IN DEFENSE OF “THAT” EPISODE OF “SCANDAL”

By Kristin Scheimer

On Thursday, March 5, ABC aired an episode of “Scandal” called “The Lawn Chair” about a young black man shot and killed by a white cop.   I, and every “Scandal” fan out there, tuned in to watch (or watched a few days later on Hulu).  Many viewers, myself included, ended the episode a weeping mess. 

However, since then there have been many mixed responses to this episode.   It’s been hailed as condescending, ballsy, inappropriate and powerful.  It’s predictable that an episode of this nature would inspire mixed feelings and opinions. 

So, I thought I’d add mine to the mix. 

One of the most powerful and exciting elements of entertainment is its ability to give an audience a visceral, emotional experience they might not have in their daily lives. 

The phrase #blacklivesmatter can be seen everywhere in reaction to the massive number of young black men being gunned down by white cops.  For anyone who has a black man or boy in their lives whom they care about, this phrase evokes images and feelings of that man or boy.  However, for people who don’t have this experience, #blacklivesmatter evokes a more generic response.  It’s an intellectual idea rather than an emotional one.

The writing of the incomparable Shonda Rhimes and the stellar, heart wrenching performance by Courtney B. Vance did exactly what they set out to do.   It gave everyone watching an emotional experience.  I’d be hard pressed to find anyone watching that episode who wasn’t rooting for and moved by Vance.   His emotionally raw declaration that “My son didn’t carry a knife” would move even the most stoic of viewers. 

Some say the ending was fantasy because in the real world Clarence is right, there are only two ways it would have ended:  with him in jail or dead.  But what purpose would it have served for this to end tragically?  We see that in real life.  We need to see the possibility of other outcomes.   

The next time a young black man is killed by a white cop (and oh, how I wish it would be true to say: IF this happens again), then people who have seen this episode will emotionally relate to this episode, whether it’s conscious or not. 

This episode gave its audience someone to care about.  It gave us the emotional experience of caring about this boy and his father.  That’s the power of the episode.  That’s the purpose of the episode.

There are a lot of tragic things in the world:  The extinction of Rhinoceroses.  The horrific treatment of women and girls by the Taliban.  The number of black men killed by cops.  But it is also all too easy for people to “not relate”, to “put it out of their minds” because it doesn’t affect them.

That’s the real tragedy in the world.  Apathy is the biggest killer of our humanity.  Every injustice, tragedy or horrifying situation in the world that was righted, conquered or cured happened because people WEREN’T apathetic.  They stood up and ended slavery, got women the right to vote and are on their way to eliminating the impact of the Taliban. 

But for most people, it’s simply too hard to get involved because they aren’t directly affected or don’t feel emotionally involved.  Pre 9/11, when I heard what the Taliban were doing to women and girls in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other parts of that region, I couldn’t sleep for several nights.  I finally got involved and started volunteering with organizations to bring attention to this tragedy and to motivate people and the government to get involved.   What I ran into quite often was a sense of people not being able to relate to these women.  They were foreign, lived on the other side of the world and had no impact on their lives.

But in 2012, a beautiful young girl named Malala Yousafzai was shot in the face by the Taliban for speaking out for the rights of girls to go to school.   Thankfully this lovely spirit survived this horrific attack and has become an outspoken and inspiring leader, even winning a Nobel Peace Prize for her work.  She is delightful and charming and has put a face to the faceless women being persecuted by the Taliban.  Now when the Taliban and their treatment of women are brought up, for anyone who knows of Malala, this heartwarming young lady is brought to mind.  If they can’t feel for a group of girls with whom they feel they have nothing in common, they can feel for Malala.

Rosa Parks is famous for her rebellion on the bus, but what most people don’t know is that the NAACP was actually planning such an action.  It had the impact it had and the NAACP had the idea to do something like this for exactly the same reason.   Saying black people had to ride in the back of the bus may not evoke an emotional response from some people, but this hard working woman’s story was personal and relatable. 

That’s the power of entertainment and the power of “that” episode of “Scandal.”  I would love for it to be required viewing for everyone in this country as this slaughtering of the young black male population isn’t a black problem, it’s an American problem, it’s a human problem and we ALL have to work together to find a solution.  Sure there are die hard racists who will be unmoved (at least consciously) by this episode and there will be people who have learned to harden themselves against caring about anyone outside of their world, but without a doubt, there will also be people moved by this episode in ways they’ve never been moved by the tragedies they see on the news.  The journey of the father in this episode is what will draw them in and make them feel in a way maybe they’ve never felt about this tragic situation.  And even if a handful of people are affected, the episode was worth it just for that. 

Yes, it had an unrealistic ending… now.  But hopefully, one day, it won’t be.  Seeing the possibility is a good step towards that.  Seeing that the death of Brandon should never even happened is another step.  No, people don’t want to talk about it.  Some people may think this divides the races more, but I disagree.  We do need to talk about it.  If it makes people uncomfortable, then we know we’re doing it right.