My House Issues

[katallison]

I write this entry (which has been floating around in my head) with some trepidation; many of my friends are over-the-moon smitten with House, and I have no intention of raining on anyone's parade, pissing on anyone's cornflakes, or otherwise harshing the love. But there are reasons why I shall never, despite some geniune fondness for some aspects of this show, be able to be a *fan* of it, or in fact to watch it a whole lot, and I felt moved to type them out (possibly because I am cranky from spending way too much time in hospitals the last six months).

Disclaimer the first: I haven't seen all the episodes. I've seen maybe -- five? Six? Something like that, anyway. The last one I saw was the mysteriously-ill high school kids.

Disclaimer the second: My having reservations about something, or not liking something, implies *no* slur or disrespect toward people who unreservedly like that thing.

Having said which -- There's stuff I actually do like a lot about the show:

It's a by-god actual hour-long TV drama! With characters, and storylines, and dialogue! Not reality TV! This alone is (sadly, in our age) worth praise.

It seems on the whole to be well-written and well-acted.

In particular, Hugh Laurie is a whole big tasty bundle of rrRRAAWWRRrrrr, does a fantastic job in the role, and is clearly having a blast.

I love hospital series to an unreasonable degree; medicine really interests me, while at the same time I'm not enough of an expert to be bugged by inaccuracies/implausibilities in the show.

But I have one big difficult and apparently insuperable Issue:

It's the attitude. I mean, I'm not bothered that House is written as an arrogant, snarky, insulting SOB. I have been known to love such characters before (e.g., Methos, Toby, Ray Vecchio). And if the show was constructed so that the objects of his snark and arrogance were his peers, more or less (Cuddy, the members of his team, organized medicine in general) -- or if they were people who had in some way earned his attitude (say, if he were a help-desk tech for an ISP dealing with hordes of abusively clueless Entitlement Cases [and wouldn't that be a cool show?]) -- that would be just fine with me.

But. But.

The people on the show who frequently get the sharp edge of his tongue and his attitude are patients. As in, people who are sick, in pain, vulnerable, scared, and who have been thrown against their will into the meat-grinder that is Organized Medicine.

I know those people. I have *been* those people, from time to time. And I can tell you if there's one thing that truly and royally *pisses me off*, it's a doctor who pulls attitude on me--overrides me, dismisses me, implies that I'm stupid or hypochondriacal, plays the "I know better than you do" card. As House does, all the time, with his clinic patients.

And you know what? I don't *care* that he's a freakin' genius. I don't *care* that he's doing clinic rounds against his will. I don't *care* that he has chronic pain, and Issues, and whatthefuckever. He's being an asshole to people who are sick, in pain, vulnerable, and--relative to him--powerless. And in those moments he exemplifies everything I hate about the arrogance of Organized Medicine, a world where very real power differentials exist between patients and doctors, with results that range from the humiliating to the tragic.

And part of what's frustrating is that I can see how they've painted themselves into a corner on this one. I applaud, actually, a show that's willing to make their main character a right bastard; and if they relented and had a Very Special Moment on each show displaying him actually being a heck of a nice guy to his patients, it would undercut the audacity of that. ("Audacity" relative to the norms of mainstream US TV, that is.) Part of what I respect about the show is that they don't seem to take the easy fluffy-bunny way out on this; but they've placed House in one of the very few professions where consistent, across-the-board assholery is pretty much guaranteed to lose me, because it too closely and painfully reflects the ways that people in that profession do in fact abuse their power, and do actual damage to the lives of actual people in the process.

And there's a related issue -- I'm supposed to cut House some slack because he's portrayed as a diagnostic genius, but the fact is (at least, from everything I've heard from actual doctors) that diagnosis is as much art as science, that a lot of key information you gain about a patient comes not from lab reports or test results but from sitting with that person, closely observing, noting the nonverbal details of appearance and speech and manner. And asking questions in a way that will get honest unguarded responses, and truly listening to what is said. And he cuts himself off from all that data, which counts as willful stupidity in my book, and for no good reason. So he thinks all his patients lie to him? Well, no shit, the way he treats people, I'd lie to him too.

