(Black) People finding out you’ve never watched more than a half hour (combined) of Scandal sort of reminds me of the reaction I’d receive when people found out I’d never watched The Color Purple and I’ve never done the Electric Slide. The incredulousness received was so extreme that it began to annoy me, turning my non-viewing and non-sliding into a point of pride. Instead of just not sitting down to watch The Color Purple and just not finding the opportunity to learn the Electric Slide, I’d intentionally avoid it. It became one of my “things” like “Oh, that’s Champ over there. He lives in Pittsburgh, used to hoop, and he sits down and smirks whenever the Electric Slide song comes on.”
I haven’t reached that point with Scandal, and I doubt I ever will. It seems like a nice enough show, and my reasons for not getting into it have more to do with my tastes—I tend to like my shows funny (30 Rock, Parks and Rec, etc), dark (The Wire, Luther, etc), or dark and funny (Louie, The Sopranos, etc)—than any type of (admittedly) bizarre preemptive metahate. But, despite the fact that I haven’t watched it, like The Color Purple, it’s become such a part of our cultural zeitgeist that you really don’t have to watch it to know about it. You could probably create a Wiki page for Olivia Pope just off of Facebook status messages every Thursday.
Anyway, in the past week, I’ve read three Scandal-related articles—“Real Talk: What’s Up With the ‘Scandal’ Backlash?” by Demetria Lucas, “Such A Big Ego: Why Some Black Men Have A Problem With “Scandal†by Kirsten West Savali, and “Scandal’ Fans: Guilty by Association?” by Kellee Terrell—and if you were to combine each together and distill them, you’d be left with three points.
1. I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE Scandal
2. (Black) Men criticize (Black women) for loving Scandal despite some scandalous behavior from its lead character
3. We (Black women who love Scandal) are not hypocrites. If anyone is a hypocrite, it’s Black men
As I mentioned before, it’s near impossible to be on social media and not know the basic premise of the show. Kerry Washington’s Olivia Pope is perhaps the most powerful woman in D.C. Her great grandfather was Dr. Manhattan. One click of her heel could make Colin Powell cowtow. If she even winked at you, your head would explode, and Keyser Sose would bankrupt your uncle’s construction business. She’s the shit and shit. She’s also seeing (and in love with) the President…who is married…and is White!
It’s also understandable why the show is so popular. It’s set in D.C., which is to bougie Black girls what Home Depot is to fat crackheads. It features a bougie Black girl in possession of all the things bougie Black girls think of when attempting to get aroused—power, lip gloss, a barely detectable lisp, the ability to affect policy over brunch meetings, shoes and shit, men who want to do more than just invite her over at 1am for Wendy’s and Burn Notice. Plus, no one does “I will make you root and shed tears for these flawed motherf*ckers” better than Shonda Rhimes. She is a maven, a magician, the bougie Black girl’s Geppetto.
Despite all of this, it’s somewhat disingenuous to suggest that her affair with the President isn’t the meat and potatoes of the show’s appeal. Yes, her occupation and the perception of power matters—this show doesn’t work if she’s a school lunch lady who secretly calls all the shots and knows all the secrets in the teacher’s lounge—but there’s no doubt in my mind it wouldn’t be as popular if she happened to be married. Or just single. Or a lesbian. Or having an affair with an equally powerful lawyer. Her impact as a Black woman makes the show irreverent. Her affair makes it sexy, and sexy beats irreverent’s ass every time.
So yes. If you are a bougie Black girl—a population who, despite my undying love and shit for them, is somewhat defined by their sanctimony-based snark about everything—and you activity root for Olivia Pope to “win” her love affair, you are a big steaming pile of hypocrite.
But, guess what? That’s ok!
No one—well, no one with a brain—cares. Yes, it does make you a f*cking hypocrite to rip apart the ratchet behavior of the Real Basketball Wives of Hip-Hop and turn around and root for a woman who’s basically doing the same thing, just as it makes me a f*cking hypocrite for marching against violence but listening to Rick Ross on the way to the rally, or the chick clowning King Catfish on Twitter this evening despite the fact that she’s been dating the same dude for four years and still doesn’t know where he lives, and exactly like the hypocrisy millions of Americans exhibit when pretending to care about concussions and player safety and still sucking on the NFL teet every weekend.
Hypocrisy is as American as assault rifles. This country was founded by a group of extremely brilliant, extremely educated, and extremely pious men who still believed that enslaving people wasn’t really that bad of a thing. Hypocrisy is our birthright, our history, and our legacy, and you look sillier denying it than if you just said “F*ck it” and embraced it.
We are all hypocrites in some way or another–especially when it comes to what we choose to consume—and the longer Scandal lovers who exhibit this behavior refuse to admit to and accept their own hypocrisy, the longer they’ll get called on it…like everyone else does. Being a bougie Black girl and using words like “nuance” and “slut-shaming” doesn’t absolve you from doing some things that don’t really jive with some other things you do, and “hypocrite” is just one appropriate word for that type of behavior.
You know another one? “Human.”
—Damon Young (aka “The Champ”)
First, this is a completely unrelated message to whatever is being posted. I literally typed this a day in advance,
and am just going to get up to post this message. Apologies on any chaos this may cause.
Anyway, we’re doing a VSB NYC Meet-and-Greet at Soco in Brooklyn at 7 PM tonight.
If you still want to come out, hit me on the email at iluminati14@gmail.com. Come, see if I’m actually a Black Guy.
Yeah, son! See ya!
Oh, and FIRST!
Come, see if I’m actually a Black Guy.
I don’t believe you. NYC’ers – let me know if we’re being Catfished by Todd #Teo
I just want to know how exactly he considered her his girlfriend even though he’d never met her? There seems to be something else going on, don’t you think?
I don’t believe Manti for a minute. You’re in love with a girl you never met, never visit her in the hospital or go to her funeral?
He’s a football star at a football school with an imaginary girlfriend? Either this was for publicity or someone’s in the closet. I think both
Exactly. That’s why I can’t believe the media is buying into this nonsense.
Damn you, Match.com!!
– Te’o
Well, the fact that Notre Dame is working so hard to back him after investingating tells me it wasn’t for publicity. Now the closet is an angle I didn’t think of. It would make sense. He is at a Catholic college, after all, and he is a devout Mormon. Throw in the fact that he’s a football player looking at being picked in the 1st round, and he has good reason to be in the closet. Hmmm…
“I don’t believe Manti for a minute. You’re in love with a girl you never met, never visit her in the hospital or go to her funeral?”
I wouldn’t have believed it, unless I’d seen firsthand accounts of something like this happening. Not to this extent, of course, but people fall in love with people over the internet all the f*cking time
He’s gay. He’s trying to cover it by killing off an imaginary girlfriend who, since she’s theoretically dead, cannot confirm or deny his questionable behavior. And all Mormon boys know that the best way to stop the questioning of questionable behavior is to pretend like you’re playing 7 minutes of heaven with a “girl” in that closet you’re hiding in. Just saying.
.
Again, if the story breaks that he came out the closet, I want the credit. Eff Necole, MTO and TMZ.
oooooo. that’s a twist….
“Again, if the story breaks that he came out the closet, I want the credit. Eff Necole, MTO and TMZ.”
.
a couple hundred thousand people beat you to the gay angle, but if you are proven to be right, i’ll do everything in my power to make sure you get credit
You’re wrong for connecting me to that. LOL
i’mma see if i can come through.
We need to convince Esa to come out for the meet up. It is imperative that this happens.
(smile) i have a job this afternoon but hope to wrap it in time to pass thru ~*~
Esa you just have to make it!!!!!
~
Rewind… we gon get saucy, just a lil bit though…
See I told you she’d come!
Aweesssssome Esa is coming. Ok, now me and Yolie will have someone to drool over while getting drunk. See you there.
pardon the interruption… but I AM FAMOUS
~
http://missrosen.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/everyday-heroes-yolie-from-bk/
~
i’ll be signing autographs, shaking hands and not kissing babies at Soco tonight!!!!!!
*looks at blog link*
-
*sees Yoles in those tight ass jeans*
-
*focused*
PA – you’re always ‘focused’ lol
HAY HAY NAH! (^_^)/
Take pics! I won’t be able to make it this time
And schedule another one soon! Preferably in manhattan/queens, but I promise to make the trek to wherever this time around
I missed the Scandal bandwagon but everybody says it’s so good. And Luvvie’s write-ups on them are hilarcray. I love Ms. Washington so much that at this point, I’m afraid the show won’t live up to the hype. It’s like Lost for Black Women. And I LOVED Lost… but was ultimately disappointed. Basically, I’m saying I won’t be hurt again, ABC.
And I LOVED Lost… but was ultimately disappointed
.
me too. the last season was so weird and awkward that i didnt even watch the last three episodes
There is still time to get on the scandal bandwagon!
Watching the old episodes is better now actually, because you don’t have to wait a week to find out what happens next.
I had post-Lost depression.
I am one of 3 Black people who hasn’t seen Scandal. But I have seen Deception, and I’m being more patient with Meagan Good’s eyebrows now that I know they’re tattooed on (seriously. she did the shave them off/draw them on thing when she was a teenager, but they didn’t grow back) Trying not to be a hypocrite in only supporting Meagan’s hoodrat roles *watches “Video Girl”*
When ppl do the tattoo thing I always wonder what their eyebrows will look like when they are 72.
I haven’t seen Scandal either. Not even Deception. I like Kerry and Megan in movies and not the small screen;
Taraji is different. I like Person of Interest and her movies
Let’s be honest though- “Deception” is nothing more than NBC’s rewrite of the ABC television series “Revenge”. If you don’t believe me, watch the pilot episodes to both shows. The plot, settings and families are damned near identical.
-
Although we should have expected this kind of stuff from NBC. This isn’t the first time they ripped off a show (“Friends”, anyone?).
@ Perverted Alchemist THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!
As a HARDCORE Revenger I saw Deception and was like this Revenge but a poor remake with a black lead actress. NBC is trying to take the popularity of Scandal thinks any story line would work. I try to support it because major networks do need to understand that there is a market for BLACK shows (that don’t involve Tyler Perry) with well written scripts that black people will watch.
+2 *watches Cookout*
it’s really hard for me to watch meagan good. and by “it’s really hard for me to watch meagan good” i mean “it’s hard for me to “buy” meagan good’s characters because it always feels like she’s trying to f*ck the camera”
I haven’t seen deception yet, I need to watch that.
Not sayin its necessary (spell check lol) to watch scandal as a person of Color but dang ninjas complain about programming like BBW and SHAWTY LO- All my baby mamas……but when its showing brothers and sisters in Power its still not good enough, plus Columbus Short has a role on Scandal and He aint fittin no Negro stereotypes……IM SLEEP THO
AGREED times ten!
Scandal smandal. I’ve never seen the show. And, I’m tired of hearing about it. Also, that Kirsten West – Savali post was garbage.
-
On a more serious note: I can’t be the only one experiencing trouble reading the comments after about the first 20. The screen gets jumbled and impossible to read.
I seems to be a Firefox thing. When I switch to Chrome, I don’t have that issue. That’s just odd.
Yeah, I have that issue as well. We’re working on the issue in the back end. Truth is, this damn template is making me want to fight you all. So we may have to make some changes around here.
And yes, the Kirsten West-Savali post was garbage.
I just read the article. What was wrong with it?
Plus, no one does “I will make you root and shed tears for these flawed motherf*ckers†better than Shonda Rhimes. She is a maven, a magician, the bougie Black girl’s Geppetto.
.
Upon reading this, I realized not only did the rest of this article become irrelevant, but that I also peed my pants.
.
Moving on…
Oh, so the quote tags don’t work on el site-o new-wave-o, eh, homes? Diva does not like.
Upon reading this, I realized not only did the rest of this article become irrelevant, but that I also peed my pants.
.
thanks and shit (pun intended)
There’s a BIG difference between Scandal and RHOA or Love and Hip Hop….Reality and fiction! Even tho everyone’s favorite convo is about how “scripted” reality shows are but the DAMAGE that “reality shows” do to our community is off the scale. There are people and kids that that take reality at face value. They believe that stuff. That those actions are acceptable. We are judged by other groups of people and stereotyped because of these “reality shows”. Olivia Pope and Scandal is a fictional land…with fictional characters…and massive amounts of embellishment.Every show with black characters (ESPECIALLY fictional) does not call for us to sit on the edge of our seats and rate how far this will take the whole NEGRO RACE! And I LOVE the show but I’ve never rooted for Olivia to “win” the president. I’ve always thought she was an adulterer. *the end*
Thank you – there’s a HUGE difference between selling your soul on reality tv & BEING AN ACTRESS!
