“Olivia Pope fixes things. That's who she is. You need fixing. I don't need to know your story. We all have a story. Everyone in this office needs fixing. You're a stray dog and Olivia took you in. Don't question it.”
She swoops in with her hair perfectly coiffed, white coat floating around her knees, ready to clean up any messes thrown her way. She is Olivia Pope and though at times she can wield enough power to bring those around her tumbling down, she is a fixer and is primarily there to clean up other people’s messes. “Television is decidedly a media that must by definition express dominant cultural expressions to be successful” and in doing so we expect the themes expressed by programming to be truthful and a reflection of society’s ideologies.[1] As a piece of popular culture, Scandal is lauded as ground breaking in the way it comments on and embraces current American politics as well as hot button issues like race and women’s rights.[2],[3]. Yet, as ground breaking as Scandal is, the show also presents women who, though multifaceted in their characterizations, are deeply rooted in many of society’s gender assumptions. Now if you have read any of my blog posts before you would know how obsessed I am with Shonda Rhimes and the work she produces. However, today I wanted to take a different perspective on one of my favourite television shows, exploring its place in society’s understanding of how women should behave. It is important to me as a growing academic and writer that I am able to view and create different opinions and criticisms, even if it is on a topic I hold dearly. 