So. I repeat, perhaps needlessly, that I intend no slur towards those who dig the show--dude, I'm happy whenever anyone finds a new object of fannish love. I just wish I could enjoy it as fully, and am a little sad that I can't. But -- I can't.

Comments

[danielleleigh.livejournal.com]

The people on the show who frequently get the sharp edge of his tongue and his attitude are patients. As in, people who are sick, in pain, vulnerable, scared, and who have been thrown against their will into the meat-grinder that is Organized Medicine.


you are making a lot of excellent points, and I totally get where you are coming from...but I've started to take a different perspective. I don't think we are necessarily supposed to forgive him because he is "diagnostic genius" - I think we are probably supposed to empathize because it is clear that he, too, has been vulnerable to the fragility of his own body and chances are? He didn't deal with at particularly well at the time (this is probably a massive understatement) and he isn't dealing well with the aftermath (I think last night's episode did a lot of work on this issue, I don't want to spoil you because it appears you haven't seen it?)

I'm not trying to convince you out of your reaction - I think that the text is fairly ambiguous in a lot of ways. I just think I've started it reading it in a way that allows me to understand how he can say such terrible things to his patients (to be fair he actually tries NOT to interact - he sends his interns as his "human face" and I suspect he actually knows what he is doing when he does that.) and still be a person I want to know *more* about.

Also, this was an excellent meta-post on a show I have a hard time thinking about analytically.

[violetisblue.livejournal.com]

A genuine question, as I've seen even less of the show than you have: Are they justifiying his attitude with "Hey, he's a genius" moments or are they just sort of matter-of-factly portraying the fact that a lot of doctors are in fact power-tripping assholes? (Disclaimer: There's little else you'd expect a plaintiff's medmal attorney whose mother got royally fucked over by the medical system to say, I realize.) If the latter, I think that may be part of the show's popularity--Marcus Welby and that whole saintly mythological bullshit finally put to rest--if the former, well, typical Hollywood copout.

Your description reminds me of the stories my mother (an ER nurse, now retired) likes to tell of when she was working at Mass General under a literally world-famous pediatric heart surgeon--she remembers him literally screaming at the top of his lungs at the parents of patients, keep in mind these are the terrified parents of an infant with life-threatening congenital heart problems, and everyone put up with it because, well, he saved their kids. Was he using his skill and prestige as an excuse to be a horrible human being? Hell, yeah. Lots of doctors and other skilled professionals do that, more's the pity, so maybe again that's the attraction, that House seems like a much truer portrayal from the public's POV.

That said, I totally and completely understand why you wouldn't want to watch a character like that as entertainment. I don't think I would either, there's too many personal issues involved for me.

[minim_calibre]

If you search the archives at Slate (I'd do it, but I'm on my way out the door for a childbirth class), there's an article on House by, IIRC, a doctor, who has many of the same complaints that you do, and points out that no way no how would that be allowed in the reality the writer lives in.

[caille.livejournal.com]

Interesting observations. I have no basis on which to criticize this show, because I've never seen it. Several people I know love it, which would normally be enough to get me to watch it...except what I'd read of it gave me the creeps.

Did you ever watch "Absolutely Fabulous"? I enjoyed that show. It was savage, but in the end, it was comedy. I guess there was some talk about doing a U.S. version, but apparently it never went anywhere because the American showrunners kept wanting to make Eddie and Patsy have hearts of gold. The original show never even hinted at that. These were two fucked up, mean, hilarious people, all crunch, no ooey gooey center.

But for a drama, I can't handle a similar kind of emotional disconnection. I started watching that Denis Leary show, "Rescue Me", and about 15 minutes into it, I turned it off. There just wasn't anything I could hang on to. It was all brittle, acrid and jaggedy. I remember a scene (for one example) when Leary or somebody is yelling at a squad of firemen (during training) and calling them pussies. Is it realistic? I have no doubt. Does it need to be watched by moi? No.

