Scandal ~ a View from a Black Woman

Oscar Wilde a writer and poet once said “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life.” This statement causes quite a stir when we look at Olivia Pope. Is Life imitating Art or Art imitating Life?  That is the question to ponder as I am an avid viewer of Scandal. 

I tune in each week with my favorite snack, comfortable clothing, and no other distractions.  I tune into every aspect of the show including the latest fashion, hairstyles, power moves, one-liners, and intriguing scenes.  I view Scandal as entertainment through the lens of a Black female writer and star.  A Black woman named Olivia Pope who is known as the fixer, mistress, and mystery to most.  This mode of entertainment often mimics life in many ways as we deal with white supremacy, patriarchy, homosexuality, infidelity, and a host of other life events in this weekly one-hour show.

If I viewed the show as art imitating life, I find myself dismayed at the dysfunction, mistrust, heinous, sex-riddled, murderous behavior that is happening somewhere in the real world.  If I viewed the show as life imitating art, I am then compelled to anger as Black women are placed in stereotypical roles that over sexualizes, dehumanizes, and marginalizes women depicting a false sense of power.  I am compelled to view Scandal in the former lens: art imitating life.  Scandal is a fictional show based on real life characters using a stretch of the imagination, added intrigue, and at times advocacy through real-life story lines. 

As a preacher, I honor and value ones lens and stance in life. Good, bad or indifferent we have an unalienable right to live and live life to the fullest.  Yet, while television shows like Scandal tend to be scandalous, we must know who we are, rooted and grounded in a spiritual being who defines us more than what we see on television, more than being called out of our names, more than our young men being killed on the streets, more than a Black woman depicted with power and weakness simultaneously.  Instead of judging ones character on the fact she/he watches Scandal (or Empire, Being Mary Jane…) I am more concerned about the images you see and how you respond to them. 

It is important to offer balance in one’s life to off-set the negative images put forth and to celebrate the positive messages and images despite the negativity.  I can watch Scandal because I know I am more than what is depicted on television.  I can view Scandal with an entertainment lens and at the same time have theological and sociological discourse pertaining to the Black woman and the challenges thereof to propel us beyond what we see and how we as Black women are viewed. 

I will continue to view Scandal as a form of though-provoking entertainment with the knowledge that this may not be mindless to some and quite influential to others.  Therefore, I must send positive messages and lead by example to dispel the status quo and push us beyond sexualization, skin color, hair length, and body type to the life-giving, amazing, beautiful, creative, nurturing, powerful women we are destined to be.  

Never hopeless ~ always searching...