Why Are So Many Women Excited About Scandal?
Most, if not all women absolutely despise infidelity and cheating. That being said, why are so many glued to their television on Thursday nights watching ABC’s Scandal? The show follows Olivia Pope, played by Kerry Washington, and her associates who are all lawyers but none actually practice law, they work at a Crisis Management Firm created by Pope protecting the images of high-profile clients ensuring that their secrets remain private. And the major “secret” is that heroine Olivia Pope who is the former Communications Director for the President is/was having an affair with the commander-in-chief. The Olivia Pope character is loosely based on former President George Bush administration press aide, Judy Smith who is a co-executive producer for the show.
I wonder, do women love Olivia Pope because somewhere deep down inside they can somehow relate to her? Or better yet, do they want to be Olivia Pope? You have a beautiful, successful woman, who appears to have it all as far as her career is concerned. She however, has romantic ties to a powerful leader and appears to have an enormous amount of control over the affair. Are women excited to finally see a woman enthralled in an affair and appear to not be emotionally overcome by it? Are women vicariously living through Olivia Pope? Things that make you go ummmm.
I am not one to jump on the band wagon of the latest fad or it thing, but I must admit after hearing so much about the show and week after week reading the many posts in my Facebook timeline about the happenings of the week I must admit that I caved in to the pressure and started watching Season 1 of Scandal on my Netflix. Like many before me, I was hooked after the first episode. I’m trying to finish watching episodes on Netflix to get a good understanding of the plot before jumping on the weekly Scandal bandwagon – I therefore stay off of Facebook on Thursday evenings to avoid any spoilers.
The show has faced some criticism, ranging from what exactly is the show about to the plot being the same type of cliché’s that creator Shonda Rhimes is well known for in shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice. I personally think that Shonda Rhimes is a brilliant writer. She obviously knows how to bring in the ratings and awards. In addition to Grey’s Anatomy and its spin-off Private Practice, she has worked on projects such as HBO’s Introducing Dorothy Dandridge that garnered lead actress Halle Berry numerous awards and Crossroads a movie featuring Britney Spears that grossed over $60 million; and her Grey’s Anatomy anchors the coveted Thursday night time slot for ABC.
Now, back to my original question, being that women typically frown upon infidelity, why exactly are women so emotionally charged with Scandal? (wink & a smile) Responses welcome…
Real Talk w/Terry 
You know I believe it. Women love the scandals. Its why we pick up the latest edition of “Star” on the grocery line. Especially when the star is taken down and is a trainwreck, sometimes we love to see their misery too. As far as the affair with the powerful man, I think we all have been there. I think we want to be her. At least I do anyway. Have a great career, wonderful job and a powerful man that use for sex just because I can. Yeah its sleezy but it makes for some great entertainment! Thank you for sharing.
Lol! I agree, it does make for great entertainment.
I see the show for what it is-GREAT ENTERTAINMENT. I see the infidelity but I guess because this is a fictional show I don’t think much about it. I also think because there have been so many articles regarding the show, the infidelity, the strengths & weaknesses of Olivia Pope, etc that I have stopped thinking about the show’s portrayal of Olivia Pope, a successful business woman with a jacked up personal life. There was also an article comparing Scandal to the ladies on the reality show, “Basketball Wives”. I don’t believe that is a fair comparison. In my opinion, Shonda Rhimes is a genius. She has created three very successful television shows that have all of us glued to our television EVERY Thursday night. She knows what will keep us entertained. You weren’t a watcher of the show but all of the hype and talk about it has made you want to tune in to see what all the FB post are about. I am excited that an African American woman has three successful shows on a major network. In my opinion it’s just good writing and good entertainment.
I haven’t read anything comparing Scandal to Basketball Wives, but do agree that it is an unfair comparison. Scandal is a well written show and as you mentioned Shonda Rhimes is a genius, I think she is a brillant writer. And couldn’t agree more that she definitely knows what will bring in the viewers. 🙂
Its funny, I have been pondering about this subject of infidelity over the past week. That culminated into a blog post ~> http://wp.me/p22OsG-3K .
I wonder what attracts us to something that we would NEVER wanted to be a victim of.
Many women I’ve spoken with and ones that have responded to my blog post seem to like the show for its entertainment component, not being phased all that much about the infidelity.
Nice blog btw.