Maybe it's post BtVS/AtS burnout, or maybe it's Abu Ghraib, or maybe it's just my brain misfiring, but I can't pay attention if the main theme is bleak isolation or mundane cruelty. Maybe I just don't appreciate realism.

I mean, I don't need things to be all pretty. I just saw "Million Dollar Baby", and I appreciate the heck out of that film. But I can't sit through the CSI franchise, or that "Nip/Tuck" series....

Okay, well, here's your LJ back. Sorry about the rantism.

[harriet-spy.livejournal.com]

And I can tell you if there's one thing that truly and royally *pisses me off*, it's a doctor who pulls attitude on me--overrides me, dismisses me, implies that I'm stupid or hypochondriacal, plays the "I know better than you do" card. As House does, all the time, with his clinic patients.

Honestly, when I saw the promo campaign, I rolled my eyes and said, "Do we really need *more* arrogant, condescending doctors on TV? 'Cause I get enough of that in real life."

I know that some of my friends who like the show have had similar frustrations with the world of medicine, so I'm not sure why they don't have the same response. I haven't raised the issue, because I haven't watched, so I wouldn't be able to discuss the nuances.

[luminosity]

Your complaints here? Settle it for me. I work for a brilliant neurosurgeon who borders on asshole everyday. If I weren't so prickly *at* him and valued by him, I could be run over by his assholiness. I don't need to see that in my entertainment. No matter what the character's reasons.

[destina.livejournal.com]

The people on the show who frequently get the sharp edge of his tongue and his attitude are patients.

Your post really strikes home with me, and you've put your finger on the majority of what I dislike about the show. House as a diagnostician sucks mightily, yea and verily. And he sucks at patient care, too, which is critical to what he does. The show can be very sharp, and interesting, but it's the kind of sharp that gets on my nerves, rather than the kind that intrigues me. I've been really shutting down in response to people who tell me/explain how I'm wrong not to love the show. They mean well, in their attempts to convert the world -- I've been there myself, with various fandoms, and pimping can be a beautiful thing; I highly endorse it -- but this show frequently annoys me and turns me off, on many levels.

[j-bluestocking.livejournal.com]

You know, what you're saying about House's manner with patients is utterly true. And it's something that I hate and despise in real life. In real life, my fantasy would be to be on the other end, using the sharp edge of my tongue to tell off the doctor.

And yet, it doesn't bother me in the show. I'm willing to give him a dramatic pass, and I'm not entirely sure why. It's partly, I suppose, because over the past few years I've met more people that I'd have simply pegged as assholes in the past, whom I now find to be "bright but deeply troubled." The fact that it's pretty much always "showtime" for House argues that he's one of these people; clearly, to him, patients are not really in a separate class, the way they are to many doctors. They are one with the rest of the world, the world he tries so assiduously to avoid.

I don't know if that's it entirely for me, but that's certainly part of it. If I only knew House as a patient, I'd walk away muttering under my breath. But if I had to spend days and days with him, I'd see him quite differently. As the audience, we're privileged with that overview the characters within the reality don't get -- in that, the writers of the show are using the same successful dramatic technique that's been used forever for the good old "dark lord" archetype. He allows people to think he's a schmuck when there are times he could easily set them straight -- but pride will not allow it -- and he'll often do terrible things for a good reason that not everybody can see.

Now that I think about it, it's kind of a classic. :)

Of course, I recently had a conversation with a colleague that went:

Colleague: "You're the only person I've met who ever speaks of that man with anything but hatred."
Me: "Well, he is kind of a sociopath. But he was always willing to push the envelope for the sake of the project." (As they look at me funny:) "Hey, I don't ask a lot of the people I work with."

[ardent-muses.livejournal.com]

I think your issues are totally reasonable and they make me wonder why I like the show so much. In real life, I prefer to shun people who are half the asshole House is. (If they do, indeed, come in halves.) On the show? I'm fascinated by the character. I don't *like* him, and I don't really want to like him. Like you, I think he's reprehensible -- I actually get more angry at him when he tells off parents and spouses than when he tells off the sick people -- but I still find him mesmerizing.

