The Television Scandal: Kerry Washington
The television Scandal is an American political series staring Kerry Washington. The show was created by Shonda Rhimes and premiered on ABC in 2012. Kerry Washington plays Olivia Pope who has a crisis management firm in Washington, D.C. The show revolves around Olivia Pope & Associates, and its staff, as well as staff at the White House, which includes President Fitzgerald Grant III, Chief of Staff Cyrus Beene, and the First Lady Mellie Grant. The show is partially based on former George H.W. Bush administration press aide Judy Smith, who also serves as a co-executive producer. The show continually surrounds scandal that is happening in the D.C. area. Not only does the show surround scandal in politics and the media but also scandal within
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the main characters. For instance Olivia is having an affair with a married man, the President of the United States while the first lady is aware of the affair and then decides to have her own affair. The shows title is very fitting for the plot. What sets Scandal apart from other popular, dramas on television is that it features one of the only, African American female lead characters on network television, Olivia Pope. Olivia Pope is a very powerful figure and her education, confidence, and boldness help to challenge the lack of African American female characters on television. However, her affair with the President supports negative stereotypes around African American women’s sexuality. Women in television are gaining more and more power. African American women are emerging into the television and Kerry Washington is proving to our culture that she is powerful and inspiring. “’Women are consistently underrepresented in the media.’ A study by the Women’s Media Center found, ‘females accounted for forty-one percent of all fictional television characters’ in the 2010-2011 season” (Mitsu Klos, 2013, p. 41). Secondarily, the female characters were “typically younger than male counterparts...[and] less likely than males to be portrayed as leaders of any kind” (p. 42). “The numbers are even more small when examining African American women in Hollywood. Since the majority of women in television and films are Caucasian, they are the dominant perspective that is portrayed in the media. However, several shows have worked against this and offered narratives from the experiences of African American women” (Evans, 2). Women have begun to take control of network television and have grown with experience and power. The relationships and the negative stereotypes around African American women’s sexuality surrounding the main character Olivia Pope is very evident and shown throughout the show Scandal. Olivia Pope is always convincing high government workers. She has such eloquence and shows African American women possessing the ability to have a bold attitude. Her poise corresponds with her prosperous career. Scandal demonstrates the portrayal of political women in the media and presents a narrative that can be identified with a variety of people. Olivia Pope displays a character that women can positively identify with. Olivia has a bright mind and can accomplish any scandal, nonetheless of how insulting it is. Scandal is basically breaking the barriers of Hollywood and creating a different mold of television show. Kerry Washington, who plays Olivia Pope, became the first African-American female lead in a network drama in almost 40 years, which created this new mold for Hollywood. Particularly, Olivia is a driven and powerful worker and has created a character unlike any other seen on television. When the audience is shown her affair with the married President of the United States the critics began to stereotype the characters based on their actions. Throughout the first season we are shown how Olivia Pope is nothing like the stereotypes she is portrayed as in the beginning. She defies and strengthens the stereotypes of politically working African American women. The most important quality Olivia has is that she is well educated. Throughout the course of the show we learn that she graduated in the top of her class and received her law degree. It is also revealed that she acted as the Communications Director at the White House and helped lead the campaign for President Grant. The show picks up on where Olivia has left her work at the White House and started her own crisis management firm, Olivia Pope and Associates. Olivia’s intelligence is shown throughout the entire series and her poise is impeccable. For example, in the winter premiere of season 4 we are brought back to when Olivia was taken by a masked intruder and her actions during her kidnapping show how intelligent and quick she is to think of her next plan.
