Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Construction of the Journey of a Hero: Olivia Pope
In explaining the journey of a hero and how they came to be what they are known as, I have chosen Olivia Pope, from the show Scandal. Before she had her own detective firm, Ms. Pope worked for the current president in the show as an assistant on his election campaign. Although she is very talented and intelligent, going on to help him and his Vice president win the White House, she goes on to have an affair with him during the campaign and it continues during the show. What makes this even more complicated is the fact that she is good friends with the now first lady of the White House, and the firm that she runs sometimes has to do cases against the very man she secretly loves. Her biggest strength, her independence and dedication to do her job are also her biggest downfalls in her personal life. She has no time to harbor a legitimate romantic relationship and the one man she loves is already married, hes also one one of the most powerful men in the world. So although powerful and worthy of admiration to her dedication to her firm and being very good at her job, Olivia Pope at the same time could be looked down upon for her affair with the president and her lack of a social life, a robot of sorts surrounded by humans (she wont even allow herself to cry).
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Scandal sounds like an awesome show! Based on your description, I think Olivia Pope could be considered a tragic hero. She has some fatal flaws, independence and dedication to her profession. Independence and dedication allow her to succeed professionally but leave her little time to succeed in finding love. These flaws lead to her demise, finding no one else to love but someone that she cannot have (the married President).
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that Olivia Pope could be considered a tragic hero. I've never seen the show, but from Kevon's description of how her dedication to her career is both a great strength professionally, yet wrecks havoc on her personal life, it is clear that she possess the basic characteristics of a tragic hero.
DeleteI also wrote about the journey of Olivia's character in Scandal. I think that her relationship with Fitz is the cause for her downfall a lot of the time. She is proud of her job and she does her job well but her relationship with Fitz causes her so much turmoil that she shuts people out. We see her co-workers at Pope and Associates continually reach out to Olivia but she always shuts them down. I think that her inability to be honest with the people closest to her is the root of her character's problems.
ReplyDeleteI have seen a few episodes of Scandal and it seems like a great show! I think you make great points about Olivia, and from what you say I can see her being a tragic hero. Her fatal flaws are her downfall and cause problems in her personal life which is how she represents the tragic hero.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting choice as a hero. I can definitely see her as a tragic hero because it seems like it's only a matter of time before her situation causes her downfall. Like other tragic heroes we have read about, her situation seems to be an impossible one. She's currently engaged in something she's knows is wrong and will probably destroy her but she does it anyway.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen the show but based on what you wrote I can see how she can be considered a tragic hero. It makes sense that her independence and her dedication can be her greatest strengths and yet responsible for her downfalls.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love Scandal, although I think Olivia's flaws make me hate her sometimes. In the later seasons, I think her issues with her family also attribute to her being a tragic hero.
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