Scrutinizing Scandal

The ABC hit TV show Scandal is a political drama that surrounds Olivia Pope, a self-proclaimed “fixer” and her entourage as she takes on the toughest in Washington DC and tries to fix the problems they undergo.  Side note.  Olivia is sleeping with the (married) President of the United States and the show also centers around their relationship ups and downs, mainly how they can someday, somehow end up together.   Scandal is everyone’s guilty pleasure and its high stakes and fast pace is what I love about it.  How can you not love a steamy love triangle involving the President of the United States in the midst of assassination attempts and the like? 

Shonda Rimes, the producer of Scandal, has quite the way of making the leading women in her TV series’ seem almighty and all powerful unlike the portrayal of women in other popular television series.   Meredith Grey in Grey’s Anatomy is the show’s leading character that always does what she believes is right.  Addison Montgomery, lead character of Private Practice, is one of the most prominent neonatal surgeons in the world and although these women always have their fair share of love life drama, they are never shy to take control of any situation and throw the “passive” gender stereotype out the window.  Furthermore, her leading ladies are always surrounded by an entourage that is varied in gender and race with Kerry Washington, playing Olivia Pope, becoming the first African American female lead in a network drama in over 40 years (Vega).   It is something to be said that these leading ladies who fail to fulfill the “typical” female gender stereotype, are the ladies the rest of America loves to live through week after week, season after season.  

What is interesting to me is that Olivia is a hard headed, determined woman who represents more of, shall I say a “typical” male role on television.  She’s bad.  She can’t be touched.  She never shows emotion.  She can’t be a woman?  She is madly in love with the President of the United States, but is sure to throw herself into many other story lines.  Obviously, the show centers on her.  Kelsey Bain of Feminspire applauds the way that Olivia Pope’s character was written because it was done so with the same thought and intent as all of the white male characters on TV.  Olivia has multiple facets to her personality, rather than just one, just like a real woman (Bain)!  Olivia Pope is a woman of class and a woman of color and Scandal stands out because that dynamic is so rarely represented on television today.   She is in theory “running” a man’s world and she’s doing a damn good job of it.  Olivia is tangible and her character has flaws and perfections.  She’s someone who as a woman, other women can aspire to be without having to consider being a doormat first.  

On the other hand, Fitzgerald Grant, or Fitz plays the somewhat feminine President of the United States.   He plays the typical TV President.  Sexy, charming, a man that all the women in America want to be with.  Far from the realistic President who people want absolutely nothing to do with.  The focus is on his looks and the power he holds rather than the person he truly is, which is an outlook that is typically centered on women.  His story line is solely to choose between Olivia and his wife and First Lady of the United States, Mellie.  And just like a damsel in distress and unlike most men we know, he is willing to risk the second term of his presidency in order to be with Olivia and not have to hide their secret affair anymore.  There is a dimension to these characters that is so unique but then again so worldly and realistic, viewers can’t help but be drawn into the show.  And how will these reverse gender roles impact their relationship in the future?  I think in the coming season’s Olivia will be forced to pick between Fitz and her own job and in Olivia Pope, untraditional ladylike fashion, she will always choose work over love.  

What’s great about Scandal as a television drama is that although it has a range of genders and ethnicities presented in it, it’s not about either of those.  Scandal is about power, integrity, work ethic, strength, and the character’s ability to exert all of these when the going gets tough (Stewart).  In an interview, Kerry Washington herself stated, “The show put pressure on the audience’s rather than the cast and crew.  The question was: Are audiences ready to have the stories that we tell on television to be more inclusive? Are we ready for our protagonists to represent people of all different genders and ethnicities?” (Vega).   I think audiences are ready and are more than willing to embrace shows where gender and race stereotypes are completely thrown out the window and what’s more, ready to embrace a time where gender and race “norms” go unnoticed not only on television but also in everyday life.  

The NY Times said, “Scandal is about seeing the show where black women and other women are represented less about race and more about who they are” (Vega). Olivia Pope is amazing but Shonda Rimes, the amazingly talented woman who created Pope is even more intriguing to me.  As an African American woman herself, she has dreamed up amazing characters that, as a TV viewer, I can’t wait to live through week to week no matter their age, profession, gender or race.  

Works Cited

Bain, Kelsey. “What Makes ABC’s Scandal Such a Great Show for Women?”  Feminspire.  Web. 25

                September 2013.

Stewart, Dodi.  “ABC: Yes, Black People Are Part of Scandal’s Success, No, We Don’t Want to Talk About

                It.” Jezebel.  18 January 2013. Web.  25 September 2013.

 “Oliver Pope and Geraldine Grant: Gender Roles in Scandal.”  Fresh Feed. Web.  25 September 2013.

Vega, Tanzina.  “A Show Makes History and Friends.” The New York Times. 17 January 2013. Web.  25

                September 2013.