Orange is the New Black
Anyone watch this? I just marathoned the first (and currently only) season. The second season is coming soon though.
It's a sort of slice-of-life, fish-out-of-water story of an upper-middle-class woman who ends up in federal prison 10 years after being a drug mule for her ex-girlfriend. It's very loosely based on a true story. I enjoyed the first season. It's hard not to like and/or hate some of the characters. Great writing and acting.
Loved, loved, loved it. Can't wait for the second season. When I find out when it's being added, I'll probably do another marathon of the first season. The memoir the show was based on is horrid, though.
Originally Posted by Fynn
I watched it a few months ago, and loved it. It's weird that a show being touted for being so pro-feminist, pro-racial, pro-trans*, and pro-homo is a show about women in prison.
Between all the black-woman-mmhmm-gurrrl-eye-rolling and girl-on-girl-eye-candy, I couldn't make it past the first fifteen minutes. I'll try to watch it again someday when I'm feeling less bitter about the outcome of this one rich white woman going to jail being that she gets a book deal and a TV show. I've heard an interview where she said her story is the "gateway" to gathering attention for stories about women of colour and transgendered individuals, and that's good, but I'm kind of sick of there needing to be a "gateway" in the first place.
Oh yeah, Piper Kerman is kind of insufferable. Her character is the least-likable part of the show as well.
I think the story is humanizing of that kind of black-woman-mmhmm-gurrrl-eye-rolling culture. A lot of people look down on it without understanding it, and I hope that they'll go into more of it next season.
The first fifteen minutes are the weakest in the show. The fanservice shower scenes mostly end after the first episode. It moves into more of a dark humor / drama mode after.
I identify with the yuppie main character and her canvas grocery bags and silly diet plans, where I don't have much of a basis for identifying with young black women in prison. So the premise of the show got me to watch something I wouldn't normally watch, for what it's worth. By the end of the series I was identifying a lot more with the other characters.
It's a story about screwed-up people making mistakes, which I like. The show does the same thing Lost did, where it plops the viewer and some of the characters into a foreign, hostile-ish environment and then slowly delves into each character's background with flashbacks. As the main character learns more about everyone, so does the viewer. It drew me in effectively.
The yuppie character is easily one of the most screwed-up characters on the show, and mostly every character in the show knows it, which is an interesting irony given the premise.
I was unaware the show was touted for those things until I finished it, but in retrospect I could see why. The show is candid and humanizing, as you say.
I am completely in love with this show. I think the title is stupid though.
I enjoyed the show overall. My biggest complaint, which I went into more detail on in the old thread about this show (too lazy to look it up), was that a lot of the worst issues of prison in the show were white-washed, such as racial tensions, violence, and sexual abuse. The show obviously sacrificed some realism for the sake of comedy and appealing to a wider audience, which for most people is probably a positive thing. I was also disappointed that they barely touched on the issue of incarceration resulting in a never-ending cycle of poor people winding up back in prison.
The first episode is also chock-full of fan service, but that is wildly disproportionate compared to the rest of the show. There's probably more nudity in the first episode than there is in the rest of the season.
Also that theme song, mirite?
That theme song is so great c:
I marathoned this show with my sister a few weeks back. I enjoyed it a lot. Piper is definitely one of the most screwed up and unlikable people in the show, and she's meant to be. It provides an interesting perspective and never lets you get too cozy in everything-is-okay-land as Piper keeps fueling her own conflicts. It's similar to Girls in that way, although the problems seem more tangible here.
And yes, the theme song is great. Can't stop myself from singing along every time.
It's time to bring this thread back now that season 2 airs tomorrow!
I'm late to the party with this show, I only watched the first season a month or so ago. Fortunately for me it means that the wait for the second season wasn't so long for me.
Alex Vause forever. Haters gonna hate.
THE ANIMAL
THE ANIMAL
IS TRAPPED TRAPPED TRAPPED AND THE CAGE IS FULL
Seen the name, might have watched a trailer, know Donna from That 70's Show is in it, never watched it. Most likely won't.
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