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Essay / The misrepresentation of women in positions of power in American media
Once, as part of one of my classes, I was watching a documentary called “Miss Representation” by Jennifer Siebel Newsom. The main idea of the film was to illustrate how the media misrepresents women in positions of power in America. The phrase that caught my attention was “You can’t be what you can’t see.” I ask myself “how often do I see strong, powerful women in the media these days?” » gave me the answer: “rarely”. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay In childhood, boys and girls are equal, they can have the same desires and goals, they can all Both dream of being president, but inside at some point their paths and wishes will change drastically. Tara Sophia Mohr wrote about editing major cinematic moments presented at the Oscars: "When girls grow up seeing story after story telling them that they are sex objects, props, or victims, they will learn that being a “woman” is play. one of three roles: screaming out of stress about her marriage, screaming because she was being attacked, screaming to fake an orgasm. Girls don't often see female role models in the media who can inspire and motivate them. Later I did some research, I found out that according to the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, of the 100 highest-grossing films of 2017, only 8% of directors, 10% of writers , 2% of directors of photography, 24% among producers, 14% of editors were women. This illustrates the problem of women's voices being missing or biased in the media. However, in the face of statistics, famous producer Shonda Rhimes has achieved a high level of success with women. She was one of the first people to describe what it means to be a feminist today. In her works like "Grey's Anatomy" and "How to Get Away with Murder", she has already shown different types of female protagonists (bisexual, lesbian, single mothers, drug addicts, women of color) who work in a typically male environment. fields and realize their dreams. However, in this essay we will talk about his other television show, which is among the most popular and revolutionary today: “Scandal”. This is the American political series about African-American leader Olivia Pope (played by Kerry Washington). who is a political crisis manager and runs his own company “Olivia Pope and Associates”. This television show raises many current issues: racism, domestic violence, corruption in politics, abuse of power, etc. However, in this article I will address the issue of the misrepresentation of women in positions of power in today's society by applying some of the central ideas of third wave feminism developed in the writings of scholar R . Claire Snyder “What is Third Wave Feminism?” A New Directions Essay” examining the television show “Scandal” and its main character Olivia Pope. The article will mainly focus on the study of the main female role of the television show Olivia Pope. Thus, I will briefly describe his portrait. Olivia Pope is a powerful, strong and independent African-American woman. According to the New York Times, "she became the first African-American woman to play a leading role in a television series in nearly 40 years." She has her own crisis management organization, where she and her assistants or "gladiators"help solve the problems of the political elite. She has complicated relationships with two men: the head of the CIA and the President of the United States. As a result, we can see that Olivia Pope is a successful, beautiful, intelligent woman, "the strongest female character in television history", referring to the New York Post, who is happy in her own skin and don't look for the ordinary family. life. She is a strong advocate for women's rights and always fights for women's rights. In episode 5 of season 3, she confronts a senator who falsely accused another senator of sexually assaulting her. Olivia has defended all victims of assault and says: "I would fight to the death to support any woman who claims to have been assaulted." Olivia Pope gets angry when someone uses sexist double standards, even if they're a president. In episode 15 of season 4, Olivia Pope argues with the President of the United States who called the press secretary a "bitch" because she was trying to give him advice. Olivia shames him and says, “Don’t say that!” Words used to describe women. If she were a man, you would say she was “great,” “bold,” or “righteous.” » R. Claire Snyder writes in her text about the problem of the word “slut” which comes from pop culture and which has started to be used. widely used by the media. Olivia Pope is about self-esteem and her time is just as important as the president's. She knows what she deserves and that she should be treated with respect. One of the most famous scenes in the series is when Olivia bursts into the Oval Office and tells the president that he can't bother her with his personal wishes whenever he wants: "I'm not a toy that you can play with when you're bored, lonely or horny I'm not the girl the guy has at the end of the movie I'm not a fantasy. , win me!' Plus, Shonda Rhimes breaks the typical stereotypes that feminism and femininity are mutually exclusive. Women can be both "bossy" and "feminine." Third waves feel entitled to interact with men on an equal footing to claim sexual pleasure as they desire and actively play with femininity. Girl power, or girl culture, is a central component. but contested – third wave” Shonda Rhimes portrays Olivia Pope as a very feminine, elegant and glamorous woman. Her outfits come from designers, she always wears heels and couture bags. Plus, she knows she has a “feminine weapon” that she can handle with men, she says, “you can order daddy.” , but I have weapons at my disposal. Weapons you can't own. However, she is not invulnerable: she cries, she is sad and she is afraid. Olivia can be weak, she loves and makes mistakes, she is not a robot, she is a human being. Olivia learns that she must accept herself. all the flaws to be a strong leader. Even though Olivia Pope is the strongest woman on TV, she's not the only one who has overcome obstacles and achieved her career goals. For example, Mellie Grant moved from First Lady to First Lady. the first female president. She had it all: beautiful children, a powerful husband who is president of the United States, the White House and the position of first lady. However, Mellie Grant always dreamed of being a first female president compared to others. characters on the show, Shonda Rhimes probably created the toughest path to Mellie Grant. She was raped by Fitz's father, then she attempted suicide, but was stopped by the future.