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A composite photo of Hillary Clinton (right), and actress Viola Davis (left), the lead character in the television series How to Get Away with Murder.

Image: Mashable composite / Getty Creative

By Rebecca Ruiz2015-01-17 16:06:31 UTC

For years, Hollywood has asked women on screen to play one of three roles: girlfriend, wife or mistress. These characters are often hollow, with few aspirations or desires beyond illuminating the inner life of a male keeper.

Now that illusion seems to be slowly, stubbornly receding in favor of the complicated female character. Like the generations of male characters that came before her, she is often deeply flawed, rejects convention, and isn't necessarily powerful or self-assured. She might even be an anti-heroine.

In this pop culture universe, a woman with hard edges is appealing, interesting, even marketable. This momentum may not be remaking American culture, but it does hint at a newfound appreciation for the complex woman. And it could come at no better time than when we start to contemplate, yet again, what it would mean to have a female president.

Hillary Clinton, the presumed frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination, has been defined by complexity since she became first lady in 1993. One of the most vocal advocates for women and children in modern history, she is also notorious for her hawkish stance on the Iraq War, subverting the popular notion that a woman, and particularly a mother, would avoid war at all costs. Among the most vilified women in American politics, she's withstood vicious attacks on her personality and motivations, sometimes with a smile. When her husband was outed as a philanderer, she remained his partner.

These complexities have been both Clinton's strength and weakness, transforming her through resilience but also making her a target for skeptics and criticism, some of it sexist. So it's worth asking: Can this particular moment in pop culture can change the way we think of Clinton?

Might the hard-charging women of Shonda Rhimes' television empire help the American public see female strength as an asset in a way they haven't before? Or maybe the grit and vulnerability of Sandra Bullock's marooned astronaut in Gravity convinced viewers that women possess both qualities in equal measure and still prevail in harrowing circumstances.

If the compelling female characters in film and television have messy lives, that arguably broadens our vision of what it means to be a modern American woman.

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Could Hollywood's new love of complex women help Hillary Clinton?

Further fueling the speculation around his all-but-certain 2016 presidential bid, Gov. Scott Walker took a swipe Thursday night at former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Addressing GOP officials in California at the Republican National Committee winter meeting, Walker used a common theme of his speeches as governor to attack the potential Democratic nominee.

"She lives in Washington. She works in Washington. She came to Washington through this president and his administration," Walker said of Clinton, Politico's Alex Insenstadt reported. "She was in Washington when she was a United States senator. She was in Washington when her husband was president of the United States. You look at everything that people dislike about Washington, and she embodies it."

Walker frequently invokes a contrast between the nation's capital and the state of Wisconsin.

"Some in Washington believe government should play a growing role in our lives and rarely question its expanse. Others have such disdain for government that they attempt to keep it from working at all," Walker said during his State of the State address. "Instead, we have a chance to lead here in Wisconsin. I believe that government has grown too big and too intrusive in our lives and must be reined in, but the government that is left must work."

That speech came one week after his inaugural address, in which he contrasted the difference between Wisconsin and "the politicians along the Potomac."

"We get things done here in the Badger State," Walker said. "There is a clear contrast between Washington and Wisconsin."

The governor, re-elected to a second term in November, has yet to confirm that he'll seek his party's nomination in 2016. But when he describes the candidate he thinks he could win, it sounds an awful lot like him: a governor, a fresh face from outside Washington, someone who's taken on challenges and emerged victorious.

While former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has distinguished himself from the presumed Democratic nominee by voluntarily releasing 250,000 emails from his time as governor drawing a sharp line between himself and Clinton, whose business is notoriously guarded Walker has sought to do the same through rhetoric.

Some on the left aren't buying it.

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Scott Walker slams Hillary Clinton, Democrats hit back

Hillary Clinton's career in the spotlight Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, pictured in October 2012, has become one of the most powerful people in Washington. Here's a look at her life and career through the years:

Hillary Clinton's career in the spotlight Before she married Bill Clinton, she was Hillary Rodham. Here, Rodham talks about student protests in 1969, which she supported in her commencement speech at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Hillary Clinton's career in the spotlight Rodham, center, a lawyer for the Rodino Committee, and John Doar, left, chief counsel for the committee, bring impeachment charges against President Richard Nixon in the Judiciary Committee hearing room at the U.S. Capitol in 1974.

