The American political thriller television series Scandal, starring Kerry Washington and creat-ed by Shonda Rhimes, who constitutes today an undeniable force in Hollywood stirred a few contradictory feelings since it was first aired on...
moreThe American political thriller television series Scandal, starring Kerry Washington and creat-ed by Shonda Rhimes, who constitutes today an undeniable force in Hollywood stirred a few contradictory feelings since it was first aired on April 5, 2012, not only in the press, but also in social media because of the depiction of a black woman, for some a whore, for others a “sister” in power.
As the story goes character Olivia Pope, the star of the show, is partially based on former George H.W. Bush administration press aide, 56 year old Judy Smith. Washington’s is the first black woman leading in a network drama in almost three decades. Controversy doesn’t mean that writer Rhimes remove totally the weight of race and racism in the show. Sex, race and con-flict is nothing new in performing, but also the conspiracy theory of crime and politics and high levels in the houses of power to capture the involvement of the audience.
For some in social media Scandal is a communal experience and with 4.3 million tweets for 2013 season alone the show becomes a social phenomenon through the use and manipulation of social media, what some called “the show that Twitter build”, this combo of a promotions strat-egy and thriller show, a high-stakes soap opera, involving election rigging, a presidential assas-sination attempt, a failed internal White House coup, and many other crazy shenanigans, could be preposterous on virtually every level, but also an fun in a certain way as a “telenovela” –or a “soapy political drama”.
In reality, without the “push” of Twitter and social media the show probably would have being canceled in the first season, all the cast of the show has “live-tweeted” extending their brand image into the digital area, in which we have proof of how –we like it or not- social media change television “enhancing” the way people do their TV viewing.