“and exactly like the hypocrisy millions of Americans exhibit when pretending to care about concussions and player safety and still sucking on the NFL teet every weekend.”
.
This.
.
I have not seen scandal yet. I will put this out there, though. I think there really is a difference between Real House Wives ratchet and the type of ratchet you summarized in Scandal. In Scandal, the protagonist is fooling around with someone who has real power.
Wait, Benzino doesn’t have a real job? I thought he was a big deal and all, since Eminem took the time out to make him a diss record back in the day…
Sophisticated ratchetness…is still ratchetness.
not necessarily. being a ho is ratchet. being someone who works hard, has discipline, and stays the course who does things with someone who contributes to that — even if its questionable or misguided — is just nature. im not sure stuff like that can be avoided when its your life day after day, but, you can avoid being a whore and sleeping around for no reason at all.
yeah, and Olivia Pope is not a ho at all. She is always trying to do the right thing. I blame the president for that whole situation.
Why does only the president get the blame? Last time I checked it’s a mutual affair. They are both to blame. Having an affair with a married man is ratchet. Both the president and Olivia is ratchet.
i love scandal and i’m in the UK! i have got my sister hooked on it. love the twists, love the camera angles and the quick dialogue – both the flow and the actual conversation because it must be a tongue twister. but i’m amazed at how deep the conversation is becoming – isn’t this meant to be thursday night entertainment – or whenever u want to do catch up?
I agree, I see no Hoe-ism on Scandal. You can’t help who you love sometimes. Additionally, I’d like to point out that its not some tawdry affair – he’s her lobster! (I’m obviously being objective here) He handed Olivia her arse when she tried to pull that “Sally Hemmings” card. He literally said “I belong to you”. Sorry, I need a second to stop swooning…Ok, where was I? Right, they have a relationship that doesn’t seem comparable to being a groupie who landed a baby daddy famous enough to get her on TV. Lastly, why are we comparing reality TV to a scripted Prime time evening drama in the first place??? Maybe I missed it, but I can’t recall seeing any of this when Meredith and Derek were seeing each other -even though he had a wife- on Grey’s Anatomy. No one called her a typical Jezebel or said she was a horrible representation of ridiculously thin white women – they just enjoyed the drama. If Meredith and McDreamy aren’t ratchet, then I see no reason that Olivia and Fitz should be. This is just a case of black folks over analyzing. With that said, I’m usually a lurker so this is my first comment. Please be kind.
lol @ i belong to you. thats really sexy.
Agreed! Sometimes we need to chill and just let entertainment be entertainment!
I’m gonna be more than kind – I agree w/ your whole statement!
me too. those real housewife women seem like they lack moral center and are a result of adhering to a superficial lifestyle. but if youre someone like this scandal character you have to at least be rooted in something even if you are making questionable decisions.
And that makes hood sh1t OK? I didn’t know that many sisters were on their Paula Broadwell steez. LOL
Lest anybody over the age of 20 forgets, Net Gingrich WAS Speaker of the House. In Congress. In 1994. Cheating on his 1st Ex-Wife while she was battling Cancer with his SECOND Ex-Wife who was his Staffer, WHILE he was imepeaching President Bill Clinton for having an “affiar” as Leader of the Free World. Newt was STILL a Ho, just like Monica WAS a Ho and Olivia Pope is STILL a Homewrecker/Ho by STILL getting busy with the POTUS in the show.
In a nutshell, politicians as a whole are whores. The Kennedys practically set the bar high for it.
How does that make olivia a ho??? A home wrecker…sure… but
Ho..naw. she does not get paid in exchange for her services and she is not just sleeping around in search of herself. Nor is she getting benefit from it career wise. I can’t speak on basketball wives…cause they are irrelevant and reality ratchet is different than fictional drama.
There’s no difference. Ratchet is ratchet. Only difference is Kerry is WORKING while those other bytches are……..what the fawk are they doing again?
Hoeing, apparently
I’d agree, but clearly none of them can suck a mean dyck otherwise they’d be wifed up during every episode of the shows.
*dead*
“Modeling”…
Rotflmfao
lol.
i believe the phrase “working girls” exists to answer your question ~*~
I should have clarified “difference”…I was thinking strictly in terms if entertainment value – how intriguing the story is. Hood ratchetness is kind of par for the course. It isn’t as titillating as elite ratchetness.
I remember my big sister coming home for Christmas and watching it with my mommy. I asked them what the show was about and they told nothing other than the show is about a woman who keeps secrets. But the main reason I was even inquiring about the show is because I saw Columbus Short was on there. I like him because I think it’s really cool the way he went from a no-name back up dancer in a B2K movie (You Got Served) to getting multiple serious roles alongside respected Hollywood vets. I like his hustle and the way he was able to avoid getting typecasted in mere dancing roles.
-
But other than that, I have no idea what the show is about or why Black men supposedly “hate” it.
stomp the yard. if that isnt the single most hold the bridge of your nose and pray to god a*s movie. dude was a straight beast. colombus short. yes. just. yes.
I like him because I think it’s really cool the way he went from a no-name back up dancer in a B2K movie (You Got Served) to getting multiple serious roles alongside respected Hollywood vets. I like his hustle and the way he was able to avoid getting typecasted in mere dancing roles.
.
i was just thinking about that, but it regards to kerry washington. who knew that the token hating black chick in “save the last dance” would become the most successful Black actress in Hollywood?
rah, true true. i learn a lot about popular culture from you guys! i didn’t even think of kerry’s cv that far back! i didnt even know columbus was a dancer – but this is all americana, so you can’t blame me
smh @ this post. at first i lmbo and then i got the skeptical scrunchface, then i laughed some more, and then i got that feeling you get when somethings obvious and you can tell its obvious……but you still dont get it. and then i laughed again. my mind feels like its blowing a fuse. i dont think i like where its going…
mainly because what made me laugh the second time around was the fact i actually started dwelling on what arouses me, then i laughed because thats silly. especially after the assumption theres a dc fetish. dc is annoying and has annoying people in it and i dont think they ever stop the lifestyle of getting sloppy drunk and partying. but thats a logic flaw. everyone in my suburb works there or arlington or fairfax so maybe im bitter i cant join in, cuz im honestly salty as sh*t i have to say no to the carelessness that is ratchet nightlife.
i wanna have fun but i dont wanna lose myself. even though all i wanna do is lose myself. but. whatever. itll mesh one day. as far as scandal goes im EXTRA off. i thought sanaa lathan starred in it and i have no idea what its about. i dont even bother to read up on it; people like it they like it. ill take their word its a good show.
speaking of hypocrisy though, the other day i was wondering about representing a message you dont actually live as your life. and even though itd be nice to seperate how i feel from what i believe in, im not sure i wouldnt feel a sense of loss if i just became something im not cuz it felt good. id also be…unraveled. and id feel phony. doing something because it feels good doesnt seem like its me. and now i feel really sad. integrity is a virtue. it shouldnt be compromised for the sake of pleasure.
Whoops, somebody’s off their meds again. *yells* Toooooooodd!!!!!
lol – stop it!
I’m glad you said this, had I or any human with a shlong did we would be curel, Sexist bastards
its always bothersome when you know a male is justifying his actions as to why he feels the need to consistently penetrate someones atmosphere who clearly tells him to stop. that is excessively inappropriate for a male to do, in any sense and any form. you make every dude in a fifty mile radius of your behavior seem questionable.
You’re starting to become a Personal Troll. I comment on Topics and Towards others besides you, plus Clearly I’m not the Only One who reads your posts and comes with the same conclusion about your mental state or opinions. Sorry, I got the same 1st Amendment Rights as you do and THIS is how I choose to exercise it.
Get Over It
marshal. you have serious issues dude. and i hope you dont learn the hard way how serious it is to think you have the right to a females personal space.
You smoking thew same crap SweetSass and WC??? WTF are you talking about???!!!!
~ i was wondering about representing a message you dont actually live as your life.
.
from my experience, it is exhausting, confusing, and ultimately, it crashes down around you—as karma always does. it happens, i believe, for a reason, which is to teach us about truth, integrity, and a greater purpose to life.
.
i dont think people compromise themselves just for pleasure. sometimes it is also for the avoidance of pain. and sometimes it is because people are lost at sea and trying to attach themselves to something that feels familiar, though the familiar can be a very dangerous thing ..
thats pretty weak though. choosing to avoid one thing and holding on to something flimsy in the meantime. it doesnt even make sense for the lack of stability, anything could blow you over. and youd compromise yourself to FEEL better. if anything, you should accept what youre avoiding and move forward solely on the basis of what youve ALWAYS stood for.
example: if i go around teaching young people not to smoke and then i have a bad day so i smoke, tf do i tell them. ‘ay…i had to avoid my pain.’ *kanye shrug*
ALL of it is exhausting. every last bit of it. doesnt mean you drop everything cuz youre hurting in the clutch.
i have found that people are strong ~and~ weak, not either/or. there is a lot of imbalance and instability inherent and life that can be reflected in our character.
.
for me, hypocrisy was more complex than “do as i say, not as i do.” i didn’t make it a point to tell anyone how to live their lives because who was i to talk. i didn’t stand for anything of substance until i had the courage to leave it all behind.
but if youre a role model you cant just pretend people arent looking up to you. you have to be aware youre living a life others learn from. you cant just drop that and walk away from it.
i hear you. but i question the kind of person who presents themselves as a role model, because i am inherently anti-authority and i question anyone seeking any form of power, no matter how well-intentioned it may be.
.
my guru, such as i call my friend casually, is my guru because he leads by example. he never tells me what to do or how to be, and if i say something wonky, the most i ever get is a confused face or a subtly placed, “huhh.”
.
he inspires me to look at myself objectively, while also observing his path, one which i value for its focus on integrity and substance over all else. but if he were to seek to lead by adopting a role model position, i would be long gone. i love and admire people whose very existence empowers us to think for ourselves.
yeah! exactly! someone who lives his life with integrity and substance means i can do whatever i want because its me being a follower to his lead but im still everything ive always believed in and stood for. just…funner. and happier.
I wouldn’t mind watching the show. Good tv is good tv. However, I don’t like to start watching anything worth watching if I can’t catch it from the first couple of episodes. If you don’t, by half way into the season, you’ve heard so many spoilers you’re like eh, *shrugs* i’ll get to it someday….but never do.
“However, I don’t like to start watching anything worth watching if I can’t catch it from the first couple of episodes.”
-
This is EXACTLY why I still have yet to check out Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Scandal, and Game of Thrones. I’ve heard a lot of great things about these shows, but most of them are at least 3 seasons in at this point. I don’t want to start watching now, and be confused about half the sh*t that’s going on. I did that with True Blood (I caught the entirety of it’s latest season) and while it was extremely entertaining, there’s A LOT of sh*t I was confused about.
Breaking Bad is on Netflix. It’s good but not great. Game of Thrones is all types of wonderful. It’s actually a very political show. The Walking Dead is good. Also on Netflix. You should catch up to these shows in the following order: Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Scandal, Walking Dead.
+10000
Then go to project free tv to watch the rest of the shows that netflix doesnt show. True Blood is a great show that you have to watch from the beginning but I love it. The Walking Dead is undeniable and I have yet to tune into Netflix to see the first 7 episodes of Scandal. I cant get into the show until I see that.
Revenge is also a good show. Emily is about that life.
The Walking Dead is a great show…one of my coworkers put me on it. I’m still trying to find the first episodes of the current season though.
Revenge is cool too. It’s a new favorite. I tried to get into Breaking Bad, but I just couldn’t.. :-/
Project free tv(google usually shows the link first) is the best site for watching all episodes. But I warn you you will watch all day.
so true! that’s exactly what happened with scandal – hours back to back. my domestic goddess mode completely suspended
“Breaking Bad is on Netflix. It’s good but not great.”
-
Somebody boo this woman! (I’m kidding Mena, LOL!)…
In all seriousness, “Breaking Bad” is actually entertaining. How can you not love the craziness that is Jesse Pinkman?
