Recently I just finished the third season of Orange is the New Black. Though I tried to stretch out my viewing periods to enjoy the show over a lengthy time I just couldn’t help myself. I finished it in a week, which I’m pretty sure is still a little more time than much of its die-hard fan-base allowed before engulfing the entire season in a 48 hour binging session. Before I continue on I would just like to say that I think the show’s writing is not only incredible but every actor does an excellent job in playing their unique roles that keep us drawn in to help us identify with not only ourselves but with the surroundings they’re placed in. Personally I believe there’s numerous characters in the show that we can all identify with. There’s a piece of each of them in each of us. At least I can say that, personally speaking.
As much as I enjoyed the most recent season I couldn’t help but notice the continued subliminal hints that were present throughout the show and how it was affecting me on a personal level. Now, I’m fully aware that stereotyping and the racy humor is one of the signature elements of the show. I’m also aware that it has been present from the beginning but as the show continues to gain even more notoriety and popularity amongst the mainstream masses I have now noticed its affect on us as a society and how some of our behaviors tend to mimic characters in our favorite television shows. Of course this is nothing new. Television, music, and radio have both been used as tools to influence societal opinion as far back as their conception. But that topic is for another entry, another day.
If you aren’t aware of the show this article may not make much sense to you so I suggest spending a little time becoming familiar with it by watching a few episodes if you have a Netflix account. If not you can do what many others do and borrow a friend’s account info in order to watch it form your laptop or Desktop computer because I don’t intend on re-capping the storyline of the show for your convenience. I am merely going to use references from the show’s characters in order to highlight possible correlations with its effects on our mindset and behavior from a socio-economic perspective. I think for us to better understand our emotional attachments to such facets of entertainment, we first have to understand why it affects us on a deeper level in the first place.
A specific example is Piper, the main character for instance. An upper middle-class, caucasian, bi-sexual, thirty-something female who finds herself in a mid-level security penitentiary because of her involvement in trafficking narcotics with her on and off girlfriend, Alex Voss. Throughout the show we see Piper evolve from a scared, naive, and clueless suburban ‘white girl’ into a carefully crafted, selfish and manipulative socio-path who uses her innocent demeanor and adoring looks to get what she wants, meanwhile taking advantage of others who don’t quite carry the same effect on others as her. Understandably, we can all sympathize with her unfamiliarity with being incarcerated along with her surroundings which consist of other convicted felons who have found themselves at the mercy of the judicial system repetitively, and for quite a time longer than herself. Its in this instance I tended to pick up on how Piper carries a unique demeanor than the rest of her fellow inmates, in which she’s convinced herself that she, because of her ethnic and socioeconomic background is somehow different than her fellow peers. Its this continued display of indifferent behavior that struck a nerve with me personally.
Throughout the course of the show, the audience gets the luxury of an ominous perspective of each inmate and their unique backstory that landed them in federal prison in the first place. We see how each character’s situation varies and how some were more driven towards the criminal element than others. What I also found interesting was how many characters did and still do carry a sensitive and compassionate side of their nature which they continue to display in various conflicts throughout the show. This is what allows for the audience to connect and care for each character on a sympathetic level which makes for better drama that we gravitate towards in order to enhance the viewing experience. Of course, as every character’s story unfolded I noticed how most of them, much like the reality of prison, were in unfortunate, compromising situations economically. To simplify, majority of the inmates came from poorer backgrounds. Piper however was the opposite. Therefore, much of the show’s highlighted target demographic who have a Netflix account, a well functioning computer/smart device or smart TV, and undisrupted access to Wifi, probably relate to her more than any other character in the show. And as I realize the show is meant to cater to that specific audience, I also can assure you the fans of the show are as colorful and widespread as the characters that make up the show’s beauty in itself.
Its for this reason I can only wonder what we’re meant to take from Piper’s “woe is me, I don’t belong here” attitude. Often enough, Piper finds herself in difficult circumstances and its as if we’re meant to feel sorry for her as she carries this, ‘pity me because I’m the innocent white girl who doesn’t belong here’ role. But from what I can see, Piper’s behavior makes her one of the most conniving and unapologetic individuals in the entire show. The difference is, Piper is one of the most physically attractive and more relatable characters to, what is perceived as, the majority of America’s “civilized” populous. So we forgive her. We feel sorry for her because she’s an attractive blonde, white girl who just doesn’t know any better; when in actuality she knows exactly what she’s doing. She just has no remorse for it because she uses others without adhering to the unspoken ‘code of thieves’ that everyone else at least tries to abide by more often than not.
Which once again, causes me to wonder, what are we really supposed to take from the underlining meaning of Orange is The New Black? Are they trying to tell us, no matter what, white people will always have the benefit of the doubt even within the walls of the most despicable and feared environments in our society? Even if they are unfortunate enough to get caught committing an illegal act, do they still have it better than everyone else? I can only let my suspicion wander for long enough before I come to the conclusion that yes, it seems to be the case in these continuous trying times of cultural separation that we are to accept the fact that it is a ‘White Man’s World’ and it always has been. And not just that, but in a self-centered and shallow society, physical attractiveness will always be the perfect cover to hide someone’s true intent and will always be the most important factor in deciding in someone’s guilt or innocence.
Its for these reasons I try to keep an open mind but am extremely careful in how I read the responses of others’ behavior who don’t share the same perspective of the world that I do. Its ironic that this is a melting pot of numerous ethnic backgrounds and beliefs yet there’s always this overshadowed sense of what is considered “normal” or “acceptable” in the eyes of the masses that make up our society as a whole. We always tend to believe everyone else lives similar to how we do, or sees life just as we do when in actuality all you have to do is travel a few miles to the other side of the tracks in your hometown to realize that is not the case and never has been for some families. And while we tend to turn a blind eye to the deviance that takes place in our own neighborhoods, I can assure you, crime & deceitfulness come in many forms and not just what we are conditioned to believe from this picture perfect world we all choose to believe in.
