Background:
Scandal is a show that premiered on ABC in April of 2012. It caught the attention of many people across the country following the main character, Olivia Pope. Pope is the head of a crisis management team with a very interesting and complex background. As the show continues we learn a little bit more about her upbringing and past employers. One of which is the current President of the United States on the show. Pope’s background brings an action packed dynamic that attracts so many viewers on a weekly basis. Pope is head of a team called Pope and Associates. This organization works on solving or fixing problems for many high profile figures along with solving some of their own. Scandal often runs multiple story lines parallel on the show adding to the hectic hour of television. In addition, Scandal is based in Washington D.C. which makes viewers question how close the show is to real life politics. In a way, this show is very relatable to the novel, “This Town” by Mark Leibovich because it portrays a hectic lifestyle for the leaders of our world involving gossip, side deals, and power play. Pope and her associates are not afraid to do whatever it takes to solve a problem. Often the team works on setting up an agenda for solving the problem in Pope’s office. Pope demonstrates she will go to extremes for clients and has a reputation due to her background as a former lawyer, daughter of the head of the government’s top-secret spy agency, and loss of a mother figure at a young age.
Introduction:
Olivia Pope is a leader and exemplifies many of the main themes we discussed this semester. As she continues to solve problems for mostly Washington’s elite she continues to maintain power through three main concepts from the...
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...clients continue to respect Olivia Pope, which exemplifies her strong reputation in Washington, DC. The theme of spin will continue to portray itself on the show as the time passes and more complex issues come to the surface with Pope’s family. In summary, as a female leader Pope is a strong and resourceful leader who mainly uses her ability to spin, network, and reputation to continue to advance herself in her leadership role.
Bibliography:
Daniels, Cora. “Meet Mr. Nuke.” Fortune Magazine. 2006: 1-6. Print.
Leibovich, Mark. This Town. New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2013. Print.
Matthews, Chris. Hardball How Politics Is Played. New York, NY: Free Press, 1988. Print.
Pfeffer, Jeffrey. Power: Why Some People Have It- And Others Don’t. New York, NY: Harper Collins, 2010. Print.
Scandal. American Broadcasting Company. ABC, Apr. 2012. Television.
Olivia Pope is the star actress in the hit television drama show called Scandal. Scandal is a show that was written by Shonda Rhimes, the reason that I bring this up is because Shonda’s shows are unique in the fact that she creates real, messed up, broken character’s who have experienced what we call life. Olivia Pope is an extremely successful and powerful woman, who runs her own firm specializing in politics in the heart of Washington, D.C. Olivia is often referred to as a “fixer”, who is dedicated to fixing problems in order to protect public images and reputations, which often comes with a fair share of deception and cover ups. Olivia portrays herself as a strong, independent woman but because she pushes everyone away she often finds herself
What is power to a human? As time has gone by, there have been many forms of control and influence in the world. Many strive to achieve total rule over a society or group of individuals. Yet the question still presents itself to the average man. Why does man desire power so greatly even though there is visible trouble that follows? Shelley’s Frankenstein, Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron”, and Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, whether through the situation or the character themselves, depict the evils and hardships due to an imbalance and poor management of power.
Contrary to popular belief, power does not give a person everything needed in life. Power gives people an illusion of a perfect, ungrueling life which- news flash!- is probably the total opposite of what power actually bestows upon people. Within The Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond Dantes is mistreated with due to abundance of power Monseuir Villefort has, causing Edmond to later seek power to avenge for the mistreatment caused to him. Almost everyone in the book either loses or gives up their power in the end, thanks to Edmond. Viva la Vida, similarly, depicts the story of Louis XVI possessing immense power and then being deprived of the same power he once thought was going to be in his fist forever.
establishes some valid points concerning power. He posits that power is something of a self-
Political movies and television shows being developed in the 21st Century have immensely grown in popularity, often focusing on various scandals in the government or other historic events. The popular television show called Scandal, takes the viewers on a journey through various events that can occur in the White House on a daily basis. Olivia Pope, a former White House Communications Director for the White House, has created a crisis management firms with a handful of associates who call themselves “gladiators”. Since serious matters of any kind concerning the government or political figures can occur at any moment, Olivia and her associates work together to protect public images from having their reputations harmed. Whenever there is a moment of crisis, Olivia Pope is just a call away from solving your problems in a moments notice.