Don’t you boo me PA!!
It’s good but season 4 was too far fetched.
Mena most tv is too far fetched. At that point you were just blown away by the turn of events, you’d given up on expecting it to be realistic lol. At least that’s how i felt watching it. It was still quite entertaining to me. Different strokes 4 different negros and whatnot
I’m still working on Season 2. So far I can’t understand anything that makes people go off the wall for this show. But clearly there’s more to it.
-
Though I do agree that a crank ho killing her husband with an ATM to the head as he tries to break it was FAWKING AWESOME.
That moment in the show was left field. I didn’t expect that at all, LOL!
I’m with PA, Breaking Bad is the sh*t. I just got through with Season 4 last night. Ridiculous! The show goes from good to great in the 4th season imo. I only watched the first 4 episodes of Game of Thrones but I can tell I’m gonna like it. I wanted to like Scandal and I tried, but the acting was too unrealistic to me and the dialogue was too corny and contrived. But trust me Rewind Breaking Bad gets WAY better. Saul Goodman’s definitely my favorite character tho lol
I don’t wanna say “Breaking Bad” is the best show ever…but it’s one of the best shows I’ve seen in a really long time.
For Game of Thrones, I literally had to push through until about episode 5 and then i was hooked.
Wait until season 2? Daenerys is BAD!!! And Tyrion is a true politician. Such a great show.
Ok T.Q, you’ve made me a believer. Everyone keeps saying it picks up during season 3 & 4 and I was already getting turned off until I saw that episode in season 2..but I’m committed now. Plus they said season 5 was ridiculous.
-
Dude I love Game of Thrones so much I’ve read 3 of the books so far, you are going to love that show. Plus SPARTA-FAWKING-CUS comes out this month!
@PA- Yeah that was my summary of it too. The best I’ve seen in a long time. @Mena- I’m gonna get on it really soon. U got me excited now.
@Rewind- I’m VERY hyped to watch Season 5. I’m gonna start by the end of this week. What episode in season 2 are u referring to? I really need to watch Sparticus tho. I heard it was awesome tho
Umm, Breaking Bad is fantastic. THAT is ALL!
I’m with you on that. I keep hearing about how oh-so-wonderful WD, BB and GofT are that I want to watch them, but it takes a lot effort to go back to the beginning, especially if you live in a country without Netflicks. Maybe if they do a catch-up show like Battle Star Galactica did, I would watch them.
There is no netflix in Switzerland?!?
Not even the online version? What about Hulu?
At least you have good chocolate (that’s Switzerland, right?)
You need to watch Breaking Bad asap. That show is insane. Drug dealing in the ‘burbs makes the hood look like Disney World
I’m currently in that pickle with Justified. Great show and I watched most of the 1st season but trailed off. Now its the 4th season, and I watched the first episode last week and it was GREAT. But…I’m so damn confused.
-
There has to be an easier way to catch up on these shows.
I need to holla at you. Hit me at justus7227@gmail.com
-
Buy a bike and a gun! You’ve been warned.
The above comment is for TX.
However, I don’t like to start watching anything worth watching if I can’t catch it from the first couple of episodes.
…
me too.this is how i caught up with mad men
I really wanted to hate Mad Men. However, the more I watched, the more I liked it.
Jon Hamm AKA Don Draper- coldest man alive!
-
Christina Hendricks- DAT ASS!!!!
i think you’re the first man in history to notice hendricks’ azz first. lol
I blame it on her tight ass pants in the movie “Drive”, LOL!
Yeah, I was thinkin more like “Dem t*tties” but I guess her @ss is cool too…
Yeah, I was thinkin more like “Dem t*tties” but I guess her @ss is cool too…
right? I’ve got a set of my own, but her mounds look like the gateway to heaven. lol
U ma’am just told the most eloquent truth I’ve heard all morning lol. Them pillows are just…magical lol
*Googles Christina Hendricks*
*Gives Shamira a head nod*
*Walks away*
I’m pretty indifferent about it all. I’ll probably never watch it.
So…Scandal is good but it isn’t phenomenal. The hype is a bit much as well. I think that Huck overacts and there have been times where the show stresses me out bc everyone on screen looks so stressed. But the story lines are good and you find characters that you like and characters that you like to hate. My favorite characters are the Chief of Staff’s husband and the president and I love hating the Vice President
The reason why I watch it is: 1) it’s about politics and many bougie black and white people love politics, 2) it stars a lead female character who is sophisticated, powerful, and broken, and 3) Shonda has done in the almost 10 years what so many of us have complained about which is putting regular related people on tv in leading roles and some just happen to be black (see: Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Scandal, and soon to be Issa Raye’s big debut). I will support that woman by tuning in to as many if her shows that I can.
Olivia’s affair with the president does make an awesome part of the show. Do we really want him to leave his wife for her? Well no. Their affair serves such a dimension to the entire show with flashbacks, how he was elected, how he makes decisions now as a president, his crappy marriage, etc that you want to continue to see this battle between the two of them. However, I don’t know if the affair was taken out if people would still watch it since the affair plays such a huge role in Olivia’s power and the power she has over the President.
Scandal gets a lot of hype simply bc black women see themselves in Olivia. I don’t think that I should have to support a show just because the characters are black but when I find a show that is good, the lead character being black is just icing on the cake.
“Huck overreacts”…. Huck always looks like he is constipated to me.
Huck looks like a bomb ready to explode.
I think that’s because well, he actually is. Homeboy is a trained killer who LOVES to kill but understands the immorality in it, and fights everyday to not give in to the urge.
-
I actually think it’s dope how you’ve got the obvious “Scandal”, where two of the main characters are neck deep in it, and then there’s this guy, who’s trying his hardest to NOT go over the edge and regress because he is aware of the consequences.
-
And yes, i’m a black man who watches Scandal. And i actually like it
Agree with you.
But i still want to see Huck take a nap.
Maybe next season he could get on medication or something.
“But i still want to see Huck take a nap.”
Maybe Huck should holla at Mr. Nice Guy… “Party Accessories”…holla at my man Thurgood!
#halfbaked
“Scandal gets a lot of hype simply bc black women see themselves in Olivia.”
-
Considering her behavior on the show, that’s a very bad example to follow- just throwing that out there.
In the powerful business woman not the sleeping with the president. LOL.
I know many Black women see themselves in Olivia. I’ve heard a few women say that….so my quesiton is…what parts of themselves do they see? Cuz when watching the show I don’t really see any chicks I know in her. LOL.
Maybe I need to know better chicks.
Just the business woman who is making deals left and right. You don’t know any hard hitting women?
I had to come back: You don’t know any women who are sophisticated, powerful, and yet broken. I mean, from the way the black blogsphere tells it black women are either ratchet or business women who can’t get a man.
You do.
I am not like Olivia Pope at all, but I love the IDEA of being like her. She is hard-working, very smart, highly respected by pretty much every one, she always looks great, and probably one of the ten most powerful people in the world (of scandal).
Every time I watch that show it makes me think “I want to be Olivia Pope.” But no one who knows me would say I actually am like her, since it’s all in my head.
For now.
You’ve met me, haven’t you?
As much as I love Kerry Washington ,Kim have made an effort to watch the show and I don’t intend to.Besides I don’t think the show has staying power.
“Sophisticated ratchedness, is still ratchedness.”
-That Ugly Kid
Good morning champ-and happy new year!
BRAVO, my good sir, i could not have said it better myself. Though, it does merit pointing out, that the “scandal” discussions take place at the same time that “all my babies’ mamas” has been cancelled-led and/or cheered on by black women who themselves come a heck of a lot closer to the fictionalized olivia pope than to any of shawty lo’s baby mamas. When seen in this context, the rank hypocrisy is at least a magnitude bigger.
Ill be writing more about the cancellation of ambm over at my place on the morrow, but for now i will say that i never bought into ms sabrina lambs “reasons” for opposing ambm, mainly because she didnt seem all that moved to oppose scandal-i mean think about it: if the idea is to promote healthy images of black folk for the sake of the kids, wouldnt kerry washington/shonda rhimes be in the same boat as diga productions, the outfit that was behind ambm? And if not-why? Being an adulterous mate poacher like olivia pope, is something thats good for black kids-especially girls?
Really?
No, the real reason why ms lamb (and your buddy ms demetria lucas) had such a big bird over ambm, wasnt because of its supposed “stereotypes”-but rather, because IT WAS TOO REAL. For bougie sistas like lucas, lamb et al, the depressing reality is that they are rarely, if ever, likely to be wined and dined and sought after and swept off their feet by powerful men with swag and money and saavy. In the realworld shawty lo is common and barack obama is the maltese falcon-and in between, are tens of millions of brothas who are just white noise. Bougie sistas are keenly, painfully aware of this. So scandal serves an important purpose-it gives them a world they are likely never to see or experience in the realworld, even if in doing so their heroine kerry washington, is becoming a paula broadwell in blackface. All my babies mamas, on the other hand, only brings home the depressing reality, that out on the open mating market, black women are last hired and first fired, and must get in where they fit in.
As the wise man once astutely observed, when you look around, you see a lot.
Now adjourn your arses…
O.
“that out on the open mating market, black women are last hired and first fired, and must get in where they fit in.” Is your view of black women so low that you feel that all we can get are table scraps or that we can’t get successful men?
@Ms. Mena:
” Is your view of black women so low that you feel that all we can get are table scraps or that we can’t get successful men?”
O: My personal views of Black Women, one way or another, is irrelevant to that which I have presented, for it is informed by empirical data, surveys and studies. For example, numerous online dating surveys have repeatedly shown that Black Women get the least responses of all Women sorted by ethnic group when using the various online dating services and the like. We can see that more than four decades on from the historic Loving v. Virginia decision, that Black Women are among, if not the least likely to inter-marry, and so on. None of this reflects my personal opinions or “takes” on Black Women, but merely reporting the facts on the ground as they have remained virtually unchanged for decades.
Of course, it must also be said that what I am addressing is in the aggregate, and that of course there are always exceptions and there’s the fact that when Black Women do pair off it is almost invariably with Black Men; but the point is made – in the undemocratic world of mating, some are more desirable than others. In the modern day American mating market, Black Women are not seen as desirable as White, Asian or even some Hispanic Women. It is, what it is.
O.
Who’s real world is this you speak of? I’m going to have to disagree. To whittle all black women down and say their only reality is finding men to impregnate them and leave as quickly as they came (pun not intended) is laughable to me. I’m not sure what black women you’ve convinced to subscribe to your way of thinking but kudos to you for your vivid accounts on the lives of black women everywhere. For figuring out my life and all its intricacies I salute you O
He’s talking about what HE sees when HE looks around HIS environment. That’s all anyone needs to know.
I think his paynus is probably the size of a baby carrot. I read his comments sometimes and just think “Who hurt you?”
@Ms. AfroPetite:
“I think his paynus is probably the size of a baby carrot. I read his comments sometimes and just think “Who hurt you?—
O: LOL – I just love it when the disaffected ladies respond to my arguments with “you got a small d*ck!!!” at the top of their Internet voices. Y’all crack me up, I needed the laugh.
Whew….
O.
@Ms. WildCougar:
“He’s talking about what HE sees when HE looks around HIS environment. That’s all anyone needs to know.”
O: You really should learn how to bob and weave; taking one too many punches to the head can cause permanent brain damage…which probably isn’t very hard to do in your case, I would imagine…
O.
@Ms. AfroPetite:
“Who’s real world is this you speak of?”
O: That of millions of Black Women.
“I’m going to have to disagree.”
O: Somehow, this does not surprise me…
“To whittle all black women down and say their only reality is finding men to impregnate them and leave as quickly as they came (pun not intended) is laughable to me.”
O: I should hope so, because that isn’t what I said in the least. Reading IS fundamental, dontcha know.
“I’m not sure what black women you’ve convinced to subscribe to your way of thinking but kudos to you for your vivid accounts on the lives of black women everywhere.”
O: I don’t argue to persuade, that’s rhetoric. I do dialectic.
“For figuring out my life and all its intricacies I salute you O”
O: No applause please; just throw money…
O.
Personally, I’m just surprised that a has been and unmemorable former stand up comedian from Comic View had the nerve to get all righteous. For shame, Sabrina Lamb…for shame…
“mate poacher” Bwahahaaaaaa!!
