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Olivia Pope: Her White Hat is Bigger Than Yours

Rhondinella

By Rhondinella
in Scandal [V]

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RealityGal

RealityGal

Hopefully Kerry has gotten a acting coach since she's been on hiatus.

She hasn't hired an acting coach in the three seasons that Scandal has been on the air.  She apparently isn't all that invested in learning to act. First episode of last season I finally just gave up, I was toughing it out right up until she tried to do a manic laugh and then I was just done and I could watch no more.  No more watching her attempt to drink wine like its giving her strength and sustenance, no more of her awful acting.  Its a great show, but they can't get rid of the lead and she is just that bad.  I'm glad to see Viola Davis as a strong black female lead on a show.  It also looks like they are giving her character a killer wardrobe so yay!

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Anna Yolei

Anna Yolei

The show would be so much more interesting if they moved away from Olivia's belief that she wears the white hat. It's so incongruous with what we've seen of her character.

I know, right? That her lover is the very married POTUS is enough to tarnish the halo. If that were the only thing it could be overlooked, but everything else? Defiance? Overlooking Fitz murdering a Surpreme Justice? Yeah, no.

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l star

l star

I don't think that Kerry needs acting lessons. I think she is a very capable actress (though I hesitate a little on calling her an Emmy deserving actress just from what I have seen of her on this show). I would just like for her to change her approach for Olivia. I really don't understand why but this season her portrayal took really whiny turn that wasn't there in the earlier seasons. If Olivia never reacted to anything with that infuriating quivering lip again I would be happy. If she wanted to go a step further, she could also cut out more than a bit of the histrionics. I know a lot of the blame for the bad turn the character of Olivia took last season has been placed on the writing, but I disagree. I think the writing was very hit or miss for her but the changes in Kerry's portrayal are what truly made Olivia so infuriating.

At this point, Olivia's belief that she wears the white hat is just delusional.

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Spartan Girl

Spartan Girl

I know, right? That her lover is the very married POTUS is enough to tarnish the halo. If that were the only thing it could be overlooked, but everything else? Defiance? Overlooking Fitz murdering a Surpreme Justice? Yeah, no.I know, right? That her lover is the very married POTUS is enough to tarnish the halo. If that were the only thing it could be overlooked, but everything else? Defiance? Overlooking Fitz murdering a Surpreme Justice? Yeah, no.

 

 

And even when she thought Fitz killed her mother it only took a few episodes later for her to jump back into bed with him just for showing her that stupid house in Vermont.

 

Not to mention overlooking Jake MURDERING James, who was her friend and the father of her godchild, at least enough to run away with him to parts unknown at the end of last season.

When it comes to her love life, Olivia never fails to keep losing her IQ points.  Which is a pity because aside from that she would be brilliant.

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wanderingstar

wanderingstar

Yeah, I will always be amused that Olivia ran off with the guy who a) co-stalked her with Fitz, and b) put his hands around her neck just one episode before they flew off to "stand in the sun together." The aggressive stupidity and fuckery of this show really is a sight to behold.

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RealityGal

RealityGal

I don't think that Kerry needs acting lessons. I think she is a very capable actress (though I hesitate a little on calling her an Emmy deserving actress just from what I have seen of her on this show). I would just like for her to change her approach for Olivia. I really don't understand why but this season her portrayal took really whiny turn that wasn't there in the earlier seasons. If Olivia never reacted to anything with that infuriating quivering lip again I would be happy. If she wanted to go a step further, she could also cut out more than a bit of the histrionics. I know a lot of the blame for the bad turn the character of Olivia took last season has been placed on the writing, but I disagree. I think the writing was very hit or miss for her but the changes in Kerry's portrayal are what truly made Olivia so infuriating.

At this point, Olivia's belief that she wears the white hat is just delusional.