Hillary Clinton's career in the spotlight Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton helps first lady Rosalynn Carter on a campaign swing through Arkansas in June 1979. Also seen in the photo is Hillary Clinton, center background.

Hillary Clinton's career in the spotlight Bill Clinton embraces his wife shortly after a stage light fell near her on January 26, 1992. They talk to Don Hewitt, producer of the CBS show "60 Minutes."

Hillary Clinton's career in the spotlight With Hillary, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton waves to the crowd at his victory party after winning the Illinois primary on March 17, 1992.

Hillary Clinton's career in the spotlight Al Gore, Tipper Gore, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton wave to supporters at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York, after they gave speeches on family values on August 23, 1992.

Hillary Clinton's career in the spotlight Clinton gestures at a campaign rally November 3, 1992, in Denver. After taking office, President Clinton chose his wife to head a special commission on health care reform, the most significant public policy initiative of his first year in office.

Hillary Clinton's career in the spotlight Bill and Hillary Clinton have a laugh together on Capitol Hill in 1993.

Hillary Clinton's career in the spotlight Clinton pours herself a cup of tea in 1993 while testifying to the Senate Education and Labor Committee about health care reform.

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One month without a Hillary Clinton headliner - CNN.com

Hillaryland is ready for Romney.

Advisers to Hillary Clinton said the former secretary of state has a better shot of winning the White House in a race against former Mitt Romney than she does against Jeb Bush.

Clinton confidants and other Democrats said in interviews that they view Romney as the weaker Republican opponent in a general election, unlikely to get a second chance from the key swing group of independents who made up their minds about him just two years ago.

I would like to run against Mitt Romney in every election forever, said former Obama staffer Tommy Vietor, who also worked on Clintons book tour last summer.

Clinton advisers said Romney has proven he lacks the ability to relate to voters and comes across as out of touch.

Wed be much more concerned about Bush, said one Clinton confidant. When you have Romney against Clinton, you cant really make the argument that its time to move on. Youve got two people who have run before.

Bush, the former Florida governor, also has a geographic advantage, insiders said.

One has to assume Bush will win Florida, said a longtime Clinton adviser. If youre looking at the world through 270 electoral votes, thats a major state in the electoral count (29 votes).

Both Republican candidates are expected to try to appeal to the center of their party and that might be easier for Bush to pull off.

People will argue that Bush has matured, said the longtime Clinton adviser. With Romney, theres less of an argument that he matured than that he flipped in 12 and that hes flopping back in 16. Id rather have Romney than Bush.

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EXCLUSIVE: Hillary Clinton advisers prefer she face Romney ...

Hillary Clinton's career in the spotlight Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, pictured in October 2012, has become one of the most powerful people in Washington. Here's a look at her life and career through the years:

Hillary Clinton's career in the spotlight Before she married Bill Clinton, she was Hillary Rodham. Here, Rodham talks about student protests in 1969, which she supported in her commencement speech at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Hillary Clinton's career in the spotlight Rodham, center, a lawyer for the Rodino Committee, and John Doar, left, chief counsel for the committee, bring impeachment charges against President Richard Nixon in the Judiciary Committee hearing room at the U.S. Capitol in 1974.

Hillary Clinton's career in the spotlight Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton helps first lady Rosalynn Carter on a campaign swing through Arkansas in June 1979. Also seen in the photo is Hillary Clinton, center background.

Hillary Clinton's career in the spotlight Bill Clinton embraces his wife shortly after a stage light fell near her on January 26, 1992. They talk to Don Hewitt, producer of the CBS show "60 Minutes."

Hillary Clinton's career in the spotlight With Hillary, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton waves to the crowd at his victory party after winning the Illinois primary on March 17, 1992.

Hillary Clinton's career in the spotlight Al Gore, Tipper Gore, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton wave to supporters at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York, after they gave speeches on family values on August 23, 1992.

Hillary Clinton's career in the spotlight Clinton gestures at a campaign rally November 3, 1992, in Denver. After taking office, President Clinton chose his wife to head a special commission on health care reform, the most significant public policy initiative of his first year in office.

Hillary Clinton's career in the spotlight Bill and Hillary Clinton have a laugh together on Capitol Hill in 1993.

Hillary Clinton's career in the spotlight Clinton pours herself a cup of tea in 1993 while testifying to the Senate Education and Labor Committee about health care reform.

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One month without a Clinton headliner