Orange is the New Black (2013-Present)

*Disclaimer: Like Supergirl, Orange is the New Black is a fine show that does a lot of things really well but falls short in certain aspects. Namely, like way, way too many shows, it features multiple characters with disabilities played by able-bodied actors. Seriously, if characters with disabilities were cast appropriately, actors with disabilities would be all over Hollywood in prominent roles.*

 

After gushing over the utterly wonderful Poussey and Taystee, I figured I ought to write about the show in general.  Orange is the New Black was a slow starter for me; it began as a show to watch when I had time, but it grew addictive as it went on, and by the time I finished season 1, I was a definite fan.  I’m currently trying to figure out how I’ll pace myself when season 2 arrives, knowing I’ll have a full year to wait before getting any more.

 

In Orange is the New Black, Piper Chapman is taken from her cushy life when she’s called up for a decade-old crime  In her early 20s, she carried money for her then-girlfriend, an international drug smuggler, and she’s now been sentenced to 15 months in a medium-security federal prison for her sins.  At first, she approaches her situation intellectually, doing research on What to Expect When You’re in the Clink.  She plans to keep her head down, power through, and come out unchanged, where her fiancée and a season of Mad Man will be waiting for her.

 

Clearly, Piper has a few things to learn.  She’s instantly overwhelmed by the dehumanization, the loss of privilege and privacy.  She’s thrown into a culture where women don’t stray outside strict racial boundaries, the bathroom stalls don’t have doors, and any sign of disrespect (to inmates or staff members) invites danger.  Her habit of putting her foot in her mouth has her in constant hot water, and her usual method of conflict resolution – level-headed discourse – doesn’t fly here.

 

Likewise, Piper and her fiancée Larry see just how difficult it is to maintain their relationship with Piper in jail.  Piper’s entire world has turned upside-down, and Larry has no way to truly understand what she’s going through.  Matters are further complicated when Piper realizes she’s incarcerated with Alex, the ex-girlfriend who presumably informed on her.  Despite the obvious bad blood between the two, there’s a magnetic pull to their interactions, and Piper’s thoughts about the alluring, untrustworthy woman do her head in.

 

Aside from the central characters, the show is populated by a stellar ensemble of fellow inmates.  Their lives and stories are revealed gradually, initial stereotyped impressions reshaping into women who are deftly drawn and well thought out.  Each episode includes a flashback or two about one character’s pre-prison life, and it’s great to see different facets of these women and get a glimpse of what started them down the path to their current predicament.  The show’s greatest strength is this unique, complex, and sympathetic cast of characters.  They are of different ages, races, social classes, orientations, national origins, and abilities.  They wrestle with hopelessness, power struggles, indignity, mental illness, rights of gender identity, betrayal, and corruption, to name just a few.  They also fall in love, adopt fierce loyalties, chase the things that make them feel normal, and find reasons to laugh.  The show uses them to put stunningly-individual faces to the often faceless circumstance of the imprisoned.  If Piper moved steadily down my list of favorites throughout the season, it’s only because I kept finding more to love among the supporting players.

 

Warnings

 

Swearing, sexual content (including nudity, sex scenes, and masturbation,) substance abuse, some violence, racist and homophobic slurs, and frank depiction of bodily functions.