I've only seen her in Scandal, and I have to disagree.  I think she is just awful.  She is a beautiful woman, she looks amazing in her clothing.  But her acting is just terrible.  She gives her character no depth, and even for a two dimensional character, she is a terrible actress.  Just watching her drinking wine is enough to make me roll my eyes.  I get it, you're getting strength from the wine, which is why you're holding it with two hands and gulping it down, but its so over the top that its not believable.  And if you can't get simple things like that right what hope is there for you as an actress?  The manic laugh at the start of season 3, WTF was she even trying to do there.  That approach has been done successfully a thousand times, by actresses much more capable than her, so it can be done effectively, she just can't do it.  And that was in Season 3, so she has had 2 seasons to figure out how to act, and at this point, the blame for her bad acting lays on her shoulders.

 

I just think its sad to have a black female as the lead in a show like this.  In a role that could be so interesting, and you choose the worst actress around.  Especially when there are so many talented, beautiful black actresses

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Oblique Angle

Oblique Angle

(edited)
In a role that could be so interesting, and you choose the worst actress around.  Especially when there are so many talented, beautiful black actresses

Gabrielle Union, is that you?  ;-)

 

I don't think KW is the worst actress but I do think she's a relatively weak one. She gets by on Scandal with a lot physical distractions like the strut, the wine gulping, and the lip quivering but IMO those devices are being way overused. I often get the sense that her co-actors dial their own performances down when they're in scenes with her so as to make her weakness less apparent. (Plus, she's the star so they're probably being cautious about upstaging.)

 

Of course Olivia Pope is an historically significant role but I still have to laugh that someone thought it was good idea to have Diahann Carroll admonish the Emmy voters that they should give KW the award. The votes had already been cast and counted by that point! Compared to the actresses whose performances she was competing against, KW most certainly did not deserve to win and IMO it would have been the Emmy award equivalent of a mercy fcuk if she had.

Edited by Oblique Angle
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RealityGal

RealityGal

(edited)

Gabrielle Union, is that you?  ;-)

 

I don't think KW is the worst actress but I do think she's a relatively weak one. She gets by on Scandal with a lot physical distractions like the strut, the wine gulping, and the lip quivering but IMO those devices are being way overused. I often get the sense that her co-actors dial their own performances down when they're in scenes with her so as to make her weakness less apparent. (Plus, she's the star so they're probably being cautious about upstaging.)

 

Of course Olivia Pope is an historically significant role but I still have to laugh that someone thought it was good idea to have Diahann Carroll admonish the Emmy voters that they should give KW the award. The votes had already been cast and counted by that point! Compared to the actresses whose performances she was competing against, KW most certainly did not deserve to win and IMO it would have been the Emmy award equivalent of a mercy fcuk if she had.

 

She has got to be the worst I've seen.  And I watch The Blacklist, so I know all about bad actresses.  The wine gulping is on the list of top 3 things she does horribly, trust me, the list is much longer than 3, but wine gulping is right up there.   It gives me a shudder just thinking about how stupid she looks trying to do it.  I get what she is trying to convey, but she is so over the top about it, it just starts to look like a bad joke.  I mean seriously, Taraji wasn't available for the part?  Sanaa?  Like you said...Gabrielle?  Were all the talented black actresses away at a convention, so when casting came around Kerry Washington was the only one around?  She should have been at the absolute bottom of the list of black actresses to get the part.  And now, because she is the lead, the show is stuck with her, which is sad because it could be a wonderful show.  

 

I love that we, as black people, want to represent, and get awards and recognition within our community.  But it just looks like a handout if you're handing people like Kerry Washington any award based on acting.  She shouldn't even be getting a BET award

Edited by RealityGal
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Julia

Julia

I think maybe I'm a little more flexible about that. I think she's mediocre, but like the feminists have been saying for years, progress is when we can be as mediocre as them and be rewarded for it. 

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RealityGal

RealityGal

(edited)

I think maybe I'm a little more flexible about that. I think she's mediocre, but like the feminists have been saying for years, progress is when we can be as mediocre as them and be rewarded for it. 

Thats one point of view, but why not hand over the award when you have a really talented black actress in the category.