But then, I've really liked Hugh Laurie for a long time so I'm probably cutting the character more slack than he deserves.

And I need another show. I get tired of watching Due South DVDs. *G*

[brancher.livejournal.com]

All along, I've referred to this show as Richard the Third: M.D. And I think your problems will vanish if you stop perceiving House as a hero. He's not. He's a villian, and the show is built around villiany.

I'm fond of villians, and Richard III is my favorite. He's a beautiful monster. His psychological twists have some obvious roots: in a great production I saw, the actor playing Richard made a great show of getting down on her (yes, her - she was brilliant) knees before the king, wrestling with the gimp leg to do so, and it made you think that Richard wanted to off everyone and ascend the throne just so he wouldn't have to fucking bow any more. And then there's the verbal brilliance of the character, the incredible poetry of maliciousness. You see the parallels.

Great villians -- Richard, Macbeth, Lex Luthor -- all are great because their villiany encompasses some human virtue twisted and made malevolent. Pride, independance, ambition, even empathy. I think House empathizes with his patients. Their helplessness reminds terribly him of his own, and his disgust for himself becomes his rancor at them. It's horrible, it's a tragedy that he is like this, but it's fascinating to watch.

He's a very human character. There are things to admire in him -- his obvious intelligence, his pride, his verbal wit. But his thinly disguised self-pity and bitterness well up and overwhelm him. He's like a man clinging to beam in a stormy sea. I watch the show to see what will happen if, inevitably, he looses his grasp.

Hugh Laurie is late to Richard III practice...

[viedma.livejournal.com]

Having a wife who's a med-mal attorney has soured me on any prima-donna attitudes doctors (real or fictional) have. Then there's the fact that Laurie will never stop being Wooster to me, so the grumpiness seems a bit much. I don't think anyone who's been in your shoes for the past few months can be expected to have any sympathy towards someone who's supposed to be *doing his job*.

Much love to you, Kat. I know you've been through a lot lately. ::squeeze::

House? Not in my house.

[namastenancy.livejournal.com]

I love it that you can so eloquently state why I don't like the show. I tried to watch it; after all, there isn't a lot on TV these days that interests me. But I worked in hospitals for over 30 years and I just can't stand another arrogant, rude MD-asshat who is supposed to be some sort of (anti) hero. I can respect medical knowledge while deploring their behavior. Having been the brunt of the most vicious politics at UC, I just can't watch the show - the rudeness, cutting cruely and self righteousness made me physically ill. Laurie is a brilliant actor and I wish him well - but in another venue.

I'm with you on the being sad; a lot of people are crazy about Lost but, while I enjoy it, I'm not a big fan. So, I guess I'll just go back to the painting and the calligraphy.
Take care, ma cherie! I know that you've been through a difficult time

namaste SF Nancy

[leadensky.livejournal.com]

Haven't seen the show, so I'm just talking off your post.

There are two things I get told over and over - first, You will miss a hundred things by not looking before you miss one thing by not knowing. (Which harkens back to your comment on how diagnosises are actually made.)

The second one is The patients (clients) don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. You're not going to get all the info you need until you get their trust. And if they don't trust you, they aren't going to listen when you tell them yes, you really need to undergo this procedure/take this nasty medicine/listen to me and stop your unhealthy habits.

Having said all that, have they shown a patient yet who tells the nurse one thing, the attending physician another, House himself something else, and lies the whole time?

Just as people never remember the good docs, only the rude assholes, docs and nurses never remember the good, smart, helpful patients, only the rude, disrespectful ones who threaten to sue at the drop of a hat, try to lie so they can get controlled drugs, or who beg for special payment arrangements and then stiff the clinic for the bill.

Oh, for a perfect world where one only had to deal with "the right sort of people." *g*

- hossgal