@PA:
“Personally, I’m just surprised that a has been and unmemorable former stand up comedian from Comic View had the nerve to get all righteous. For shame, Sabrina Lamb…for shame…”
O: Hmm! Now this is a most interesting tidbit of information. Thanks for the tip; I’ll definitely be looking into it…
O.
Why does what we watch have to speak about our reality and our character? What happened to just watching sh*t because it was entertaining?? My favorite show hands down is Dexter….am I a serial killer? Nope. Do I admire serial killers? Nope. But I adore Dexter and stan for that show like none other.
I watch Scandal, and yes, the affair is entertaining to watch. Im not making a political statement when I turn on my tv….Im just tryna enjoy my evenings, relax and be great. I promise its not that serious to most of us.
@Ms. Bunni:
“Why does what we watch have to speak about our reality and our character?”
O: Because if it didn’t speak to something in us as watchers, we wouldn’t watch said shows/movies and production companies wouldn’t make any money.
“What happened to just watching sh*t because it was entertaining??”
O: Please see above. It’s “entertaining” because it exploits our evolved psychology in various ways. See below.
“My favorite show hands down is Dexter….am I a serial killer? Nope. Do I admire serial killers? Nope. But I adore Dexter and stan for that show like none other.”
O: No, you may not be a serial killer – but you most likely share Dex’s strong sense of justice, which is the key motivation in his killings.
“I watch Scandal, and yes, the affair is entertaining to watch.”
O: And WHY is it so “entertaining to watch”, Ms. Bunni? Please explain?
“Im not making a political statement when I turn on my tv….”
O: Nor have I made such a case.
“Im just tryna enjoy my evenings, relax and be great. I promise its not that serious to most of us.”
O: Hmm – and yet, multi-million operations like Essence sees to it that the show is discussed.
Again – hmm…
O.
might I add, that I am disgusted that AMBM actually got canceled. It IS reality for many many MANY women (black and otherwise)…I think protest of it was misguided and petty. But I’m sleep tho **yawns**
@Ms. Bunni:
“might I add, that I am disgusted that AMBM actually got canceled. It IS reality for many many MANY women (black and otherwise)…I think protest of it was misguided and petty.”
O: Thank you for affirming my belief in people of good will, intelligence and reason!
Now if you could just straighten out that SweetSass chick…
O.
The fact you think AMBM is representative is pretty depressing.
Your mother is a ho*e?
Is that what you’re trying to tell us.
@Ms. SourSass:
“The fact you think AMBM is representative is pretty depressing.”
O: I wasn’t the one to abort – ahem – the show…
“Your mother is a ho*e?
Is that what you’re trying to tell us.”
O: Did you just try to do “Your Mama” kind of bust on me?
Really?
O.
“but for now i will say that i never bought into ms sabrina lambs “reasons†for opposing ambm, mainly because she didnt seem all that moved to oppose scandal-i mean think about it: if the idea is to promote healthy images of black folk for the sake of the kids, wouldnt kerry washington/shonda rhimes be in the same boat as diga productions, the outfit that was behind ambm? And if not-why? Being an adulterous mate poacher like olivia pope, is something thats good for black kids-especially girls?”
Word up bruh! I hear you on this.
“No, the real reason why ms lamb (and your buddy ms demetria lucas) had such a big bird over ambm, wasnt because of its supposed “stereotypesâ€-but rather, because IT WAS TOO REAL. For bougie sistas like lucas, lamb et al, the depressing reality is that they are rarely, if ever, likely to be wined and dined and sought after and swept off their feet by powerful men with swag and money and saavy.”
Ummmm…whoa….I’m out.
The Truth tends to do that, LOL
O.
I have not made an effort to watch the show
I love Scandal and Target..so bit me Champ!
Yes everyone is rooting for Liv and The POTUS to get together…yes he is married and his wife is ANNOYING and EVIL….but the difference with this (in my lil world) show is that…its a SHOW it’s not real life like the mess we watch on reality t.v. It’s great writing and plots that make very conservative and other wise sane women wanna scream with pleasure. The chemistry that Liv and The POTUS has is magnetic.
Judge me ninja…you ain’t the Lord!!! So who cares….lol!
Lmao
I’m here for Scandal and for the affair. Ninjas act like the shows they do enjoy ain’t filled with ish that goes against everything they believe in….I call bullshiggity! Any grown bougie black man who has seen American Gangster ain’t about that life and probably won’t run blue magic in real life but I can’t support an affair in La Casa de Blanco though?!
Me personally, I never think the criticism is about the shows as opposed to the way people react to the shows. All the crappy reality shows are crappy for a reason, but it is always the reactions of the fans that make the shows a waaaaay bigger deal than they actually are. To have millions of people talking about the stupidest of things all at once consistently….that has a higher value than the actual stupid thing they are talking about.
-
I honestly bet if people didn’t talk about Scandal or LHH the way they do, you’d never hear any complaints from the other side.
So if that was my life at some point, am I absolved from being called a hypocrite?
Yes, yes you are lol
if you were a goon and then you stopped being a goon you would be a “good decision”. not a hypocrite.
THANK YOU!!
I love Dexter but I don’t wanna murder people and believe people IRL who murder people, whether good or bad people, should be in jail. I swear people only do this because it is a Black Woman. Anyone talk about the hypocrisy of loving House of Lies? Suits? Sons of Anarchy? ANY tv show featuring a “flawed” MALE character? Nope? Then MISS ME. This should never have become a discussion, and the fact that it is loud enough to make Essence annoys the sh*t out of me.
That’s a good example.
A lot of people watch Dexter and are against murder, no one calls them hypocrites.
B/c a woman’s fantasy is never supposed to be shown on tv. Only a man’s. Women are only to be sexually for a man’s pleasure. Nothing more. H3ll, why do you think 50 Shades of Grey is a bestseller?
I was in all types of dark b/c i didn’t think that this show was that serious.
THIS.
Women canNOT have their desires made public. In any shape, form or fashion. Ever. It’s shameful.
@_@
i wonder ..
.
i agree the backlash is astounding and relentless, and it is a very powerful tool of social oppression but ! i do not think that this precludes us from going public with our truth. if anything, it is all the more cause to champion one’s self as human above all.
.
i concede, there is a price to be paid. society as a whole (both men and women together) tend to abhor the liberated woman cause it’s the ultimate affront to civilization as it has been structured, which is to control the production of life and the programming of it.
I agree with you. It’s either a woman thing or black woman thing. Don Draper has been sleeping around and cheating on his wives for five seasons of Mad Men, and he’s a hero but Olivia Pope is a ho? I don’t think it’s hypocritical to be entertained by a t.v. show even if it’s protagonist is flawed, and there would be no drama if all of the characters were good people who did everything right.
The show is real life for that social group. You just don’t have an invite to the party.
So…cheating on a spouse is acceptable as long as it’s on television? Gotcha…
As long as it’s fiction.
It’s the inconsistency that bothers me. People want to be against extramarital affairs in real life, but will be perfectly fine with it in a work of fiction. The hell?
OMG….
Are you retarded?
Just because someone watches The Texas Chainsaw Massacre…
Doesn’t mean they are pro-murder.
I’ll put it to you this way- since you are clearly not paying attention:
-
I find it rather interesting that certain things are acceptable on film, music and television that wouldn’t be acceptable in real life by the same people being entertained by said media outlets.
-
Clearly that’s not difficult to understand, but I forgot I was talking to a left wing extremist.
It’s the fantasy of it. It’s playing out what you want to do but can’t because of what society deems acceptable or you’ll get put in jail.
The problem lies in finding what society deems acceptable. As you may know, that changes from time to time.
You find it interesting that people enjoy fictional drama (that they wouldn’t want in their own lives)?
Welcome to life. Here is a bib, a pacifer, and some toys.
It’s ironic that you are trying to refer to me as the childish one, but you are the one hurling insults and snide remarks instead of learning how to answer a simple question. I think people can tell between the two of us who is actually the immature one.
-
I’m an adult and I prefer to have an adult conversation. Try talking to me when you can either have something of interest to say or acting like a adult for once.
Your usually on point with your arguments..but this is kinda stretching it…i mean real life and fantasy surely there is a difference!
Woah, PA, she’s an Extreme Male-Bashing Feminist, don’t place her in the Liberal catergory. I’m Moderate but vote Democrat BUT there are plenty things that I see, think and feel conservative about. Does it Look like Scandal viewers are Hypocrites- Plenty are but not All of them. Are FEMALE viewers hypocrites- Plenty are but Not All. Champ/PJ and several others (male AND female) who dislike the show aren’t saying that explicitly.
There’s entertainment then there’s Real Life; like the Dexter example I play Call of Duty with my younger brothers (14 and 17) like its Religion (same way Madden and NBA 2k gamers play) and yet NONE of us are seeking to Arm Up like Mercs to take people out. Tons of countries have people playing violent games and violent movies yet it’s the U.S. has the biggest and largest rate of gun violence?? Trust, it’s NOT Video Games and Tarantino films.
http://www.singleblackmale.org/2013/01/15/why-men-dont-like-scandal/
Great points, Marshal. It’s something to think about- especially this:
-
“Tons of countries have people playing violent games and violent movies yet it’s the U.S. has the biggest and largest rate of gun violence??”
i hear you. it makes for a very compelling discussion :: does art or entertainment hold to a moral code? is that code comparable to “real life” ? who sets the moral code? do we hold ourselves accountable for our choices? how can we measure accountability?
.
i have no answers, but i have more questions.
great questions. similar to the ones asked by C Delores Tucker, who I called all kinds of names way back when. but i’ve been thinking more about this and something tells me I would owe her an apology if she were still alive.
excellent reference ! the culture wars of the 80s crystallized the high-low culture debate in very clear terms. the right-wing opponents to free speech seemed to represent everything that was fascist about America, and it was all too easy to throw out the baby with the bathwater.
.
of course, it is free enterprise that won, and with this comes the illusion of free speech. the thing that is so questionable is why free enterprise focuses on self-exploitation as the means to getting paid.
…And this is pretty much what I was trying to get at. Thank you Esa.
thank youu PA ! i applaud you for getting at the essence of what makes this conversation valuable to us, as individuals and as a society. it ties in so well to things i am contemplating in my life, and i am definitely buzzed ~*~
It’s not cheating when the spouse knows
She knows…but I don’t think she know EVERYTHING, so it kind of is….
Then what is it- a mutual understanding? LMAO!!
ummmm…yeah…kinda ‘shrugs’
Yes…
And so is shooting tons of nameless extras like in every action movie ever made?
What is your point?
You don’t know the difference between entertainment and real life?
Read my comment above, you heathen *snickers*
So because you watch Silence of the Lambs, it’s right to assume you are into cannibalism in real life? You think cannibalism is ok?
DO YOU!?!?! DO YOU, PERVERTED ALCHEMIST!??!!
I’ve never watched “Silence Of The Lambs”, so I wouldn’t know…
Have you ever listen to a rap song about dealing drugs? You must be a drug dealer.
Watched a horror slasher film? You must be pro-serial killer.
Watched an action movie with a rough no-rules cop? You must be for police brutality.
You are dumb. Soooooo dumb. My lord, how you don’t understand this point is astounding. You must be trolling. No one can be this stupid.
It’s not as dumb as you defending irrational positions, but I’ll digress..
-
“Have you ever listen to a rap song about dealing drugs? You must be a drug dealer.”
Watched a horror slasher film? You must be pro-serial killer.
Watched an action movie with a rough no-rules cop? You must be for police brutality”
-
I want you to read this to yourself and realize how stupid YOU sound right now. You are way off base- no surprise there. If you’re going to try to debate me, you can do a lot better than this. However, after our last dust up on the topic of Liberals Vs. Conservatives, you have to do a lot better than this. I have all the time in the world and I’m ready when you are…
I was mocking you.
Sure you were…
It’s called sarcasm.
I enjoy Scandal, but I’m not rooting for Olivia and President Ghost to get together. I’m rooting for the next scandal whatever it may be.
LOL @ President Ghost. Glad Tony Goldwyn is getting recognized for something other than the dude that killed Patrick Swayze. I’m with you. I’m not really rooting for them to get together because that’s not realistic and would pretty much kill the show. Unless he leaves the White House and his political career behind, divorcing his pregnant wife to date a former press secretary ain’t happening, especially if she’s black.