 

For years I railed that PR never had a black female winner, and so every time a black female was cast I was rooting for her.  But they waited, and waited, and waited, and waited until they had a black female contestant that was worthy of the win (IMO), and that made the win that much sweeter.  I knew that they didn't just hand it to Dom to be politically correct, or just because they felt it was time because they had black contestants every year, but because she was the best.

 

The Razzie she won seems like the only award that reflects her acting ability.

 

I do want a black female lead to win an Emmy, I think that would be amazing, but it would cheapen it if the woman to win were Kerry Washington.....I know MV though.

Edited by RealityGal
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Cheetosandchoc

Cheetosandchoc

She does look pretty with natural hair.

I think she is one of the most beautiful women on screen quite frankly, right up there with Angelina Jolie whom I think it drop dead gorgeous.

I didn't mind her acting until the last ew episodes. I agree about not much depth and her reaction to everything is to do her biggest "Manga" eyes.

I hope she does take lessons or grow into it better.

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Oblique Angle

Oblique Angle

Like you said...Gabrielle?  Were all the talented black actresses away at a convention, so when casting came around Kerry Washington was the only one around? 

Oh, I wasn't advocating for Gabrielle. But since she allegedly did a lot of backbiting against her competition for this role--particularly KW--I sarcastically figured she'd be on here still talking crap about Kerry.

 

IMO, Gabrielle is a weaker actress than KW, and she's probably gotten as far as she has on looks and a comparatively big resume. My theory on why KW was chosen is that she has not a bit of public scandal attached to her name, and she has connections that reach all the way to the White House. Shonda seems not to want to deal with divas or people with even the slightest of messy public lives. I think Gabrielle probably lost on both scores.

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Anna Yolei

Anna Yolei

Thats one point of view, but why not hand over the award when you have a really talented black actress in the category.

For years I railed that PR never had a black female winner, and so every time a black female was cast I was rooting for her. But they waited, and waited, and waited, and waited until they had a black female contestant that was worthy of the win (IMO), and that made the win that much sweeter. I knew that they didn't just hand it to Dom to be politically correct, or just because they felt it was time because they had black contestants every year, but because she was the best.

The Razzie she won seems like the only award that reflects her acting ability.

I do want a black female lead to win an Emmy, I think that would be amazing, but it would cheapen it if the woman to win were Kerry Washington.....I know MV though.

I concur. It's kinda the same backlash I've seen in my generation on the issue of affirmative action in state colleges, where the black and Latino kids that are actually putting in the work to hold good grades and get involved that don't want their efforts being cheapened with being seen as just there for quotas.

Regarding Olivia Pope, someone mentioned in one of other threads in a different forum about why this is popular with black women: even more than having a black actress in a lead role, it shows her as having not one but two men fighting for her affections, and that is something we as black women don't see often on TV. And in spite of KW'S acting choices, Olivia is clearly not meant to be a stereotypical black character that either plays the wise-cracking sidekick or the wiser-than-them-white-people role with no love life of her own.

I would like to see a good black actress win an Emmy, but if KW wins for mediocrity, I won't lose sleep over it. As we've been made aware of the past few months, we've got a long way to go still.

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alexvillage

alexvillage

I know this thread is kind of dead but I just recently decided to watch this show. I can't. As with everything Shonda does, it's a big soap opera with no possibility of anything close to reality so I skip episodes just to see if it ever gets better. It doesn't. It gets worse.

But Olivia Pope: Why would anyone write such a terrible character? Is she supposed to be "strong and powerful"?  I see her a corrupt as fuck, and in this sense the show is believable. Powerful people can turn corrupt and win. She is not strong though. She is also a whining adult with daddy issues who complies with demands of men who are not only abusive, but also criminals.

Olivia Pope is basically a criminal with ties to themes powerful people on earth, who are also criminals and they all live in this place where justice NEVER, EVER prevails. EVER.

As for KW, I never saw her in anything and I am not impressed. Basically, I don't care. 

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