During her capture she manages to slip off her ring and lodge it under a rug hoping Jake or her associates will find it and help lead them to her. During her capture Olivia is forced into shooting a ransom video to send to the President asking for money. During the video Olivia hatches the perfect plan for her associates to capture the man behind the cameras face. While she was filming the proof-of-life video, Olivia asked for some water. It was so she could show a reflection of her captors in the glass. The trick works and her associates are on the job trying to ID the face. These tactics show how Olivia is quick to think of clues that will help those looking for her. “Olivia Pope possesses a poised and confident demeanor as she interacts with her colleagues. As the audience begins to understand the main character of Scandal, she is repeatedly described as a “gladiator”. This expression indicates the level of professionalism, dedication, and execution that Olivia Pope embodies. She is extremely confident and articulate. When conversing with clients or speaking with D.C. officials, Ms. Pope clearly and boldly states her case” (Evans
8). Following her clever tactics to help her associates and the President find her, her kidnappers inform her that the President must declare war on West Angola to be able to get Olivia back safe and sound. Her kidnappers say that if the President really wants her back he would declare war and get her back. Olivia knows however that once war breaks out and they find her she will be killed. The next morning, the President declares war on West Angola. Following the discovery of the war beginning Olivia asks for some beef stew and an orange creamsicle as her last meal. Then she wants to be shot in the head. She knows now that the war has begun, she will be killed. The kidnappers say she wont die until the Presidents term is complete. Olivia must come up with a Plan B. She tells her kidnappers that they should sell her on the open market to make them rich. However, Olivia does maintain one main negative stereotype of African American women. Olivia handles high profile scandals and the irony is that she is tangled in a huge scandal herself: she is having an affair with President Grant. Pope is a very powerful woman in D.C. but her affair with the President hurts her image. Nonetheless, her affair with the President is kept unwraps and even the President’s wife knows about the affair and recently in the series she is somewhat accepting of the affair and the marriage between the two of them becomes more business related and to prevent problems within the government. Olivia’s associates and the President realize she is dropping breadcrumbs and they know they just need to follow them to find her. Following the auction on the open market Olivia is about to be sold to Iran. The deal is about to go down when there’s a screw up. Olivia plays both sides by claiming each one will kill the other after the exchange in each other’s language proving once again she uses her intelligence to create a plan. The deal is off. Everyone walks away and the auction goes back up. Olivia is sold once again and this time during the exchange the CIA is ready to launch missiles to annihilate all those at the meet site. During the exchange one of the government officials in the room has the camera zoomed in and is able to recognize one of the buyers. When Olivia’s hood is removed she recognizes one of them as well. He used to work for her. He used to be a gladiator as well. The winter premiere and episodes following help capture Olivia as an intelligent woman who stops at nothing to escape and avert crises. The audience realizes that Olivia is a complicated and involved character that is a role model based on the element that she is very motivated and well appreciated in politics. Her successes while working symbolize her great power and reliability. Related to the depiction of diplomatic women in television, Scandal gives a plot that can be recognized with a range of individuals. More exclusively, for African American women, Olivia Pope shows a personality that women can certainly categorize with. Olivia also exposes the wisdom that African American women usually don’t have in Hollywood.
The difficulties within Olivia’s personality are very noteworthy as they strengthen damaging labels. While Olivia Pope is not a picture-perfect symbol of politically working African American women, her personality bids a good beginning argument for a smaller group who have not been well represented.
the main characters. For instance Olivia is having an affair with a married man, the President of the United States while the first lady is aware of the affair and then decides to have her own affair. The shows title is very fitting for the plot. What sets Scandal apart from other popular, dramas on television is that it features one of the only, African American female lead characters on network television, Olivia Pope. Olivia Pope is a very powerful figure and her education, confidence, and boldness help to challenge the lack of African American female characters on television. However, her affair with the President supports negative stereotypes around African American women’s sexuality. Women in television are gaining more and more power. African American women are emerging into the television and Kerry Washington is proving to our culture that she is powerful and inspiring. “’Women are consistently underrepresented in the media.’ A study by the Women’s Media Center found, ‘females accounted for forty-one percent of all fictional television characters’ in the 2010-2011 season” (Mitsu Klos, 2013, p. 41). Secondarily, the female characters were “typically younger than male counterparts...[and] less likely than males to be portrayed as leaders of any kind” (p. 42). “The numbers are even more small when examining African American women in Hollywood. Since the majority of women in television and films are Caucasian, they are the dominant perspective that is portrayed in the media. However, several shows have worked against this and offered narratives from the experiences of African American women” (Evans, 2). Women have begun to take control of network television and have grown with experience and power. The relationships and the negative stereotypes around African American women’s sexuality surrounding the main character Olivia Pope is very evident and shown throughout the show Scandal. Olivia Pope is always convincing high government workers. She has such eloquence and shows African American women possessing the ability to have a bold attitude. Her poise corresponds with her prosperous career. Scandal demonstrates the portrayal of political women in the media and presents a narrative that can be identified with a variety of people. Olivia Pope displays a character that women can positively identify with. Olivia has a bright mind and can accomplish any scandal, nonetheless of how insulting it is. Scandal is basically breaking the barriers of Hollywood and creating a different mold of television show. Kerry Washington, who plays Olivia Pope, became the first African-American female lead in a network drama in almost 40 years, which created this new mold for Hollywood. Particularly, Olivia is a driven and powerful worker and has created a character unlike any other seen on television. When the audience is shown her affair with the married President of the United States the critics began to stereotype the characters based on their actions. Throughout the first season we are shown how Olivia Pope is nothing like the stereotypes she is portrayed as in the beginning. She defies and strengthens the stereotypes of politically working African American women. The most important quality Olivia has is that she is well educated. Throughout the course of the show we learn that she graduated in the top of her class and received her law degree. It is also revealed that she acted as the Communications Director at the White House and helped lead the campaign for President Grant. The show picks up on where Olivia has left her work at the White House and started her own crisis management firm, Olivia Pope and Associates. Olivia’s intelligence is shown throughout the entire series and her poise is impeccable. For example, in the winter premiere of season 4 we are brought back to when Olivia was taken by a masked intruder and her actions during her kidnapping show how intelligent and quick she is to think of her next plan.
