COMM 380:  Media Criticism

Introduction

Are you still watching “Orange is the New Black”?  Most of us, if not all of us, have been interrupted by this question while binge watching a Netflix original series.  If you have not, then you probably do not have a Netflix account.  Orange is the New Black, directed by Jenji Kohan (2013), had my body fastened to the couch and my eyes glued to my MacBook for days.  This American comedy-drama series tells a story of Piper Chapman, a women in her thirties who is sentenced to 15 months in prison after being convicted of a crime, which involved transporting money for her drug dealing girlfriend, Alex Vause.  In addition to narrating the life of Piper, Orange is the New Black focuses on the lives of the other inmates.  The plot line of the show captivated me; all of the characters were unique making it easy to relate to their lives or personalities.  However, after further analysis of the women, I saw a different perspective of the inmates, more specifically, how they are presented in a stereotypical way.

 

Orange is the New Black was nominated in 2014 for a Primetime Emmy, winning the following awards: Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Directing for a comedy Series, Outstanding writing for a comedy series, and a plethora of other awards.  In addition, Orange is the New Black has also won an AFI Award, Critics’ Choice TV Award, and a Dorian Award by the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association.  A show appreciated by many viewers conveys an innate message that can be overlooked.  Throughout this paper I will explore the implicit meaning the series presents by depicting the gender roles as well as how these women are undermined through stereotyping, while providing an analysis of the cultivation media theory.

 

Critique

According to Miller (1977), “sex roles in prime-time television showed male cast more often than females in serious roles” (p. 142).  In the show, Orange is the New Black, Jenji Kohan creates a new perspective for the viewer by allowing them to see female actors act in a way that only men were once depicted, “powerful, smart, rational, and stable” (Miller, 1977, p. 142).  Women are perceived as the protagonists, passing the Bechdel test with flying colors.  The movie has at least two women in it, they talk to each other, and they talk to each other about something besides a man.  However, even with passing all of the requirements, these women are placed in a subordinate position to men. 

 

For example, it is appropriate for these women inmates to take orders from male guards who treat them as sexual objects.  Pornstache, a vulgar prison guard, offers drugs in exchange for sex and also watches Piper take off her clothes, but she cannot say anything or she risks being punished. Another instance where unequal gender roles are depicted is when only women with the “Hollywood standard” body are portrayed as sexy.  This is seen throughout season one because the only nudity scenes showed are reserved solely for women with slender structure and nice breasts (Gitell, 2014).  Within the first three minutes of the first episode, Piper and Alex, both skinny Caucasian females, are in the shower making out.  According to Gitell (2014), “the breasts and naked bodies featured on OITNB are always perky, never saggy.  They are not always big, but they are always flawless, unblemished by scars, moles or odd proportions.”  It is desirable not only for these women inmates to have “flawless” features, but it is also desirable to be Piper, a white middle-class woman (Gitell, 2014).  For example, in the first episode, Taystee, a black woman, approaches Piper and says, “Damn you got some nice titties, them TV titties, they stand up on there own all perky and everything” (Public books, 2014). Taystee describes Piper’s breasts as “TV titties,” signifying that breasts are portrayed in the media to be a certain way.  Furthermore, Ralph Hanson, author of Living in a Media Word, defines the cultivation analysis as, “an approach to analyzing the effects of television viewing that argues that watching significant amounts of television alters the way an individual views the nature of the surrounding world” (p. 41).  With persistent exposure to the reinforced patriarchy expressed by the male guards over the women inmates, viewers may have skewed perceptions concerning superiority in the real world.

 

With further critical analysis, the cultivation theory can be depicted through the stereotyping of the women inmates.  The audience is positioned with persistent exposure to the stereotyping of women within Orange is the New Black, which may nature-skewed perceptions concerning white, colored, and Latina women.  For instance, Piper is portrayed as a pretty, innocent, middle-class white woman.  Taystee, Crazy Eyes, and Poussey, all black women, are portrayed as proud, loud, strong, and ghetto.  Lastly, the Latinos are depicted as feisty and bearing many children. All these women stay confined to their groups within the prison, which shows the class based issues that correspond to the race of women.

 

Conclusion

Orange is the New Black presents both a rigidity definition of gender roles and stereotypes based on race.  The unique plot line and relatable characters lure in the audience, but blindside them to the broader implications. Male guards control the prison, treating the women as sexual objects and the women inmates are categorized in groups through racial profiling.  Furthermore, the cultivation theory argues that watching significant amounts of television alters the way an individual views the nature of the surrounding world.  With analysis, viewers are exposed to the reinforced patriarchy expressed by the male guards over the women inmates and to the stereotyping of women.  Through persistent exposure to these gender roles and stereotyping, viewers may have skewed perceptions concerning superiority in the real world.

 

 

Works cited

Gitell, N. (2014, July 10). The one thing keeping Orange Is the New Black from being the most feminist show on television.

Retrieved from mics.com

 

Hanson, R. E. (2015). Mass communication: Living in a media world. Retrieved from Sage Publications.

 

Public books - Virtual roundtable on Orange Is the New Black. (n.d.). Retrieved from publicbooks.org

 

Drew, D., & Miller, S. (1977). Sex stereotyping and reporting.  Retrieved from Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly