Orange is the new Black (2013-2019) is a popular seven-season television show that is available for streaming on Netflix.
Orange is the New Black (2013-2019), created by Jenji Kohan, is a popular seven-season show on Netflix. Each season contains 13 episodes that are approximately an hour long, making this a very bingeable series.
The series was an adaptation of a book on Piper Kerman’s memoir Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison (2010) while she was serving her time on FCI, Danbury, a minimum security prison. It was one of the most important events in the Netflix’s short history after which this company just took off. It is also the most streamed original series in the Netflix.
I have been watching the show for the first time, and I am currently two episodes shy of finishing the entire series. Despite speculation from die-hard fans, there are no official plans to produce an eighth season of the show.
It is impossible to watch this show without noticing the representation of race and privilege in society. Since the show’s release, many viewers have found the show offensive because of racial stereotypes and misrepresentation of characters in various situations, which I feel is important to note before diving further in.
The show follows the main character, a white woman from an upper-middle-class family, as she spends 18 months in prison for a drug-related crime. As she is placed in various prisons, we see many other side characters and their storylines within the prison system.
The show openly represents race; in many cases, the prison is divided by race, and drama often arises because the two characters are of different races. Viewers often find the separation offensive and unrealistic to how prison truly operates, a problem I have also recognized but cannot speak on because I have never been inside a prison.
A critique that I do have of the show is its representation of negative stereotypes across different races and religions. An accurate example of this is the show’s constant portrayal of “aggressive” black characters or group scenarios. Multiple white characters consistently commit acts of violence, yet they are not labeled aggressive. Black characters who commit one act of violence or aggression receive the label and are stuck with it for the entirety of their plotline, even if the rest of their actions are peaceful or in an attempt to cause less drama.
Like many shows I have watched, the last few seasons are structurally worse than the beginning. The growing number of plot holes and the elimination of some of my favorite characters led to my disinterest in any newly introduced characters.
One plotline that particularly bothers me is the introduction of a character’s secret bunker she built inside an abandoned pool. Before season five, there was no mention of a pool nor an explanation of how she created this bunker for years without getting caught.
Even though this particular prison has minimum security, an inmate can’t create an intricate bunker for over a decade without an officer or employee noticing. Even supply closets within the prison are closely monitored and included in checks.
After watching OITNB, I came to know about the situation of the prisons, prisoners and how they are perceived by the people who are there to care for them. Not only the comedy and drama between the prisoners but the interwoven relations between the prisoners with their guards and also between guards and their employers. The volatile relationships between all the protagonists show how real they are. There are times when they care for each other, there are some when they just isolate themselves from others while there was also a time when all united for a common objective.
Initially, it was kept in the genre of comedy but in the latter seasons, it can be said a dramedy; a mixture of drama and comedy. There are moments when you shed a tear while watching it and there are also times when you can’t help but smile. It has ups and downs, thrills and cliffhangers that would make you sit the whole night up and watch until you finish the season. The seventh season is the saddest of the bunch because they had to end it. So, this had low doses of fun and higher doses of sadness which made you choke up. However, season 5 may be the best among all because it was when the series had to upgrade itself. Everything happened because of it and when I think of the this season, the most emotional episode I ever watched happened in one of the final episodes but I cannot grasp it now.
This program encapsulates the love between characters, rivalry for the leadership not just of their crew but also the workplace which brings poor decision making by some but because of their love for their work, there are also times when this brings the best out of them and not only that they worked to get rid of their common enemy too which is really powerful when you realize they do not have anything in common.
This is going to be one of the, if not the, most engrossing, awesome and influential TV series of all time. The whole cast is so talented and you can just enjoy their chemistry with each other with no bad feeling. The recurring casts are also very complementary with such nice backgrounds and flashbacks.
You won’t regret it but I will go as far to say that you will learn something new from all!
⭐ Rating – 4.5/5
Beyond the Cinema's 