Not everybody is rooting for them, I wish she were with a black single man. Yes, I said it #judgeme
It’s 623am. I am going to put Jax to bed and come back later.
But until then to quote your vp – malarkey on this.
*eats some unsalted saltines and goes to sleep
I inhale Scandal and I don’t just don’t understand why folks get mad about black people who don’t watch it. I enjoy The Big Bang Theory as well as having a penchant for RHOA *shrug* I think the people professing how much they dislike Scandal and find the plot elementary at any given opportunity are just trolling to claim they’re above the hype. Similar to music snobs who love to proclaim how they were on Kendrick Lamar (or insert other artist here) when he was writing similes and haiku’s in the 3rd grade when no one appreciated his artistic genius -____-
+1.2 MILLION.
buahahaha @ fighting snarky with more snarky. I like your style.
I do enjoy Scandal, but I am troubled by her affair with a married man. I don’t care that he’s white, but no matter how bad his marriage is, he’s off limits until he gets divorced. Olivia – and all women for that matter – deserve a man of their own. She’s too smart and sophisticated to know that love shouldn’t be a secret. I think it’s a major character flaw.
Nope, I’m not rooting for her to get her man. I’m rooting for her to get some sense.
Remember the wife knows and at times she supports the relationship because it helps keep her husband focused. The wife knows she does not have him in that way, but she also knows she will sitll be the First Lady with all the benefits that come with the position.
Mmmhmmm
Olivia DESERVES a love of her own. It doesn’t matter if the wife gives her tacit approval. Sorry, man sharing is not okay. I also hate the message that this sends out to some (dumb) women who consider getting involved with married men: Just bide your time, you’ll maybe get your man. If a man cheats on his wife, why won’t he cheat on you too?
This is me, also. From day one.
I’ve never seen it either, except for her laying in a white man’s hospital bed and he starts to wake up. I’m just not interested. My bougie wifey all over it and shat. Meh.
But I’m enthralled by King Catfish! How big of a buster can one man be? I don’t feel sorry for his monkey ass either. If gambling were legal, he would have cost me some potential earnings as he played like a heartbroken zombie in the Nat’l Championship game. *pac voice* he’s a sucka fo love!
Am I the only person who thinks that Bama still would have ran through that team even if Te’O had received sloppy dome prior to kick off???? People die everyday and if you let some person you’ve never met affect your job performance like that, then maybe you’re not as awesome as you let on.
Mmm…sloppy dome for the man from the Golden Dome. I like that.
@ AfroPetite- She died long before the championship game and no one (that I know of) was making that excuse for why he got manhandled in the championship game. There was a rumor that he wasn’t missing tackles in that game, he was just hugging his girlfriend….so…me no know lol
Lol I have been seeing these hugging memes all day and I find them to be hilarious
Champ you are on point. Scandal is sorority bougie Black woman perfect orgasm. It has all the ingredients from all the ratched reality show they support with out making a fool of itself in the process. You walk away from Scandal feeling completely satified. It is the only show on tv where a Black female gets to show what true power she brings to the table with no nonsense.
Sound like sex in the city, 50 shades of Grey and Two Can Play That Game all rolled into one. It isnt fair, women literally have no choice but to love it. And the name is perfect. The only difference difference between ratchetness and scandal is the means of the people involved. Henry the 8th is culture and shorty lo is a pariah. What Chilli wants is low brow an pride and prejudice is a masterpiece.
*drops some money in the collection plate*
*drops an e-$20*
I’m still a college guy and $h!t
A collection plate? Hmmm….
You’ve got all my money on the first of the month in that plate Todd’s passing.
“A barely detectable lisp”
Champ…you so wrong for calling her out for that…lol…
I never even noticed that all, I am going to listen for it today though.
ugh. now i can’t sleep because i’m all agitated.
this post is stuck in my teeth like popcorn residue. why? because it’s yet ANOTHER way of people trying to define and ascribe character traits to people. (in this case…surprise surprise…black women).
so let me get this rant out of my brain so that i can get some damn sleep.
BEING A FAN OF A FICTIONAL SHOW DOESN’T MAKE ME ANYTHING BUT A FAN OF A FICTIONAL SHOW.
being a chick that likes designer labels and brunch, doesn’t make me bougie. being a single mother doesn’t make me a baby mama. being a woman who wears shorts skirts doesn’t make me cry out to become a victim. being hopeful for love, doesn’t make me a thirsty desperate chick.
it is not YOUR job to define me – so why because of 1 blog post, has the blogosphere decided that this is the new bandwagon to jump on????
i will admit, i used to look down at the typical ratchet shows and take a holier than thou position about never have watched them. but i stopped doing that for 2 reasons, you can be a phD and a fan of these shows and being a non-viewer means exactly that – i don’t watch the shows, so don’t understand their eppeal.
watching breaking bad doesn’t mean that i support high school chem teachers creating meth labs. watching grey’s doesn’t mean that i support residents going into surgeries emotionally unstable because they are sleeping with the surgeon.
why for the love of all that is holy, can’t i just be a f*cking fan of the show? it can’t just be the dialogue? it cant be a black woman with kickass wardrobe in charge? it can’t be the eye candy? it can’t be that fiction is stranger than the reality of some of the things that comes out of the mouths of elected officials?
its nice to have a fictional show to escape from reality into? cuz you know what is reality right now? 1st graders getting shot in schools and a woman getting RAPED TO DEATH. so ex-flickin-cuse me if i want to suspend reality in a far-fetched FICTIONAL show.
i love my son. i love being home to watch and raise him. but it also means that im a little starved for adult interaction. what i DO love about scandal is the twitter living room conversation i get to be a part of while watching. coincidently, so is Oprah. bet you wouldn’t call her a hypocrite to her face doe. then again…maybe you would. who the hell knows.
funny thing is, i also love mad men. the theme song is my ringtone. i own all seasons on dvd. it doesn’t have black people in power. the main character sleeps with anything that walks. why do i enjoy it? because i am UTTERLY fascinated that there was a time when you could smoke in hospitals. when men wore suits and women wore dresses all the time. when all black people could be was in the background. i was born way after this era, so it’s a period that i know nothing about. are there better ways to learn about it – sure. but not everything is for the sake of education. perhaps…it’s just for the sake of entertainment.
vampires. zombies. drug dealers. these are some of the things in shows you mentioned you watch. hell, i too consider the wire one of the best shows – but i know i sure as hell don’t condone using children to sell drugs.
you being a fan of those shows, makes you nothing but a fan of those shows.
nothing more, nothing less.
this should be nothing but that same.
finally, one thing i’ve noticed in this social media era, is that people want to bully people into pigeon holed boxes. for example: watch the throne. love it and you are a sheep being influenced by illuminati. hate it and you are ghetto hoodrat that doesn’t appreciate the finer things in life.
cant we start a movement in 2013, to just let people have their damn opinions, views, vices and shows without having it be approved of or blogged about?
True ststements here.
SMH
.
Madam, blogs simply exist for people to share their opinions. If you suggest that certain things shouldn’t be blogged about, you’re basically saying certain opinions shouldn’t be shared. Euphemisms aside, you’re pushing for censorship (or self-censorship to be exact); at least, that would be the logical conclusion.
True but the point of “just let me watch tv” is sound.
How about don’t read the blogs?
LOL. True. But bc I agree with the point she was making I should now remove myself from blogs? The bottom line is that we overanalyze each other too much. Just let it be.
We might overanalyze, but it’s much easier for one person to ignore the opinions of people she doesn’t agree with rather than request that millions of black folks change their behavior for her own benefit.
Um no.
But thanks for reading.
No what?
And as a fan of a fictional show, I am dicussing the show with others who watch the show and can discuss the characteristics of the show. In the process of the dicussion there may be traits that can apply to real life situations. What is happening with social media is now everyone can have an opinion and don’t have to fear the conquences to what they say. You are only bullied when you allow others to define you because you want their acceptance.
You’re looking at it from the small side. Just see the bigger picture for a second.
-
You’re right Keish, you should not be defined by the media you like. You like what you like. I think the problem is, people confuse the shows people watch with the reaction people have from watching the show. You can like any show you want, but when you have full on hypothetical conversations about what you’d do in that person’s place, or spend 3 hours talking about a situation you love to see with absolute glee on screen but light a fawking bon fire when people do it in real life.
-
It’s not the show that makes anybody a hypocrite, it is their emotional response. I guess that’s the easy way to put it.
…what i wanna know is how single mothers dont recognize themselves as baby mamas. women always sound like theyre lying or in denial. a baby mama would be someone who has a child by a man who is relatively still there. a single mother is an unwed female with a child or children, regardless if the male is there are not. ambm is an honest depiction of what single mothers are to a male and i think women want to suspend the reality that defines who are they are. theres not really a point there but it would make sense youd root for the strong black female lead who has a fascinating storyline youll never experience. especially considering the depth of response it supposedly has amongst women.
because baby mama is not a compliment or positive title.
it brings up imagery of ghetto hoodrats popping out babies.
until you become a parent/mother – you cant know how insulting it is to demean the hardest job on the planet to a negative stereotype.
your definitions are not universally subscribed to.
you can call me that all you want – but i will rebuke it all day/every day.
but if its not positive how come you put yourself in the position to become one? how am i supposed to see you as a person when thats the decision you made for yourself? what i have an issue with, and not you specifically, but with single mothers in general, is that they expect to be treated as if they didnt consciously make bad decisions. now they have to live with them. and yes, what you chose sucks. and thats really the bottom line. i actually feel bad about it and my view on it is largely why i dont associate with it. but i just wanted to get my animosity out towards it. its so common now at some point coexisting means accepting thats just how things are.
eh, I think your point gets a little lost. for one, it is a blog post. nobody said its defining anything. at least not definitively. everybody is subject to their own opinions (as you are asking people to be able to do), so why can’t a blogger with a blog, write his down. it just so happens that this blog is one that gets a lot of conversation going.
-
would you feel the same way if somebody were to write a post that was nothing but praise for the show? or black women? i’m not saying that one is better than the other, but there are plenty of blog posts taking issue with various things. its what bloggers do. and you know this. you’ve been around long enough to know that.
-
define yourself for yourself. if you let a blog tell you what is and isn’t okay to watch (something people with opinions will do ad nauseum) then thats on you, but i dont think most people do that.
Church. This. +one million
Church. This. +one million
*slow clap*
Best e-rant I’ve ever read. You just said everything I’ve been trying to say for a year.
First – I didn’t realize my spaces would be lost. It looks like a long rant with no real thought. That was not the case.
-
Second, I’m not calling for censorship. Perhaps my point got lost. I’m just tired of being labelled by other people that don’t know me based on something as simple as a tv show.
-
Third, what of the black men who like the show? Or the non black fans? Cuz let me tell you, this show isn’t doing as well as it is because it’s only bougie black girls watching.
Right, it the pre-eminent primetime tv drama right now. All kinds of people are tuning in.
~ I’m just tired of being labelled by other people that don’t know me based on something as simple as a tv show.
.
this reminds me of something i was caught up in for a long time :: reputation :: i did everything to mastermind a public image that i put ahead of my integrity (cause i had none) and i did this because i needed external validation as proof of my legitimacy in my own eyes (#pathetic). i was re-enacting all these unresolved issues from my childhood and i knew that on some level, but still, i couldn’t stop.
.
then, one day i realized that i have enemies. that there are people who see me negatively, and treated me as such. that tore me up cause i thought i could control what other people believed and more than anything, i wanted to be liked cause i didnt like myself enough. it took me a long time to learn that no matter how carefully i constructed my public image, i could not control my reputation because i could not control other people’s thoughts.
.
i say all of this cause i feel you on being tired of being labelled by others. only i came to discover what was tiring for me was entertaining those labels at all. i believe you cannot shadowbox with a lie; arguing against it is positing it has the merits of truth. and i refuse to sully myself any further with other people’s filth. the only thing we can do to counteract negativity is to be the good we want to see in this world.
