From Reverence To Rape Character Analysis

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Many people do not realize the impact that television, movies, and all other media types have on our perception of the world around us. People see television shows as a form of entertainment, an escape from the real world into an imaginary one where whirlwinds romances are ignited, treacherous crimes are solved, exorbitant amounts of money are made and spent, and jokes are always funny. However, the various lives we observe on our big and small screens help to mold the societal conceptions that we cling to in real life, especially when it comes to gender roles. As Molly Haskell discerns in her book, From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies, “Studios, [which are] tremendously powerful […] shifted the fears of feminine fashions, …show more content…

As Haskell explains, “The ‘superwomen’ [is]—a woman who […] has a high degree on intelligence or imagination, but instead of exploiting her femininity, adopts male characteristics in order to enjoy male prerogatives, or merely to survive” (Haskell 7). As the top “fixer” in the ever-scandalous and powerful Washington, D.C., Pope must overcome the simple stereotypes of “virgin” and “whore” and become “super”. She is forced to assume stereotypical male characteristics such as bossiness and acting unattached in order to gain recognition for her muscle and hard work. She does this by building a sort of empire, Olivia Pope & Associates, becoming her own boss with various minions working under her wing, waiting at her beck and call. Olivia takes down the bad guys, unscrambling political scandals and solving murders, to bring justice to Washington. She is able to be unemotional with her work, never letting her sexual connection with the President get in the way, yet allowing her professional relationship with him to make her the most powerful person in the free world, but. There is no one the President trusts more than Pope, giving her the authority over his reign. While Olivia overcomes the stereotype that men are in charge and are always on top, she is forced to do it by negating her femininity and assuming hard-hitting male

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