I have been and still am very passionate about the new age “civil rights” movement that began with a string of murders of black men by law enforcement and indictments or the lack there of. Last week during primetime, Shonda Rhimes brought this issue to the forefront and used Scandal as her platform. In the episode Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) “just back in Washington, D.C., after a more Scandal-like story that featured her kidnapping, auction and last-second rescue, was drawn into the shooting aftermath (of a white police officers killing of an unarmed black teen), first working for the police department and then siding with mostly African-American protesters” said USA Today Staff writer Bill Keveny. This episode touched on a very sensitive subject in this country at this time and was effective because of the large audience that follows Scandal on a weekly basis. “It eclipses any one person's identity because it's about lives mattering, regardless of who they are” said Kerry Washington, she also said that it was “ a coming-of-age, coming-of-race story for Olivia.”
Having been apart of these protests for justice myself and having interviewed people that are still protesting on the streets of Ferguson this episode resonated deeply with me. Attracting 8.95 million viewers this episode was more than relevant to what’s happening currently in America. “We were fighting against the emotion the entire episode,” said Courtney B. Vance who guest starred as the victim in this episodes father in an exclusive interview with People.com, “There were scenes where I was broken, but [director Tom Verica] said, ‘Courtney please, hold back that so we get the payoff at the end.’”
This very appropriate episode speaks to what many African Americans in Hollywood are doing now. We have seen musicians like Common and John Legend use award shows like the Grammys and the Oscars as their platforms to speak on this topic which is important in making sure that people don’t forget what is going on.
Having been apart of these protests for justice myself and having interviewed people that are still protesting on the streets of Ferguson this episode resonated deeply with me. Attracting 8.95 million viewers this episode was more than relevant to what’s happening currently in America. “We were fighting against the emotion the entire episode,” said Courtney B. Vance who guest starred as the victim in this episodes father in an exclusive interview with People.com, “There were scenes where I was broken, but [director Tom Verica] said, ‘Courtney please, hold back that so we get the payoff at the end.’”
This very appropriate episode speaks to what many African Americans in Hollywood are doing now. We have seen musicians like Common and John Legend use award shows like the Grammys and the Oscars as their platforms to speak on this topic which is important in making sure that people don’t forget what is going on.