During her capture she manages to slip off her ring and lodge it under a rug hoping Jake or her associates will find it and help lead them to her. During her capture Olivia is forced into shooting a ransom video to send to the President asking for money. During the video Olivia hatches the perfect plan for her associates to capture the man behind the cameras face. While she was filming the proof-of-life video, Olivia asked for some water. It was so she could show a reflection of her captors in the glass. The trick works and her associates are on the job trying to ID the face. These tactics show how Olivia is quick to think of clues that will help those looking for her. “Olivia Pope possesses a poised and confident demeanor as she interacts with her colleagues. As the audience begins to understand the main character of Scandal, she is repeatedly described as a “gladiator”. This expression indicates the level of professionalism, dedication, and execution that Olivia Pope embodies. She is extremely confident and articulate. When conversing with clients or speaking with D.C. officials, Ms. Pope clearly and boldly states her case” (Evans
8). Following her clever tactics to help her associates and the President find her, her kidnappers inform her that the President must declare war on West Angola to be able to get Olivia back safe and sound. Her kidnappers say that if the President really wants her back he would declare war and get her back. Olivia knows however that once war breaks out and they find her she will be killed. The next morning, the President declares war on West Angola. Following the discovery of the war beginning Olivia asks for some beef stew and an orange creamsicle as her last meal. Then she wants to be shot in the head. She knows now that the war has begun, she will be killed. The kidnappers say she wont die until the Presidents term is complete. Olivia must come up with a Plan B. She tells her kidnappers that they should sell her on the open market to make them rich. However, Olivia does maintain one main negative stereotype of African American women. Olivia handles high profile scandals and the irony is that she is tangled in a huge scandal herself: she is having an affair with President Grant. Pope is a very powerful woman in D.C. but her affair with the President hurts her image. Nonetheless, her affair with the President is kept unwraps and even the President’s wife knows about the affair and recently in the series she is somewhat accepting of the affair and the marriage between the two of them becomes more business related and to prevent problems within the government. Olivia’s associates and the President realize she is dropping breadcrumbs and they know they just need to follow them to find her. Following the auction on the open market Olivia is about to be sold to Iran. The deal is about to go down when there’s a screw up. Olivia plays both sides by claiming each one will kill the other after the exchange in each other’s language proving once again she uses her intelligence to create a plan. The deal is off. Everyone walks away and the auction goes back up. Olivia is sold once again and this time during the exchange the CIA is ready to launch missiles to annihilate all those at the meet site. During the exchange one of the government officials in the room has the camera zoomed in and is able to recognize one of the buyers. When Olivia’s hood is removed she recognizes one of them as well. He used to work for her. He used to be a gladiator as well. The winter premiere and episodes following help capture Olivia as an intelligent woman who stops at nothing to escape and avert crises. The audience realizes that Olivia is a complicated and involved character that is a role model based on the element that she is very motivated and well appreciated in politics. Her successes while working symbolize her great power and reliability. Related to the depiction of diplomatic women in television, Scandal gives a plot that can be recognized with a range of individuals. More exclusively, for African American women, Olivia Pope shows a personality that women can certainly categorize with. Olivia also exposes the wisdom that African American women usually don’t have in Hollywood.
The difficulties within Olivia’s personality are very noteworthy as they strengthen damaging labels. While Olivia Pope is not a picture-perfect symbol of politically working African American women, her personality bids a good beginning argument for a smaller group who have not been well represented.