Hello Beautiful People,
On Thursday, many of you may have watched and tweeted about SCANDAL with us, the newest masterpiece of the ever eloquent, ever relevant, ever brilliant, Shonda Rhimes.
We have been watching Grey’s Anatomy since it first graced our television screens, we have enjoyed the wild ride of Private Practice and are truly heartbroken to see it go, and, we watch Scandal every week, with bated breath and skipping hearts.
This past episode, was, without a doubt, the best yet. It was bone chilling, it was heart racing, it made us laugh, it made us cry, but, more importantly, it made us think.
Yes…it made. Us. Think.
In a world that has a reality television show for every single hobby, personal flaw, and geographical location, it’s refreshing to see television programming with real, honest, live, ACTORS and a script that has been poured over by some of the brightest and best minds in the industry. It makes our hearts sing. It makes us smile. It makes us think. Isn’t that the POINT of television and theatre, to make us think?
Yes, there’s that thinking thing again.
At one point on Thursday, Olivia Pope, (played by the beautifully talented Kerry Washington), uttered the phrase:
“There’s always something we can do.”
Now, just to contextualize this for you, this statement comes as a response to Cyrus, when he is willing to look the other way in regards to the murder of seven innocent people.
How. Many. Times. Does. This. Happen. IN. LIFE.
How many times do people look the other way, when they know they should be challenging the wrongdoings, and fighting the good fight? This stems beyond politics, beyond Hollywood,beyond the glitz and the glam of the entertainment industry. Think about the little everyday instances that we all come across. The little moments when you turn the other cheek, not in the name of strength or love, but in the name of cowardice. In the name of laziness. In the name of fear.
The entire season has been peppered with moments like that one. Moments and lines that just resonate with us…as actors, as teachers, as writers, as artists, and as people.
The complexity of the relationship between Fitz and Olivia is another prime example of the humanity that Shonda Rhimes and the cast of Scandal illuminate so very well on our television screens. Life is not perfect, nor is love. Marriage, well, it’s a hundred little moments of pleasantries and loveliness and ugliness all wrapped into one beautiful gift. It is beautiful, but it can be complex. Infidelity, it sucks and it’s wrong. There’s no denying that. But, to pretend like it is black and white, well, that’s just silly, for it is most definitely a shade of grey. It can be about Love. It’s not ALWAYS about Lust. And, Shonda Rhimes, Kerry Washington, and Tony Goldwyn illustrate that with grace and perfection.
To the cast & crew of Private Practice…we commend you, we thank you, & we will miss you.
Live, Love, Learn,
The Write Teacher(s)