The 'wokeness' of ER
We've been talking about these things for decades
If you know me, you know I’ve been in an ER marathon since the last episode of The Pitt aired in April. I immediately fell in love with Noah Wyle, his gritty confidence in the emergency room was exciting to consume. The Pitt covers a lot of ground in its 15 episodes. Everything from a measles outbreak to a mass shooting to a teen abortion. It feels like it comes from today, the chaotic and tense America I endure daily. This is why I’m shocked that ER covers many of the same topics.
ER premiered in 1994, a year before I arrived earth-side,1 and quickly became a show to watch. It starred George Clooney, Julianna Margulies, Anthony Edwards, Eriq La Salle, William H. Macy, and of course, Noah Wyle. In the ninth episode, medical student John Carter (Wyle) cares for a trans woman who ends up jumping off the roof because of the deep depression she feels due to the lack of acceptance. That aired in 1994!
There’s abortion and HIV and class consciousness and a ton of conversations on race. One of my favorite couplet of episodes is called ‘Lockdown‘ and features a monkeypox outbreak, which felt all too familiar post Covid. In season nine — which aired in 2002, the leading storyline is about a trans girl whose own mother won’t affirm her identity. The episode ends with her mom cutting her hair and giving her clothes for a boy.
In many ways, I was shocked by the forward thinking of ER. It really was a groundbreaking show of its time. But if I think more deeply, it makes me upset, angry, frustrated. This show averaged anywhere from 19 to 30 million viewers every episode. Unlike the hit shows of today, ER was a monolith. Talk to anyone who was a functioning adult in the 90s and they will tell you they watched ER.
So, if it was so popular and so groundbreaking, why are the social topics it covered still so controversial? Republicans act like trans people just emerged into existence in 2020. While we know trans people have always existed, they were also a feature of many episodes of one of the most popular shows on TV. So, why is their existence so shocking today?
Those of us who pay attention know why. America was moving more and more socially to the left, and thus threatening the ruling class. You know, the rich, straight, white men. Combined with the power of the evangelical christians, the right chose their boogeyman. Trans people. They acted like trans people just started popping up, a choice of the soft, emotional left. But, if we used ER as our text2, we know for certain trans people existed in the 90s, because they were routinely on our televisions.
Maybe Republicans never watched ER. Or maybe, which I believe is more likely, they conveniently forgot the history of this country. Just as they have with race and the economy, they do with gender. We’ve been collectively hemming and hawing about these core tenants of American society for as long as we’ve been one. Let’s not pretend wokeness began in 2020, because it was on ER in the 90s.
For those catching up….
Isn’t this the worst way to announce a birth. I’m looking at you Gigi Hadid.
An aside - but this piece and ER itself is just another reason why TV is so important!