In the United States government, it is very likely to see the unbalanced relationship between career-emphasis work and personal achievement. Politics as a whole is a very fast-paced, insensible career area. Politicians are driven to achieve not because of personal interests but because of career advancement. ‘The West Wing’ entertains viewers with the relationships of its characters, such as the “one-night stand” Sam had with a female prostitute that began the show in the first episode, “Pilot”. The show falsely gives attention to the personal lives of the characters, most likely for entertainment value, that would otherwise be ignored in the reality of politics. “Why ‘The West Wing’ Is A Terrible Guide to American Democracy” explains that the show “falls prey to the fallacy of personality-driven politics” (3). The article also explains other ways to make the show more politically correct for
Hungerford, Kristen. "The Male "White" House Of Hollywood: A Feminist Critique Of What It Means To Be Presidential." Ohio Communication Journal 48. (2010): 55-75. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
A critique coming from Benjamin Freed of the Washington Magazine is that House of Cards is begging to appear too corrupt in the age of Trump, “The Underwoods have put America through so much fake news, voter suppression, intelligence leaks, fear-mongering, isolationism, and election tampering that Trump’s outfit is tame by comparison” (Freed). The complaint about House of Cards is that it is making real life corruption look small in comparison. The era of Trump has swayed America away from wanting a fictional President who is extremely self serving in his actions, but has not disproved the theory that power corrupts. Trump himself has been involved in some Underwood-esk moves such as strong-arming the FBI director and sending associates out with one message while undercutting them with another (Freed). The corruption in House of Cards is parallel to the real life corruption currently going on because the innate nature of power and corruption is consistently on display in the series. Perhaps when Trump entered office he did not have the intentions of mimicking the corruption Frank Underwood is involved with, yet if unchecked the power that any president holds can lead to acts of
At this point, with an understanding of what power is, what it means, how it is created and the various means through which it is expressed, one can begin to conceptualise how it is that power functions within a given society. Symbolic, cultural, social and economic capital distribute and perpetuate power within a society, through a cycle of transformation whereby these capital resources can be interchanged and manipulated to the advantage of individuals who have
For example, she is having an affair with the president of the United States of America. She knows the consequences of the having this affair, but time and time again, she remains physically involved with him. She is a crisis manager and often will have to fight battles that seem to be a lost cause , but because of Olivia’s personality and perseverance that spills over to her team, they are always able to get their client out of any situation not matter how big the problem may be. She wanted to know what happened with her mom and no matter how many times her father told her not to look into it; she continued to search for answers. Even Davis Rosen knows Olivia gets what she wants. In season 4, David Rosen was told that he would no longer be in the running for attorney general. While talking to Abby he states, Olivia pope for all talks about white hats doing good, but she gets whatever she wants she has no loyalty and you are collateral damage. She is a winner and she doesn’t sit around wondering if she played the game the right way. Another example would be, Olivia was contacted by a man in prison for attempting to assassinate the president in the 80’s that president has died of a stroke and he believes that the bullet can prove his innocents. Olivia calls reporters, and puts a bug in their ear about changes his conviction, and in the end she gets the Attorney General to introvertly file chargers for murder.
The reading assignment for this unit included reading several articles and one book in particular, The Female Advantage, by Sally Helgesen as an introduction into varying leadership styles. Leadership, as a honed craft is practiced continually in different ways and varying circumstances, no two individuals will have the same leadership style. Certain distinctive traits brought into the forum and on display for followers to observe. Some traits can be visible, clothing or skin color as examples, others, however, are not as visible such as upbringing or family situation. Each of these factors could play a role in the leadership style of a leader. One trait that the author of the book uses to distinguish leaders is gender. As much as men and women must be treated the fairly and equally, it cannot be denied that outside of the biological aspect, men and women are slightly different. Each gender brings a unique approach to leadership situations.
Power has been defined as the psychological relations over another to get them to do what you want them to do. We are exposed to forms of power from the time of birth. Our parents exercise power over us to behave in a way they deem appropriate. In school, teachers use their power to help us learn. When we enter the work world the power of our boss motivates us to perform and desire to move up the corporate ladder so that we too can intimidate someone with power one day. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Kurtz had a power over the jungle and its people that was inexplicable.
Some theorists believe that ‘power is everywhere: not because it embraces everything, but because it comes from everywhere… power is not an institution, nor a structure, nor possession. It is the name we give to a complex strategic situation in a particular society. (Foucault, 1990: 93) This is because power is present in each individual and in every relationship. It is defined as the ability of a group to get another group to take some form of desired action, usually by consensual power and sometimes by force. (Holmes, Hughes &Julian, 2007) There have been a number of differing views on ‘power over’ the many years in which it has been studied. Theorist such as Anthony Gidden in his works on structuration theory attempts to integrate basic structural analyses and agency-centred traditions. According to this, people are free to act, but they must also use and replicate fundamental structures of power by and through their own actions. Power is wielded and maintained by how one ‘makes a difference’ and based on their decisions and actions, if one fails to exercise power, that is to ‘make a difference’ then power is lost. (Giddens: 1984: 14) However, more recent theorists have revisited older conceptions including the power one has over another and within the decision-making processes, and power, as the ability to set specific, wanted agendas. To put it simply, power is the ability to get others to do something they wouldn’t otherwise do. In the political arena, therefore, power is the ability to make or influence decisions that other people are bound by.
When we think about how it used to be 100 years ago, the only people in leadership roles where men, and there was no presence of women. Why is it that we tend to see more men in leadership positions? Usually when we think of what a leader looks like, we tend to describe them as powerful, assertive and confidence. Because of stereotypes our society immediately labels this person as a man, due to the roles that we are expected to follow. Today, there has been a huge shift for women in leadership positions; however, there are many challenges that they still have to overcome. A process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal (Northouse, 2007) defines a leader. Moreover, leaders come in different forms whether in a professional, educational, or group setting. As a male college student and an advocate for equal rights between men and women, my understanding of the struggles that women face has a huge impact on my philosophy of leadership. The three most important concepts in this course that has resonated with me the most are double bind, and think manager-think male and glass ceiling.
Women continue to be underrepresented in leadership positions in the public and private sector. Many countries have responded to this issue by implementing gender quotas for political seats and corporate boardroom positions. This paper reviews the stereotype beliefs that women leaders are faced with which serve as barriers for the attainment of high-power leadership positions. There is incomplete information on the identification of qualified women leaders and thus most likely the persistence of the stereotypes against women leaders. Greater exposure to qualified women leaders would reduce the gender bias and provide them with greater access to high-power leadership positions. Studies in France, the United Kingdom, and Argentina demonstrate that quotas increase female leadership and influence policy outcomes. Pros and cons to the implementation of mandatory gender quotas for publically listed companies in the United States are identified. Due to the relatively new initiatives of gender equality through quotas, longer-term effects are still to be determined.