the way the pitt breaks down the false dichotomy of doctors vs. the poor, sick, crazy, disabled, and criminal... whitaker is homeless, langdon's an active drug addict, abbott's a disabled vet, mckay's a sober addict and single mom who's got an ankle monitor on and a restraining order, and robbie is um... talking to cartoon animals in pedes
and whitaker, abbott, mckay, and robbie are all great at supporting patients emotionally and talking to them like normal human beings. langdon, maybe less so ("at least the worms in your brain are resting in peace," lmao) but he's still a great doctor. the pitt shows you how the medical system(s) that reinforce oppression, this much-hated ivory tower, is staffed on the ground by working class people who are juggling their own struggles and really doing their best to help from within. 10/10.
but also. all the above doctors are white. all the characters who have successful medical careers along with highly stigmatized, stereotypically working-class conditions are white.
meanwhile, the emotional arcs of javadi and mohan come from being TOO GOOD at their studies and their jobs, prodigies without social lives. javadi's family is clearly well-off, and i would bet mohan's is comfortably middle class. collins is harder to get a read on, but she's always professionally composed and well-spoken in front of other people. she refuses to risk her career for anything.
so we have a crowd of working class white people, smart and great but openly struggling, and then some incredibly sharp brown girls, who can't afford to struggle at all.
i honestly think this is pretty realistic. "twice as good to get half as far." you can't be a broke SINGLE mom WITH a criminal AND drug abuse record AND also be black AND THEN become a doctor, no. those issues could easily sink an aspiring black girl's medical career. but mckay could squeak through. yk?
