For months I had a recurring nightmare where I was locked in a male prison after making the poor decision to try to watch all of HBO’s critically acclaimed and horrifically violent “Oz.” Netflix’s new original series “Orange is the New Black” takes that nightmare to a whole new level. The main character finds herself in prison, but unlike the drug-dealing gang members who populated “Oz,” she is a Starbucks-drinking, iPhone-using Manhattanite with a blog.
Basically, it’s like watching your best friend get locked up in a federal penitentiary.
To start, this is not a shy show. In the first few scenes, we are shown topless women, lesbian sex and masturbating male guards – all before we even see the heroine have her first meal. All of this would be expected in a show about prison, but what makes “Orange” different – and truly fantastic – is what occurs that defies our expectations. The opening titles feature fast shots of the eyes of many different women, because that’s what the show is all about. It reminds us that there are all kinds in prison. All it takes is one small mistake when you’re 22 years old and you can end up there as well.
It’s important to note that “Orange is the New Black” is not “Oz,” and the show doesn’t want you to forget that. Within 20 minutes of the pilot episode, we have a correctional officer telling Piper Chapman – the show’s heroine, played by the doe-eyed and witty Taylor Schilling – “No one is going to bother you here unless you let them, this isn’t ‘Oz’.”
This is good news for Chapman who, like us viewers, is coming into prison with terrifying images from TV dramas and CNN specials on Guantanamo Bay. In true New Yorker fashion, she has read all of the books on what you should and shouldn’t do in prison (don’t ask people what they’re in for, don’t accept anything without assuming you’ll need to do something in return), and thinks she knows what’s waiting for her, only to discover that you can’t prepare for something like this.
While the scenes leading up to the moment she turns herself in are well-crafted, they, like so many of Chapman’s pre-prison flashbacks are almost unnecessary because once you step inside the doors of the Women’s Federal Correctional Institute of Litchfield, New York, you won’t care much about what’s outside them.
The supporting cast is filled with recognizable faces; the always fun Natasha Lyonne emerges as Nicky – one of the first people Chapman meets in prison – and the ever cool and collected Laura Prepon is there as Chapman’s former lesbian lover, Alex. This hints at a future love triangle that might pop up between Chapman, Alex and Chapman’s fiancé Larry, played by Jason Biggs. However, I’m less interested in the romantic relationships that may develop as I am with whether Chapman will be able to follow the first piece of advice she is given – don’t make any friends in prison. Judging by the funny, interesting and inviting characters she meets, my guess is no, she can’t.
That’s not to say it’s all fun and games inside these walls. After Chapman commits a faux pas on the first day, we see just how quickly people behind bars can turn on you. This is prison, after all, and there are rules – both those set by the guards and those that the prisoners create amongst themselves, and she’ll have to learn them both if she wants to survive.
What I like most about this show is that it forced me to confront my own stereotypes about prison. Chapman is shocked when one of the first interactions she has with a fellow inmate is not the woman demanding that she give her cigarettes or get the hell out of her way (as I probably would have expected), but rather asking Chapman which dress in a magazine she thinks would look best on her. This is part of another major theme of “Orange” which is that even behind bars, women are still women. They still want to style their hair and spend their commissary money on foundation and eyeliner but, most importantly, they still have their motherly instincts that make them compassionate and willing to protect others.
By the end of the second episode, we think that Chapman may be getting her footing, but this is not a show that wants us to get too comfortable. For every heartwarming moment of friendship, there is a jarring scene that reminds us that even though we like these characters – they all, including Chapman, are guilty of their crimes.
So, the question remains: Who will walk out of the gates of the Women’s Federal Correctional Institute at the end of Chapman’s 15-month stay? Will it be a hardened woman with a chip on her shoulder and lifetime PTSD ahead of her, or will it be a smarter, stronger woman, who has taken the best piece of advice she gets on her first day – to work hard to create something meaningful out of this experience, and when it is over pack it all away and know that it was all temporary?
Either way, I’ll be watching.
Julia Troy can be reached at jtroy1723@gmail.com.