A goddess among mere mortals, Shonda Rhimes has been making viewers sob uncontrollably since 2005. You may say her profession is a screenwriter, director and producer, or you may say she is a professional badass. She was named one of TIME magazine's 100 most influential people, has won a Golden Globe award, dominates ABC with three highly-successful shows on Thursday night and constantly throws our lives into disarray with her unbelievably creative mind.
Shonda Rhimes has not only created some of the most dynamic television shows on TV right now — "Grey's Anatomy," "Scandal" and "How To Get Away With Murder," too name a few — but has also crafted incredible roles for women and people of color. She has pushed to the forefront of popular TV serious social issues and constantly stands up to adversity publicly.
Forming story lines based on issues many deem too serious or uncomfortable for mainstream television, Rhimes has written stories based on interracial couples, women facing adversity in leadership positions, bisexuality, women going against social norms to declare their desire to not become a mother and more. She has brought meaning and purpose to our favorite TV shows countless times.
Unfortunately, Shonda Rhimes herself has had to deal with countless opposition despite her incredible commercial success and innovative story lines. Earlier this year, ABC blessed us by ordering a pilot for a FOURTH Shonda Rhimes show about a forensic accountant. Just like most of her shows, the lead character is a woman. To break the news, @Variety tweeted, “ABC has ordered another female-driven drama pilot from Shonda Rhimes." She immediately tweeted back questioning the wording of the tweet — Why isn't the show just a drama? Do we need to specify with extraneous adjectives that the show revolves around a woman?
She has also been quoted that she often deals with her shows — more specifically Scandal — being pigeonholed to be “just for women," despite its graphic content and edgy storylines, because a female leads the cast. And if it is geared towards women, it must not be as serious or hard-hitting of a show as it would be is the target audience was male. Furthermore, she criticizes the lack of diversity in television, from sexuality to race. All the while, she scoffs at the idea of being held back because she is African American or because she is a woman; that is no excuse for disempowerment.
This woman has gifted our generation with some of the most compelling storylines, dynamic characters, heartbreaking plot twists and beautiful romances. She has also been a silent crusader for equality and diversity in not only television, but in reality. So thank you Shonda Rhimes, for not only your brilliant mind, but also your extraordinary heart and unwavering passion to help our world in every way you can.
