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Power In Shonda Rhimes 'Scandal'

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The definition of “power” has been argued and altered for centuries. While “power” had been commonly related with wealth and social status years ago, the word has now been more associated with a certain amount of control. Even though the description of power has been altered frequently over the course of time, the basic depiction in the media seems to stay the same: men portray the powerful figures, such as presidents and CEOs while women represent the softer and almost weak roles. This is where Shonda Rhimes breaks the mold. Rhimes uses these preconceived notions in order to make Scandal a show that displays the unfair representations of power between men and women by contradicting many of the commonly known archetypes in today’s television shows. …show more content…

In Scandal, Rhimes shows that masculinity is not a requirement for a man to be in control by constantly breaking the connection between masculinity and power. For example, the president, Fitzgerald Grant or Fitz, has tantrums, whether from anger or sorrow, that mimics those of a small child. These emotional and often dramatic fits diminish Fitz’s assumed strength by presenting the man that holds one of the most powerful most positions in the world as emotionally weak. This resembles Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner’s 60 Minutes interview, in which he broke into tears after discussing his progress from being the boy working for his father to becoming Speaker of the House. After the interview, various media sources described Boehner’s emotional breakdown as “blubbering, whimpering, [and] sobbing” (Gesualdi, 311) and also gave him nicknames, such as the “weeper of the house” (Gesualdi). Rhimes also tackles masculinity in respects to what is expected of a

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