Quantico’s Positive Messages

Society has consistently portrayed men as powerhouse figures who are strong and smart and women as people who are weak and less powerful. Although this is still a norm throughout media, many shows have taken significant steps in highlighting women as being a more dominant character. Quantico, a show based around the FBI, is sending a cultural transmission by showing women who are strong and intelligent characters.
Throughout this episode, the women are shown as extremely intelligent and most of the time more capable than the men. During Quantico, FBI trainees are in a room and their goal is to find evidence that can determine if a terrorist lives there and is planning an attack. A few people in the room are struggling to find pieces of evidence when Alex Parrish (girl) says she thinks she found a lead. She is talking with Ryan Booth about her evidence, and he doesn’t seem to agree with her. She then says, “I still think the girlfriend is in on it because unlike you, I don’t believe everything I read.” It is later revealed that Parrish was correct, and Booth was wrong. This sends the message to the audience that women can be right, even if a man disagrees with her. Women watching this episode may realize that men are not always right and that women are intelligent as well. Another example of women being shown as more intelligent is when Natalie Vasquez says, “I already have three leads.” Meanwhile, Booth had found nothing. This single line portrays women as being more intelligent than men and gives them the recognition they deserve. The third example showing powerful women is that the boss of the entire FBI trainee program is a woman. Having a female boss portrays women as powerful and smart because a female is running the whole program, rather than a man. Viewers watching this, especially younger women, will be able to look up to these characters and aspire to be like them because of their knowledge and dominance they portray.
In most media, women are shown as physically weak, but in this episode, they are portrayed as very strong. The opening scene shows the trainees running around the track. Alex Parrish is leading the pack and outrunning everyone. Showing a girl leading the pack portrays women as strong individuals who are no weaker than men. This is good for female viewers because they get to see themselves as being someone other than weak. During this episode, the trainees have a pushup test, and in the end, the girls say, “43, 50,” referring to the number of pushups they did. Portraying women who are strong and fit is beneficial for female viewers because it helps break the norm that women are weak.
Overall, Quantico is a good show, and not just because it is entertaining. The cultural transmission Quantico sends and the messages it portrays are beneficial to today’s female youth. By showing strong, intelligent female characters, this piece of media is sending a message to women that they can be just as good, if not better than men.