.
some people will get it. others wont. some wont get it at first, and then when they are ready, their heart and eyes will open like the sun shining through the clouds. you’re not anything anyone says you are. you’re not even who you believe yourself to be. you just are. and that Are-ness is beyond all words.
consider it a flaw that i care what people say about me personally – especially without knowing me as person.
will it affect my day? nope. im still going to play with my baby, feed him, change him and at 10pm watch this show and live-tweet with fellow fans and cast members. i just every so often get REALLY tired of the bullship that gets hurled in my direction – on a micro or macro level.
Well, I don’t need to comment anymore. Lol.
But seriously, I understand your frustration. Not everything has a greater meeting, and people wanting to ascribe one can get excessively irritating.
THIS.
+Bazingazillion!
“cant we start a movement in 2013, to just let people have their damn opinions, views, vices and shows without having it be approved of or blogged about?”
this would be nice, but apparently the current internet culture, especially amongst educated folks, is to analyze the opinions and the actions of others. not sure if this is due to boredom, an ‘itch to scratch”, or what.
“watching breaking bad doesn’t mean that i support high school chem teachers creating meth labs.”
It does for me. I’m 100% pro high school teachers havin that work. It’s better than my high school where the teachers were the users…
lolllll.
LOL.
.
Lets see Scandal vs. TNT Doubleheader…where do you think black men are going to go to get some entertainment? Lol I pity the guy who lives with his black gf and has only one TV on a Thursday night. However, if you google: firstrowsports tv, you’ll be able to find some live coverage online to watch the games that are on.
Thanks for the hookup bruh!
I haven’t even gotten to watch the show or much of any TV (need to catch up on this show tho!) but even EYE was like “hmmm… ok” when men were saying women were hypocrites for liking Scandal but not liking the same situation in real life. Just… the entire concept of using TV/film as an entertaining escape was suddenly lost? LOL
I think @skinnyblackgirl said it best when she went on her twitter “read” talmbout how the same men who go SO hard “calling out” women who like the scandal on the show and say they MUST advocate cheating in real life must also advocate the countless horrible things their honorary and favorite characters from The Wire, Scarface, etc. do.
THANK YOU!!!!
I was just about to mention that shid , profanity laced THE WIRE!!!! I had to have a pray walk through my house after viewing only 10 minutes of Season 1 Episode 1…I just couldn’t stomach it. To each his own, that one was not for me but some folks love it and if memory serves me correct this here blog dedicated a whole DAY to all things the WIRE. Did any of us NON-LOVING WIRE folks judge ya’ll?!?!? SMH!! NINJAS BE TRIPPINGGGGG!!!
And I LOVE The Wire. Stan for it even. But never have I… or have I seen such an onslaught of “oh you like Omar? You a hypocrite for loving women and hoping for crime-free/reduced communities in real life.” as I’m seeing about Scandal. Like, come on sirs… proceed to have a well-placed seat.
“But never have I… or have I seen such an onslaught of “oh you like Omar? You a hypocrite for loving women and hoping for crime-free/reduced communities in real life.†as I’m seeing about Scandal.”
Cheekie – you are so on point with dat right there….it’s almost like only women can be stuck with the hypocrite title for liking one show over another while still condeming that same real life behavior.
“Like, come on sirs… proceed to have a well-placed seat.” Without this blog, I wouldn’t realize that men think that women who like this show are hypocrites.
Zackly
http://www.singleblackmale.org/2013/01/15/why-men-dont-like-scandal/
Agreed. Both genders are full of shyte because we both talk out the sides of our asses. No one is immune.
Exactly, therefore I declare: HYPOCRITE, TODAY THY NAME IS MAN! Or at least the ones that are running around these e-streets today talking this mess.
Breezy you still a damn fool that I heart from so far away.
Cheekie, I’m glad you posted above me, because my thoughts dovetail nicely with yours. Simply put, Scandal is pr0n for women. Not in the literal sense, but in the psychological sense of the word. The idea of being a woman with so much power as to control the levers of government and so hot that the President of the USA is willing to risk his marriage for some of that nani has to be a rush. If anything, I would be shocked if large numbers of women are into it.
_
Then again, Black dudes love the idea of Scarface. They love the idea of being able to be truly free of societal strictures, killing whoever blinks at them funny, having unlimited wealth and being respected by everyone who looks in their general direction. Heck, look at pr0n. How often in real life can you just ring a woman’s bell and not only have her be hot, but be willing to have raw dog @nal with you and have you nut on her face right after she eats her just as gorgeous friend who was just visiting. It’s equally as ridiculous as Scandal, but it’s ok, because all of the above fantasies.
_
Simply put, let those women live. So long as it’s in the realm of fantasy, most women love it. Hell, if there were a reality show featuring the jumpoffs of governors, senators and Fortune 500 CEOs, women would be all it too on some Lifestyles of the D’s and Famous ish. To me, it’s no big deal.
Point. Set. Match.
Also, there is no sexiness in him risking his marriage. This dude is risking his JOB and position of power. No one cares about his wife (she is evil so you have no sympathy for her).
You so hit the nail on the head and I was going to compare it to 50 shades of grey. It has nothing to do with an interracial relationship or him cheating but a lot to do with this woman’s ability to have dude crumble bc of her.
Though, as I said up top, this is one piece of the show.
Fitz is not risking anything. Everybody already know the situation and everybody who knows has something to lose. The wife know about Olivia and she has no problem getting Olivia to do her husband if it will help her position as First Lady.
Fitz told Olivia that he would leave everything for her. Don’t believe it could happen. See: Mark Sanford.
Doesn’t it just seem like if that were to happen that Fitz would still come out of it pretty unscathed – and likeable?? Whereas Mark Sanford – he’s just a douche. And add John Edwards to all that is douchieness as well.
Only b/c we have an inside view. If we didn’t have that view, he would come off as a douchebag.
Headline: President leaves his pregnant wife for long time mistress. Yeah…not very likeable…
Pretty much. We all live vicariously through fictional characters to add some hope to our shytty lives…..but forget that we are in control of our lives and we only see one side of those fantasy lives; the good side. We never talk about the bad or the consequences that come with it, and that’s where we all fail.
Shytty lives? Who is this “we” you’re talking about? You got a mouse in your pocket?
word. my life is dope.
Right. I forgot. You’re exempt from everything.
-
It was an analogy.
mm .. i think we connect with characters of all kinds in order to experience the world through their eyes. there is this theory i have about life, it’s like, there is me, and there is you, and that’s all well and good but it’s the known and nothing new comes of the known, which is why we invest in relationships, in the space between us, in this third thing, because it is only here, in this space that only exists between us, that we discover something we would have never have otherwise experienced.
.
this can include hope, as you state above, but i think it goes far beyond this. the space between us is one of limitless possibility, and it is here that we leave our comfort zones in favor of new experience ~*~
“…and it is here that we leave our comfort zones in favor of new experience.”
i like how open that feels.
“i like how open that feels.”
-
That’s what she said…
i like the possibility of stepping out of my comfort zone because it feels more open to fufillment and satisfaction and joy. sir. hmph.
True indeed. I just think some people embed that fantasy way too heavily into their real lives, and would rather spend more time talking about someone else, whether fictional or real, rather than push forward to have their lives mirror that image.
Scandal is pr0n for women. Not in the literal sense, but in the psychological sense of the word. The idea of being a woman with so much power as to control the levers of government
-
There’s a lot of truth to this.
isnt that the premise of scandal? being the jumpoff to a powerful man? women who are jumpoffs to run of the mill, regular, low brow dudes probably wish they had it like that but when its put that way the only difference is the man you get. it doesnt even necessarily mean her position is better it just means shes more skilled, better looking, more versatile, smarter, and better equipped for the position. i dont understand the concept of fantasies. all you have to do is work for it.
i…caught a couple episodes at a friends house one time…didn’t catch me.
i figure it’s a chick show, and it usually comes on when there’s NBA games on…so it’s not really my thing.
while i can see the ‘hypocrisy’ inherent in the argument you’re making, at the same time, as you said….we’re all human, i think we all practice cognitive dissonance in some part of our lives.
now, if you’ll excuse me, i’m going to listen to some quality rap tunes that will empower me to be the best ‘me’ today.
*turns on Chief Keef’s album* #FREECHIEFKEEF #SOOOSAAAAA
“Scandal” is, for all intents and purposes, a chick show. It was created by Shonda Rhimes, who is basically the Garry Marshall of prime time television.
I do watch Scandal.
But I watch it because I genuinely want to see how they deal with the fact that the presidency was stolen and so many of the characters are complicit in this.
The series paints her as this holier than thou crusader at times. Ready to go to war for justice. Yet she willing let the democratic process eff right off because the man she loves is the beneficiary.
She used the fact that her subordinate was in an abusive marriage be used as a tool to manipulate her away from the ADA that was looking into that issue.
When Edison was at her door, she could have told him that she wasnt in a space for a relationship.
Her character has some pretty shameful traits.
The very fact that she thinks she can show up to the ADA’s office to ask for favors is so laughable that this could only happen on television.
And then there are some of the roll your eye moments on this show.
Harrison and Olivia stopping the head of the senate from going to see the president. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.
The charade where they managed to fool the press corp and the nation that the president was indeed out of the coma. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME
The incident when she managed to make a south american dictator give up his kids to his wife because she threatened to be there with his wife and assist if she decided to write memoirs. NOW THAT WAS A DOOZY. Good to know dictators get shook down so easily
Quinn Perkins getting off. Do I even need to spell that out.
Olivia and her crew not being arrested after the Feds picked up Huck at her place of business. Really….Really……REALLY!!!!!!
this show is absurdist,(and that says a lot cause I watch superhero fiction lmao) overacted and drags for the most part.
But I still watch because they have that one story line which is so interesting,
The theft of a presidency and the possible fallout is a genuine goldmine and I hope that they eventually do it justice.
It’s just an escape nothing more. Just like Dynasty, Dallas, the A-Team, 90210, or any other hour-long scripted show. People have their own methods of entertaining themselves. It may be watching Kerry Washington do her best Dominique Deveraux impersonation, reading a comic that follows the exploits of a Canadian redneck with metal bones, watching wrestling, or obessing of a 53 man roster filled with individuals who have no fcks allocated to your feelings. If you like then you like it.
It’s as simple as everything not being for everybody. If Scandal ain’t your bag then don’t carry it. Like Tood said what is more ridiculous than Scarface? (95% of the swinging dciks on here have a Tony Montana impression. Don’t even bother to deny it fellas.) Scandal isn’t my cup of tea but to a point larger than Scandal I’m just wondering why folks pay so much attention to things they don’t like? If chicas (and a lot more dudes who are copping to it) tune into ABC from 10-11 on Thursdays (for whatever reason) my bowels will remain inert.
Well I’ve actually only seen 1 1/2 episodes of Scandal…I was late in hearing about its existence and then when I learned of the show I still hadn’t felt propelled to jump on as fast as the Houston Texans fans jumped of the wagon last week. I’m sure the show is great and all, the 1 1/2 episodes I watched seemed pretty good, but…. I’m, just not that into it. And I do believe it has something to do with the little bit of shade I have for Kerry & her homewrecking as$ character…But maybe one day I’ll be bored and Netflix last season so I can fully understand the craze…
I watched the first season on a long plane ride. That’s the best way. All at once. That’s how i watched Lost, too
I’m confused as to why every blog I’ve read in reference to black woman who watch scandal assumes they support Olivia’s relationship with a married man and therefore accuses them of being hypocrites. Maybe I’m not really not bougie after all? I mean I havent and never will watch Roots but loved Django. I mean what kind of black woman does this make me. Oh horrors!
Honestly I like the drama and power of Scandal but think her affair is sloppy. I also dislike the drama of any black charactered vh1 show. Y’all really making me question my blackness! Lol. And why is liking scandal always linked with a housewives or love and hip hop or basketball wives show. These things are mutually exclusive no ?
I had no idea that by liking, enjoying a particular fictional television show means that I admire, agree with, condone, encourage and aspire to imitate the behavior of the main character. Now I’m worried since my favorite show on tv right now is Dexter. Oh F&*K!!!
” Now I’m worried since my favorite show on tv right now is Dexter”
lol…I was just about to say the same thing…me and my dark passenger loves us some Dex…
Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!! The season finale!!! Lawd Jesus!!
I like King of the Hill. That means I want to be a cartoon redneck Texan.
