The TV show Scandal has become very popular recently. Why is that? Is it because of the scandalous affair with the President of the United States or is there more to it?
This new hit show was created by a black woman, based on the life of a black woman, with a black woman starring as the lead character. Kerry Washington stars in Scandal as Olivia Pope, a former White House Director of Communications who left to start her own crisis management firm. Kerry Washington is the first black woman starring in a primetime network show in the United States since the 1970’s. With this being said, what makes Scandal such a talked-about show? Is it just the fact that the president of the United States is having an affair or is it that the affair he is having is with a black woman? There is much more to the show than what is seen at first glance. The ideal of “intersectionality” plays a huge role in this scandalous story. Intersectionality is the idea that race and gender intersect and that a black woman is exactly that; a black woman, and cannot separate the two. The fact that this show is so popular is not because the president is having an affair with a woman, and it is also not because the president is having an affair with an African American, Scandal is so popular because the President of the United States is having an affair with a BLACK WOMAN. As a character, Olivia Pope is unable to separate the concepts of being black and being a woman, and it is not her fault. Society has placed this intersection into its culture and this intersection has become a way of life. Olivia Pope, without realizing it, is at that intersection.
Another key concept in Scandal is the “fiction of race.” Fiction of Race is the ideal that you cannot have a good story about black people. False. If the story was not good, why would the show be so popular? Although Olivia Pope is a realistic character, the story line is not realistic, but in spite of the unrealism, the story is effective. The plot of the story and what makes Scandal so popular is the fact that it isn’t focusing on all of the negative aspects of Pope’s life but is more focused on how successful Pope really is. If the story wasn’t “good” then why would the TV show be so popular?
This show has more underlying elements than anyone could have imagined not to mention, a pretty good story line. It really shows the narration of blackness in today’s society. Why is Scandal so popular? Why do people want to see the President of the United States having an affair? Is it because it is interesting, or is it because his mistress is a black woman?