blogum: November 2008
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