Representation, Style And Story In Shonda Rhymes’s “Scandal” Essay Samples

In Shonda Rhymes’ “Scandal”, the appeal of the film comes from the opportunity it offers to the viewers to get closer to the close world of American politics, and into the White House. By making the President of the United States humane and likable, the filmmaker ensured that the audiences would find the show fascinating and intriguing. In the last episode of the show’s 2nd season, namely episode 22: “Who’s Your Daddy”, Olivia Pope and her team manages to hide the issues of the election fraud and to reestablish the authenticity of the show comes from its relation to real life events, places and the parallelism that people can draw between the events in the story and real life. While all women can relate to the protagonist, African-American women can relate the most with Olivia Pope, who defies racial barriers and does not allow racism to keep her down. For example, when the President exposes Olivia’s plan to mitigate the effects of exposing their relationship to the public, he tells Mellie, “my relationship with Olivia is going to sparkle real dialogue about race in America”. This increases the authenticity of the show, because it openly discusses important issues in the American society.
Women are particularly empowered in this show, which is visible in all the episodes of the show. In episode 22, President Grant sks Olivia, “use your superpowers”, in order to get the public to accept their relationship. Besides, perhaps the most powerful gender representation in this episode, is the beginning of Quinn’s transformation, from a shy young woman, into a “super –spy”. As Quinn is becoming a good hacker, Huck worries that she seems too enthusiastic about this field of activity, which reminds him of himself. The most powerful scene in this respect however, is the moment when Quinn tortures Billy Chambers. She does not hesitate and she does not seem to care that she becomes covered in the victim’s blood. Despite the show’s commitment to challenge racist stereotypes, there is in fact little racial variety in this show. While most characters are still White, African-Americans are well-represented, and they are also assigned in important, positive roles, such as Olivia Pope, or her associate, Harrison, or important negative ones, such as Olivia’s father. However, no other racial groups are present in this episode. Therefore, there is a lack of racial variety in the show.
As the show ends, the tone becomes darker, reflecting the transformation of the characters, to morally ambiguous heroes. For example, in the torturing scene, the distance, angle and focus conveys the transformation of Quinn and her empowerment. As Quinn begins to torture character, the filmmaker uses a low-angle shot of Quinn’s face in order to portray her in a position of power in relation to the victim. This is best visible when Quinn’s face is entirely covered in blood. The camera moves to display a close-shot of her face. She appears entirely satisfied of the situation. While her face is in focus, Huck’s image is blurred. Quinn smiles while getting her face covered in Billy’s blood and she seems to enjoy the act. However, in the reaction shot, her smiling face in the foreground is contrasted with Huck’s worried expression, visible in the background. As the filmmaker directs the viewers’ attention towards his facial expression, Quinn’s face is blurred, and Huck’s expression becomes the focus of the shot. This challenges female stereotypes because typically, women are considered incapable of being cold blooded and merciless. For this reason, in most films, men are seen performing extremely violent acts. In this film however, Huck is incapable of torturing Billy, but Quinn steps forward and not only tortures Billy, but also greatly enjoys is.
During her conversation with the President, Olivia admits the fact that she and her team went over the wrong cliff. This conversation is extremely emotional, as Olivia and Fitz are both forced to face each other, aware of the other’s sins. The filmmaker used medium-shots to render their facial expressions and gestures during the conversation. Reaction shots are often used to follow the evolution of their emotional state during their conversation. In this scene, as Olivia gives up her dreams of being with Fitz, she seems to accept the fact that, together with her team, she stepped in the shadows, and became a darker individual. The dramatic effect of editing is enhanced by having a series of reaction shots focusing on the two characters as the conversation advances. The viewers are interesting to see how they are each affected by the other’s words. At the end of this scene, the filmmaker surprises the President’s pain and the protagonist’s decision to stand by her people.
The TV shows successfully keeps the audiences interested by using an effective structure. The teaser at the beginning of the show introduces the viewers into the world of the show, by summarizing previous plot action, and providing them with a context. The initial act establishes the setting and the story lines, whereas the ending act solves all the sub-plots. As this is the season finale, there is actual resolution to the subplots. Besides, as compared to mid-season episodes, this season finale also has a tag, which helps to maintain the interest of the audience. The tag shows Olivia Pope facing raging group of reporters, as she learns that her relationship with the president is not a secret any longer.
In this episode, one of the greatest enigmas that viewers would like to solve is the intention of the head of B613, Eli Pope, regarding Olivia. The enigma is established when Eli Pope demands Jake to bring Olivia in. During the delay stage, Eli Pope becomes involved in breaking the relationship of the protagonists. The enigma deepens, as Eli seems to try to murder Olivia, his own daughter. The resolution shows Eli Pope reaching his goal of separating Olivia from the President by forcing Cyrus to reveal the “sex tape”. Eli Pope also accomplishes his goal of meeting his daughter, which occurs in the final scene of the episode. However, this is not a resolution, but further hooks the viewers and introduces the next sub-plot of the show.
There are several villains in this episode. Whereas Eli Pope remains the main villain of the show, Governor Reston is the villain of this episode, together with Billy Chambers. Both of these villains try to destroy the president, but they are outsmarted by the heroes. While Olivia is the heroine of the show, in this episode, David Rosen acts as a hero, because he restores the balance in the world of the show, by getting Billy to confess his crime on tape, and by returning the dangerous card to Cyrus, who destroys it. He is however not disinterested, as he asks to be named attorney general in exchange for his help. While he may not be an entirely moral character, he is nevertheless appealing because he turns out to be able to handle a complicated situation by himself.
The TV show’s intensity and moral ambiguity is extremely appealing to the audience. Fandom, as a mode of reception, is an extremely useful frame for understanding the impact of the show, and particularly, of Olivia Pope, who is arguable the most powerful , intelligent and resourceful female African-American character who ever played as the protagonist of an American TV show. The filmmaker ensures the popularity of the main character by having her evolving, changing, and facing ever more complex challenges. Her impeccable image, with her luxury wardrobe, and her stylish aspect, ensures a particular mode of reception from the fans. Her character became an inspiration for many young women, who adopt the same image, buy the same clothing items, and embrace her as a role model. The basis for “Scandal’s fandom is the bold approach to gender roles, same sex relations, race, and many controversial topics. “Scandal” seemingly challenges fan communities to actively discuss the show online, and to debate the issues so as to cause real change in the society. Here, fandom is used in order to open debates and to challenge the society’s stereotypes. This actively engages fans into discussions of the plot development and maintains their interest in the show.