Shonda Rhimes - Post #5

Photo of Shonda Rhimes

There's not that many filmmakers that I know who are women, but there is one media maker that I believe is amazing for our time. Shonda Rhimes has really taken tv and flipped it upside down...though she isn't a filmmaker as of yet, I still believe that her approach to TV making is a true art form and each one of her series she has created truly pass the Bechdel Test. Rhimes writes women characters as they should be written. They are strong, brave, intelligent, and stand their ground. Not only does she focus on strong female leads, she also implements characteristics that other people tend to ignore when it comes to character writing. She isn't afraid to push the envelope, showing the world that no woman is perfect and that they too can be Black, mixed, transgendered, have thick hair, are lesbian or straight up ruthless and still be all those things I mentioned above (intelligent, a leader etc).

Cast of Season 7-8 of Grey's Anatomy, You can see how
diverse they are and how many women there are.

My first dose of Shonda Rhimes came from the show Grey's Anatomy. It's a show that has been on forever yet I never got into it nor bothered to watch. I finally gave in two years ago and decided one long boring summer to binge watch all the episodes on Netflix and boy do I ever NOT regret my decision. The show was amazing and still continues to be amazing. It drives at my heart, makes me sad, happy and makes me question the world around me. Every character on the show is written with such great emotion, goals, ambition, not one person is the same. How could anyone hate this show? The characters are diverse and the women? The women are career driven, with opinions of their own, they do not let anyone get in their way of their plans. They own up to their mistakes and calls out crap if need me. What even more amazing about this all is that even though the lead is a Blonde White Woman, the focus is not solely on her but all those around her, especially the woman. They all have an important story line...goes to show that theres more to women than a good body and blonde hair. 

Scandal Poster with Black Woman Lead,
Keri Washington.

Though Shonda Rhimes has had 2 other shows (Scandal, How to get away with Murder), and one that recently ended (Private Practice, which was a spinoff to Grey's Anatomy which also had a female lead), she comes out strong through each and every one. She isn't afraid to show whats real about a woman, even if it means her controlling the President of the US, like in her show Scandal. Olivia Pope is one hell of a woman. She basically controls the nation and she does so without use of her body but rather her mind. She has two men in love with her who will fall at the knees with one word from her. She fixes problems that seem almost impossible. She is educated and intelligent and doesn't let people win her over. If that doesn't scream feminism then I don't know what does! She fights for social issues as well as Feminist ones. They are even claiming Scandal to be one of the most Feminist TV shows at the moment. There needs to be more shows where women of color are featured as a lead and much more than a stereotype and I think Scandal checks all things off that list. There is a diverse cast, the women are leaders and they call out the BS that others tend to ignore on a daily basis. To say that Shonda Rhimes isn't one of the BEST screenwriters out there is an understatement. I feel that she is one of the best and to be quite frank I feel that other filmmakers (especially men) should take notes from her. I honestly cannot wait to see what else she comes up with.