Review: Orange Is The New Black

BY ALLISON BARNARD

Netflix’s most recent original series, Orange is the New Black has quickly become must see binge viewing. Orange is the New Black is based on the memoir of an inmate named Piper Chapman, who is facing a yearlong jail sentence. The show chronicles her experience as an inmate whose past as an international drug mule has finally caught up with her. Unexpectedly being plucked from her comfortable lifestyle and thrown into the slammer, the show follows Chapman as she struggles to maintain a long-distance relationship with her fiancé.

The pilot episode portrayed Piper painfully adjusting to life in the big house and her experiences were nothing short of hilarious. From unsuccessfully trying to learn to repair electrical equipment to being starved as the result of irritating the strong-willed Russian cafeteria chef, this series hooked me from the very start.

Though I was originally drawn in by the witty punch lines and charismatic personalities of the inmates, but Orange is the New Black turned out to be much more than meets the eye. The women in this prison turn out to be surprisingly supportive towards each other. Coming from different backgrounds and faced with varying sentences, the only thing that truly matters is taking care of each other in times of need, treating their peers as their family for their time imprisoned.

Another selling point of this show for me was how realistically this series depicts life in jail. Nothing about this show is sugar coated, especially the harsh realities of the mistreatment of women in prisons. The show displays inmates subjected to abuse from their peers, but also sexual abuse from the powerful male prison guards. With the horrific solitary confinement unit, the abusive psychiatric ward and the outright toll that the experience incarceration takes on these characters, Orange is the New Black makes you question the treatment of real-life inmates in prisons across the country. Not only does it let you take a look into some of the terrible things that occur in the life of an inmate, but it helps the viewer understand some of the terrible things these women have experienced that led up to their time in jail, both of which being shameful realities.

Overall, Orange is the New Black is an outstanding show. The blend of comedy and real-life issues is both entertaining and eye-opening. I can’t wait to see what the next season has in store.