Rainclouds convey sense of depression, wetness
SEATTLE, WA - A cancer-ridden teenager decides to give up after a long fight. An on-again, off-again relationship comes to a final close (maybe). A marriage ends, leaving nothing but pain and misery. And all the while, angry, dark shadows move menacingly across the sky, finally bursting forth in a melancholy deluge. Of…tears?
Producers of the hit ABC whine-fest Grey’s Anatomy used a thunderstorm last week to illustrate the emotional states of the characters, putting to rest once and for all rumors that everything is happy and sunny at Seattle Grace Hospital.
“There’s a lot of drama going on here,” says writer Paul Riley. “And we really needed a way to convey that. After countless hours in that writer’s room, we finally came up with the perfect meteorological phenomenon to represent that all that powerful passion. It was pretty amazing.”
Riley goes on to claim that this is the first time ever in the history of television that a thunderstorm has been used to symbolize misery. “See, the dark clouds mean that people are feeling pretty grumpy,” he explains further. “And the thunder and lightning - that means that there’s a lot of anxiety and turbulence going on inside. And the rain - well, it sounds a little crazy, but when you think about it, really think about it, precipitation looks a lot like human tears. So what we did there at the very end, when George approaches Callie and she’s just standing out there in the rain - that’s just a big metaphor for her sorrow. Her ’saditude’, if you will.”
Due to the success of the thunderstorm breakthrough, writers are already planning to include more weather-related symbolism, including an earthquake to illustrate the bumpy relationship between the Grey sisters, a drought to denote McSteamy’s current sex life, and a blizzard to represent the harsh, frigid womb of Dr. Christina Yang.
~TVoD
Posted in Grey's Anatomy on October 24th, 2007 | |