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White Coats, Handmaidens and Warrior Chiefs: The Role of Filmic Representations in Becoming a Professional

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“Becoming” a Professional

Part of the book series: Lifelong Learning Book Series ((LLLB,volume 16))

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Abstract

This chapter takes notions of becoming a professional to the movies and examines the significance of popular culture on societal constructions of what constitutes a professional and professional practice. The author examines changing filmic representations of doctors, nurses and teachers through 100 years of filmic history. These representations are fictionlised enactments of professional practice, front of stage performances by professionals in hospitals, private practice and classrooms. The contexts of practice are exotic, technologically sophisticated citadels of medical care where the good doctor battles disease and the bureaucracy for the good of the patients, and where nurses, when visible, serve both doctors and patients alike. Less exotic but still unfamiliar to most of us are the depictions of inner urban schools of despair where the good teacher makes personal sacrifices to rescue students from social disadvantage, bureaucratic inertia and community, school and, frequently, family disinterest. The omniscient doctor, the heroic renegade teacher and the still subservient nurse may be out-of-date narratives more ‘reel’ than ‘real’ but nonetheless they provide professionals with images of practice from which possible professional selves can be constructed and which contribute to society’s expectations of professionals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Lesley Scanlon

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  1. Lesley Scanlon
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Correspondence to Lesley Scanlon .

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  1. Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Lesley Scanlon

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Scanlon, L. (2011). White Coats, Handmaidens and Warrior Chiefs: The Role of Filmic Representations in Becoming a Professional. In: Scanlon, L. (eds) “Becoming” a Professional. Lifelong Learning Book Series, vol 16. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1378-9_6

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