Page - 44 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 04/02

Anatomy of a Wedding | 43www.jrfm.eu 2018, 4/2, 39–53 religious. Wording in the ceremony (spoken by the officiant and/or bride(s)/ groom) was assessed by considering phrases such as “rite”, “God”, or “Holy Spirit”. Religious artifacts and/or rituals included analysis of items and rituals such as the Christian cross or sign of the cross, the Chuppah, or “jumping the broom”. Venue was noted as either in a house of worship or in a more secu- lar environment. Officiant was assessed by means of noting who performed the rite of marriage. If little or no religious wording or rituals/artifacts were present and the venue and officiant were secular, the wedding was not at all religious. Somewhat religious ceremonies included mention of the word God, blessings, prayers, religious wording in the vows, an identifiably religious ven- ue (with an altar or in a place of worship), and/or a religious officiant. Ceremo- nies containing strong religious wording spoken by the officiant (such as “the power of God”) together with more than one religious ritual in the ceremony, a place of worship and an unmistakably religious officiant were considered very religious. In keeping with qualitative data analysis methods, the rigorous practice of grounded theory outlined by Glaser/Strauss23 and Charmaz24 informed the pro- cess of understanding the roles of gender performance, gendered roles, and compulsory heterosexuality. The first step of initial coding included an open observation of the lead-up to each couple’s wedding, with a focus on women and their roles and behavior, together with each wedding ceremony. The ini- tial reading of data in the qualitative analysis process provides a thick and rich description.25 Axial coding is the next stage of the analysis, which includes sort- ing, synthesizing, and organization of large amounts of data.26 In the present analysis, this step involved identifying themes and categories evident in each couple’s relationship, again with a focus on women, together with identifying characteristics of each wedding ceremony. Finally, theoretical coding “weaves the … story back together” as seen in Glaser27 and Charmaz.28 In this project, the final stage involved comparison and consideration of roles and relationships in order to identify how Grey’s Anatomy depicts women, religiosity, and wed- dings in contemporary culture. 23 Glaser/Strauss 1967. 24 Charmaz 2006. 25 Geertz 1973. 26 Creswell/Poth 1998, 206. 27 Glaser 1978, 72. 28 Charmaz 2006, 63.