As a man of color, I can honestly say I don’t watch “Scandal”. It doesn’t ring bells for me. My reasons for not liking the show are valid- hear me out please:
-
For starters, all of Shonda Rhimes’s shows are centered around the concept of love and sex. Her prior series “Grey’s Anatomy” was nothing more than cute doctors “playing doctor”- if you catch my drift.
-
Kerry Washington is the lead of the series. As I have said before, most actresses that emerged in recent years are bland and nothing more than a pretty face. As soon as I saw her and Rhimes’ name attached to the show, I lost interest immediately.
-
“Scandal” is set in the world of politics, but is all about love as I have mentioned before. It comes off like a daytime soap opera as opposed to an actual television series. There are great shows that deal with the inner world of politics- “The West Wing” being the most obvious example.
-
So in a nutshell, I have no intentions to see it. Not because I’m a Black man, but because I prefer to watch shows that are actual quality programming and “Scandal” isn’t it.
I will agree with you that Scandal isn’t quality and Rogman hit on some great points about Olivia’s character. But the show is still good. It isn’t horrible, it isn’t great, but it keeps you coming back b/c of the way that Rhime’s can weave a storyline.
Scandal is set in the world of politics and is ALL about politics. I promise you that her relationship with the president is just one part (though big) about the show. The major arc actually is what Rogman hit on. That’s the “wow, these people bought an election?!? Seriously!!”
As for Grey’s, i stopped watching around season 6 and then picked it back up when i got netflix and could watch 6-8 without a break. Now, i am back to watching it.
Matters of the heart definitely appeal to women and Rhimes is catering to her audience.
“Scandal is set in the world of politics and is ALL about politics. I promise you that her relationship with the president is just one part (though big) about the show.”
-
Contradiction alert!!!
LOL!!! Dude, i am being serious. It’s not a contradiction. Everything that happens in the show is centered around politics. EVERYTHING.
But…but…but…you just said that her relationship with the president was a big part of the show, no?
It is but it’s not the entire show. The affair isn’t the whole show is what i am getting at.
“Matters of the heart definitely appeal to women and Rhimes is catering to her audience.”
Matters of the heart matter to men too. It’s just that what seems to matter to Scandal watchers’ hearts isn’t what matters to my heart. I agree that she’s catering to her audience tho, and doing a d*mn good job of it apparently
And you are entitled to your opinion…some us just feel different. I actually like Kerry Washington in this role because to me it shows a range that I didnt know she actually possessed…but that is just me. Carry on!
I actually like Kerry Washington in this role because to me it shows a range that I didnt know she actually possessed
Breezy….have you seen ‘Life is Hot in Cracktown’??…that right there was some range for your azz!!
What range does she have- besides playing the other woman in damned near every film she’s done?
Nah…she doesn’t always play the side chick…..but have you seen that movie? I thought it was a real departure from her norm….She played a male transvestite crack addict in a relationship with a white man also on crack. Definitely not Olivia Pope.
+a milli, about range!
Thank you PA. Somehow I thought I’d missed this “range” others were referencing. *snickers*
Playing a different variation of the same character does not equal range.
-
By that kind of logic, Sandra Bullock shows a lot of range for playing the neglected housewife and/or girlfriend.
-
Crispin Glover shows a lot of range for playing the role of the mentally disturbed man.
-
Ashley Judd shows a lot of range for constantly playing a damsel in distress.
-
Ray Liotta shows a lot of range for constantly playing a hitman, crooked cop or an Italian gangster.
-
See where I’m going with this?
Nope. Where you goin’ PA? Do you know where you’re going to, do you like the things that life is showing you, where are you going to..do you know?? j/k
Point taken, but still disagree…
How are you gonna clown me by using a Diana Ross song?
Well, at least you didn’t use “I’m Coming Out” *shudders*
HA! saving that one for Manti Te’o ‘cacklin’
That was so accurate for my view as well PA. It’s not that I don’t enjoy seeing a black woman character. It’s just that the show wreaks of cheesy and female-centric soap opera tv and that’s not my taste. I feel like Grey’s Anatomy was a lil more realistic but I agree that it had the same feel. I’ve never watched West Wing, but maybe I should give that one a try
Man between twitter, tumblr, and pretty much all the major Black blogging sites there is this weird obsession with proclaiming Black women hypocrites for liking Scandal and demanding they own up to it. People out here love Nolan’s Batman but we aren’t constantly demanding that they admit love fascism.
Yes. I didn’t realize it was this serious.
Exactly. While ironically I wrote about exactly this last month – it took one chicks opinion to blow the whole thing up.
And just because you feel that I’m a supporter and accomplice – doesn’t make it so.
You are entitled to your opinion about everything – but I am not beholden to believe/agree with it.
“People out here love Nolan’s Batman but we aren’t constantly demanding that they admit love fascism.”
Well played, Sir!
Honestly, I just thought Scandal was just another primetime soap until I saw all of the Internet hullabaloo. Then again I’m 60 and forget to take my pills sometimes.
Haven’t watched it, don’t really care. I love wrestling, and all the shyte I’ve gotten over the years for it never made sense. I never tried to be a wrestler or talked about what I’d do if I was them or believe the story lines. It’s all fiction and it is for fun. The one difference I would say between what I like compared to reality tv is AT LEAST WRESTLERS ACTUALLY WORK. They train, they create a routine, they absorb massive amounts of pain for entertainment even if it is choregraphed and the outcome predetermined. It still requires talent.
-
I don’t have any qualms with Scandal since I never watched it but when you waste 4 hours at work talking about a fictional show or rant on Twitter, blogs and FB the second the show is off about what happened, that is borderline obssession, whether people realize it or not…AND FOR THAT…yea you do deserve to get laughed at. And I’ll say the same thing to people who rant about Breaking Bad or the Walking Dead…yes it is a good show, but not something so profound that we need to have full indepth conversations about what you’d do if Rick pointed a gun at you or Olivia decided she’d save your career.
Yes Rewind. Exactly.. I couldn’t have said it bettermyself. I stopped watching wrestling in like the 8th or 9th grade but I feel u on that one. The point you made about the obsession aspect of it resonated most because that’s probably what makes these blogger dudes and internet commenters make it “so deep” I just mock and make fun of it because it is a lil strange how obsessed some chicks are with the show. I don’t get it but I don’t think it makes them bad or even hypocrites but it’s definitely fun to poke fun at. No harm no foul #shruglife
I’ve never watched Scandal, and don’t intend to. Simple reason-Kerry Washington. THE most lackluster actress on earth. Peace!
( ._.) no
I still think she gets roles solely based on her looks. I call it the Natalie Portman effect.
agreed.
that’s how i feel about ms. berry – she ain’t the the best actress by any means – but she’s hella pretty…so there you go…
If you haven’t watched it you are not giving her a fair chance. She really drives the show. She is doing a great job.
sorry, SweetSass but Miss Kerry IS zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz to me! I can’t stand her acting. To each his own.
I actually liked her in that movie with Chris Rock but she’s been mediocre overall to me. At times she’s good eye candy and at times I want to feed her like a concerned father
Damn, I wish I would have gotten to this earlier in the day so I could get a good cross section of opinions from the VSS on these questions….Would sistas be sooo down with this show if it was Kerry W. and a BLACK president, OR if it were a Black president and a WHITE mistress cheating on his BLACK wife??? Discuss…
get Kerry Washington out of the equation, and get me a good actress and I’d be down for the Scandal cause. That is all! I could CARE LESS who her character is bedding or not-whether he is white as the clouds, or burnt to perfection.
I like the show, but it almost seems like her character should be just a bit older…like I think Angela Basset could pull that role off flawlessly….
NOW, you got me! I would watch the HELL out of that show.
Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnddddd here we go with this comment section being JACKED UP. Right after Todd’s comment where is says Cheeckie am glad…everything after that is overlapping and shid!!! Seriously, I know I am not the only one who is having this issue if you guys can please plus 1 and whatnot to really alert Champ and PJ to this mess. LURKERS,I need you to sign this petition….lol. This mess is forcing me to actually be productive at work!!!!!
“This mess is forcing me to actually be productive at work!!!!!”
-
That’s a first *snickers*
Never really heard about that show until this post (and doesn’t sound all that interesting). One of the few benefits to being a social hermit I guess.
I am not a hypocrite. That is all.
I’m not bougie. I have immunity.
It’s only hypocrisy if you don’t know the difference between fiction and real life.
Yep, pretty much agree with everything here…except, I prefer the phrase “complex human beings” but potato po-tah-to. I don’t know if I qualify as bougie black woman per se, but I do love Scandal for the same reason that I suspect many do: it’s hot, got great acting and fashion, and the protagonist (while far more ethereal and gorgeous than I will ever be) looks more like me than anyone else on prime time tv. I also enjoy RHOA and BWs, for a bunch of other reasons and one of the same ones: it’s just good entertainment.
For me, entertainment is often.a form of escapism…and there is something ridiculously sexy about a Black woman whose power seems to have transcended the realities of race in America…and who just so happens to have the eye and heart (among..ahem…other things) of arguably the most powerful man in the free world. And who *spoiler alert* seems to be controlling even him as well.
See my comments…..
To answer your question, (1)yes but probably not as much and (2) sure, if it was written as well (see Grey’s Anatomy).
I love Scandal. The affair is the least interesting part. I wish it would just be over with. I refuse to watch any of those shitty reality tv shows, cause they are the very essence are shit. They take no creativity on anyone’s part to make, just a bunch of cameras and some damaged personalities who would never normally hang out shoved in a room together by crafty producers. I wasn’t for it when the same idea was called ‘The Hills’. If Im’ma watch something that manufactured, give me Pretty Little Liars any day, over that tripe.
Of shit*
Promise I wasn’t going to leave a comment but… If you find out the dude you’ve been sexing enjoys watching gay porn you’re not going to ask him what entertainment value it brings to his life you’re going to question his sexuality! Miss me with the comments about how shows you watch have little bearing on your psyche or status as a hypocrite. What you enjoy watching or find entertainment value in speaks VOLUMES about you as person.
agreed ~*~ i also believe that all forms of media have the ability to influence our sense of identity and our perception of the world, and it is for this reason that censorship has long been used to silence dissenting voices.
You don’t see the difference between masturbatory fare and primetime entertainment?
Do I think a straight man has seen Brokeback Mountain and still remains straight afterwards? Or any movie with Ian McKlellan or Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Yes. He is probably still straight.
If a dude is jerkin’ to other dudes…. that is a completely different story.
Thank you Sass! What you masturbate to, and the tv shows you like have painful little to do with each other. I love the Simpsons, it doesn’t turn me on.
I didn’t say jerking, I just said watching. Believe it or not men don’t whip their penis out every time we see something considered sexually stimulating.
The gay porn example is terrible considering the main reason people watch porn is for a very specific reason and the reason people watch television shows is for 15000 different reasons. If you genuinely think you know anything about a person because of a single tv show they watch you are a sad, sad 1 dimensional egotistical human being.
+10 milli
I SPEAK ENGLISH. KABOOM!
lol If you think you know anything about someone from one comment I’d say the same to you.
I see what you’re saying but I’m not sure that it’s that simple….if you enjoy watching child porn, then yes – that sh*t speaks hella volumes about you as a person. Enjoying watching Scandal…just says that you are entertained by some over the top fiction writing…but then again…maybe it’s not so much over the top since we know that presidents have affairs – Kennedy, Clinton, etc…
i watch plenty of p0rn that involves shyt i will never ever do… real talk
lol…no doubt…but I’m talking specifically about child p0rn…big azz difference….
LAWD! Say what now?!
Soooooooo, men that listen to rap music, are essentially misogynistic as the lyrical content on some if not most records, devalues women? Me no understand your logic at all.
+ 1 muthuF*ckin trillion!!!
Damn! that was meant for DREADED SOUTH’S comment upthread..
The real reason some Black men don’t like Scandal: Because Olivia Pope is not choosing the brotha (her ex and senate majority leader) over Fitz the Prez.
its not her fault that he looks like and has the personality of a dried up raisin *snickers*
He looks kinda like one of those singing and dancing California raisins from the commercials.
uh-oh…SweetSapp found us out…
fellas, activate defensive master-blasters!
i apologize, my snark was not needed. please ignore.
