Essay On An Article Entitled, "I'm Not A Doctor, But I Play One On TV"

“I’m Not A Doctor, But I Play One On TV.”

First of all, I remember the line from the TV ad which it came from. Robert Young, a former movie star, had become a fixture on TV, first on the show “Father Knows Best,” and then on “Marcus Welby, MD,” where he played the senior doctor of a medical office. Two things were going on here; first, Bayer Aspirin’s advertising agency recognized that the value of a well known movie and TV star’s image would catch viewers attention, and second, advertising agencies have long known that the image of a person in a white lab coat with a stethoscope around his neck means to the viewer that this person knows something about what he’s talking about-even though he may, in reality, be just an actor. The quote from Robert Young went a tiny bit of a way toward correcting that.

What it means in this context, and why I picked up on it, is that in my own mind I am not identified as an employee of some corporation, although that is how things may appear at the time. I put that mantle on when I go to work dressed in a uniform. 7-Eleven, Fred Meyer, and McDonald’s (to name a few) want the public to see me that way, and that is why I put on the frock or the apron. I become 7-ELEVEN CLERK in their eyes, and they know that they can come to me at any time to ask a question about a certain product in the store. And for eight hours that is what I try to be.

But that is not who I am.

One of the points of this article is that it asks, “What does it mean that we so often turn to our jobs as definitive expressions of who and what we are?” I don’t think that is quite how it works. Our jobs do not define us; they are something that we shoehorn ourselves into to make a living. An actual career, on the other hand, may just touch on who we are, if we are lucky enough to get into one that fits us like a glove. Robert Young defined himself as an actor, not a doctor. Steve Jobs is happy being a CEO of a large corporation. Florence Nightingale was probably very proud of her accomplishments as a nurse. Ray Bradbury smiles a broad smile when you refer to him as an author of many books.

If being a 7-Eleven Clerk means to you, my customer, that I am someone who cares enough about you to give you the best service you have ever received, then I am happy. But if your image of a 7-Eleven clerk is someone like Apu the convenience store clerk on "The Simpsons" (a negative stereotype), and that is how you perceive me, by association, then I have a problem with that. That is a danger of the job, being associated with a negative stereotype. Believe me, when I go home, I get out of uniform as fast as possible, and start doing things which really are me, like reading books, watching movies, listening to music, building model cars, and writing. These are the part of me that the job doesn’t allow to come through. Being a 7-Eleven clerk, therefore, doesn’t define me, particularly when I consider myself an artist.

Now, I am going back to college in order to get myself a career that I will enjoy. Hopefully it will be something in the field of writing, and then I can say to you “That is what I am; a writer.” Now that would make me happy!