I was trying not to call you out personally, but here’s the link, for a Third Time based off this topic. Maybe you should read this vvvveeeeerrrrrryyyyyyy ssssssssllllooooooooooooooowwwww so that it gets imprinted in your psyche- if you even THINK before you spit out Verbal Garbage like this…
http://www.singleblackmale.org/2013/01/15/why-men-dont-like-scandal/
My coworker… who is a Black man…. whom I have persuaded to watch the show… who has gotten into it and generally enjoyrs it… just this afternoon, admitted to me he did not like the show saying he doesn’t like it because she is running around on the brotha.
ummm…why I get moddied?? ‘goes and sits in the corner’
The wife and daughter watch it together. I sat through a few, said “eh” and went back to catching up with Homeland. Clarie Danes plays that crazy-ness so well……….I was convinced
Lol…Yes, she really does, doesn’t she…Homeland is all that….and House of Lies is just as much all that…my cover is blown. I’m really a C.I.A. agent working undercover as a management consultant.
I really think the jig is up on 101 ways to dog black women. It’s starting to look dry and cracking on the edges. Most women now see it for what it is and have become immune to it. Nowadays you can only get one or t two insecure women to cosign on a recycled flavor of what’s wrong with black women. But some men didn’t get the memo. Here’s a hint for those with a little insight. When you keep harping on it after you start to hear an echo, it reflects back on you.
“When you keep harping on it after you start to hear an echo, it reflects back on you.”
you mean like how when BF harp and push the memo of BM not being spit in the black community, and eventually BM ignore, tune out, and go about their business?
whoops, wrong subject…i’m Pacquiao’d
Yes, exactly like that. But i don’t read those sites, so, your kindergarten flavored “but women do it too” is lost on me.
i’m sorry.
you’re absolutely right.
my apologies.
You too, WC. Here it is for a 4th Time:
http://www.singleblackmale.org/2013/01/15/why-men-dont-like-scandal/
Seriously, ya’ll Demetria Lucas/Kirsten West Savali/Kellee Terrell disciples are so pathetic it would be heart-aching IF Smart People actully gave a damn
Whether i agree or disagree with what they have written, it isn’t any different than what i have seen black men write on blogs or comment sections. That’s why I am asking, what is the problem with what they have written?
Like, is this show that serious?!? I watched last weeks episode with 5 black people (including myself) 3 were men and there was me and another girl. I swear NONE of this was even mentioned. We seriously can’t watch a simple show without screaming hypocrite at one another? Or without being told that we are sad or black men don’t like the show b/c of a black woman with a white man. Has it seriously gotten this bad?
“Has it seriously gotten this bad?”
it has been this bad for a while, unfortunately.
yep. its gotten this bad.
You didn’t get the hint that nobody is paying attention to you and your link?
I don’t know who any of those women are. Kinda hard to be a disciple of someone I’ve never met.
Thank you. It really is apparent and infectious. Like mental herpes. Even well meaning dudes get sucked into the vortex. It makes money. It boosts their egos.
I’m, theoretically, against anything that objectifies women. But I love a good strip club, rap music, TipDrill, R Kelly, and a good wardrobe malfunction. I am helpful to my coworker because she is shaped like a 2-hour glass and I like to sneak a peek or two. Are you judging me? Sure you are. Stop fronting. Am I a hypocrite. Sure. Accepting that we are creatures of contradiction is tough for the fellas. The ladies just as much.
Never seen it but that show can not be a big deal. I dont give a flying f***k why black women or anyone else watch this show. Hmmmm….It seems like a lot of the beef over this show is all about who gets to fcuk white folks and still keep their black and free card. Folks ain’t slick. Leave Robert Griffith alone.
ha, i like your take on this.
RGIII can marry anyone he wants … who cares.
The point people are missing is Pope is doing a married man. She murdered 7 people and rigged an election to make her man president.
Pope is so in love with this man she loses all self control. This really paints a picture of s strong black woman. I love black women … my mom is one. I grew up in a home with 4 sisters and a mom. That’s a lotta black women!!!!
The last episode I watched was when Pope was in the hospital visiting the Supreme Court Justice and the Justice suggested The president wasn’t the real president. Watch Pope’s response.
I have been proposed to by so many white women, I’ve lost count. I have nothing against any of them, if not for the marriage thing I would still be in a relationship with a few of them.
Well I call them white women but one was Hispanic and one was Native American and one was Canadian. I’m for equal opportunity. Two would be called Jerry Spranger type redneks but I liked their company.
One thing does stick in my mind. I had a group of black women tell me that if I were their man, they wouldn’t “ALLOW”. “ALLOW?” I’m grown and single.
so scandal is a big hit cuz bw like to see themselves in interracial relationships with white men, promoting white men, and being their biggest cheerleaders. and in the mean time interracial marriage for black men is exploding.
can black people just admit that we don’t like each other and would rather just breed ourselves out like afro-latinos do whenever they have the opportunity. why continue to pretend that the black race is worth anything, when we all know it isn’t.
yikes
well…..d*mn…I think….
Hyperbolic much?
hahahaahahahahahaahahahaha….oooh this is good.
n***a you crayola with all that
im sorry about that. that was not cool.
“in the mean time interracial marriage for black men is exploding.”
this is not true. at all. and while i’ve seen cheerleaders as you call them before both male and female…..your statement is not true in that case either.
im tryna learn something and blankets like this don’t let my brain breathe.
yes it is. 2008 – *new* interracial marriage rate for black men that year shot up to 22%. and in 2010 *new* interracial marriages for that year hit 24%. while it was 8.8% for black women. check the PEW studies.
african american women are the only woman in the world who validate themselves through the images of relationships with men who don’t belong to your group and for the most part aren’t interested in black women for anything serious.
yet african american women promote white men (who are the historical and natural enemy of black people) all over the media with a cult like intensity that boggles the mind.
if you can’t recognize this as an indication of some deep sickness within the african american community, i don’t know what to tell you. but for sure, the growing separation between black men and black women, in which african american women are the primary catalyst, will obviously resolve this issue once and for all.
This line made me holla: “Plus, no one does “I will make you root and shed tears for these flawed motherf*ckers†better than Shonda Rhimes. She is a maven, a magician, the bougie Black girl’s Geppetto.”
I’ve watched Scandal a time or two, but not enough to really care about it or try to rush home on Thursday night. Your line I quoted above is so on point and the reason I had to give up Grey’s because as my hairdresser likes to say when people are doing way too much, “Shonda, be doing shows!” Literally and figuratively. I swear she and Tyler Perry went to the same two week workshop of dramatical, it’s just that one of them uses bigger words.
For all the talk about SCANDAL vs. B Wives, I watch both. And I’ll to the champ the same thing I say to five other Black men that have tried to call me on my hypocrisy.
Shut up.
So, after reading a few comments, I’m still lost as to why men supposedly hate the show, and why it is hypocrisy for women to like it.
from what my intelligence sources have gathered, no matter what other reasons other black males may have, it essentially comes down to black males are mad that an attractive black female is sexing a white male. or a black female is being desired. something along those lines.
i could be wrong, however; i haven’t watched much of the series, and what i did see, i only saw a black senator that came across as a simp. and the black co-worker, that i guess is a little-brother-type to her.
personally i hope the show does well, gets to syndication status, and the actors/actresses get to benefit off that syndication money.
mad because of a white man. be a black woman of good standing, but not pretentious towards black men, and dont sleep with a white man.
So you think it has more to do with how everyone else was portrayed as suave, cool, intellligent, and powerful except the black man (minus the b*tchy white wife)? I guess that makes sense. I don’t get why they care. It’s a cheesy soap opera with a black woman as the lead. Nothing more, nothing less. Let them have their fantasy.
The black woman murdered 7 people and rigged an election to get her man the presidency.
Her man is married.
Make Olivia a black man. Of all the great unmarried women in town … he chooses to go after some married woman.
She is seen as a hero, a role model. The person who is writing this crap is only interested in rating.
It would be wrong even if she did it for a brother.
It’s just like the soaps. Is any man worth what she did? Black or white, no man is.
lol
I was told by the love of my life that I was wrong for dating white women because I was educated and had a lot to offer a black woman.
I had one rule .. I never dated any white woman who only dated black men.
Why?
Cause I’m not interchangable with the next brother. I’m special.
The love of my life is a black female, I was married to a black female. If I had my way I would still be married to her.
No I didn’t cheat.
black men allegedly hate it because its a bw in power/doing a white man
black women are hypocrites because we all subscribe to the same moral code that sleeping with a married man is wrong but yet root for that relationship in the show.
malarkey to both.
I know plenty of men who like it. I have a facebook status club that goes nuts during episodes. Half are men.
“It’s set in D.C., which is to bougie Black girls what Home Depot is to fat crackheads.”
This killed me ever so softly. I just moved to DC, but I’m not bourgie. I’m also not a rapper, so don’t rap at me.
Scandal is a good salacious show. It’s not a great political show, as much as people fancy it to be West Wingesque. People have to accept it for what it is and chill til the next episode.
Scandal is damn good, and I enjoy watching it. However, I’m one of the few that despises Olivia and Fitz. I’m a married woman, so i will always have a soft spot for Mellie. Fitz married her, so he must deal with her. I think olivia is a seriously flawed woman, and Fitz a simp. But people like this live among us, so…
There’s a BIG difference between Scandal and RHOA or Love and Hip Hop….Reality and fiction! Even tho everyone’s favorite convo is about how “scripted†reality shows are but the DAMAGE that “reality shows†do to our community is off the scale. There are people and kids that that take reality at face value. They believe that stuff. That those actions are acceptable. We are judged by other groups of people and stereotyped because of these “reality showsâ€. Olivia Pope and Scandal is a fictional land…with fictional characters…and massive amounts of embellishment.Every show with black characters (ESPECIALLY fictional) does not call for us to sit on the edge of our seats and rate how far this will take the whole NEGRO RACE! And I LOVE the show but I’ve never rooted for Olivia to “win†the president. I’ve always thought she was an adulterer. *the end*
Every time I read an article comparing Scandal and the reality TV shows of VH1 and Bravo TV, I never saw the correlation.
Until Love and Hip Hop Atlanta popped in my head and I realized that Olivia has the same side chick behavior as Jocelyn.
Now think about it, both women were secretly covering up their affair. Kissing and having sex within a couple of feet of the main chicks. And finally, having a seat right in front of the main women faces, like they just “WORK” together only.
Both of the main chicks, Mellie and Mimi, finds out what’s going on and continue to be with them.
Now President Fitz and Steebie J has it all, the main women who won’t leave for sh#t and the side chicks who won’t leave for sh#t.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, the upcoming episodes appears that the President is trying to get a divorce, but really, that’s not going to happen.
This article breaks the relationship down to a decimal point to the third power of how many levels wrong Olivia is for this affair -> http://www.scandaltvshow.net/is-olivia-popes-affair-with-the-president-right-or-wrong.
The only difference is black women love Olivia Pope and hate Jocelyn. The career trail is what separates these women, I guess.
As much as I love Scandal, I don’t care for the affair. They could leave that out and focus more on her cases and maybe Olivia having a crush or something on the president.
Her affair makes her appear weak, and America needs Olivia to be the gladiator of the century. People actually look up to this fictitious character.
Sometimes instead of criticizing a show, people should study it to see what it is that draws so many to it. Perhaps there is a lack of passion and fantasy in our relationships. There is always a desire for an all consuming love that many of us have deemed to not exist, its a draw. When something hits in pop culture there is always a reason.
Why blk women love the Show Scandal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik-NhXL873M
I am a black man. I hate the show, my baby sister loves it.
A black woman commits several felonies and she is a hero. She murders an office of programmers who rigged a presidential election because “HER MAN” has the right to be president. She knows whats best for the people even if they don’t have a clue.
TRUST ME! If she is caught … she will get the chair. The excuse that “Hey I didn’t know my co-conspirators were gonna place a bomb in that office”. “I didn’t know why I conspired to point the finger at another person”. “I didn’t know I was gonna get a Supreme Court Justice to rig a trial to let off a person I framed for the bombing”. “Hey he has the right to be president over that of the person the people elected”. “Hey I was walking down the street and I accidently rigged an election”.
Yes I stopped watching the show cause it really don’t make sense to commit a ton of crimes for someone cause you are in love. Get real. Let’s hope the world isn’t made up of Olivia Pope’s.