I've said it before but I'll say it again. I seriously think "Orange Is The New Black" is the best new show out there. It follows the lives of several women in prison. What I really like is it tells the backstory of each person and the circumstances/choices that led them to jail. There are woman of different ages, ethnicities, gender identities, weights, sexual preferences, economic classes, etc. What a refreshing change from what we normally see on TV.
When Larry (Piper's fiancé) does an interview on NPR about Piper, he lists the various types of inmates that she encounters. There's the ex junkie, the Russian mob wife, the meth head Jesus freak, Crazy Eyes (who is intent on making Piper her wife), the older murderer, etc. But what Piper and we the audience now know is that they are not these stereotypes at all. We care about the characters because we've learned their backstories.
This is also how society views prisoners as a whole. "Those people" obviously did something wrong and should be incarcerated. We don't care to know why/how they ended up in prison. Don't get me wrong-- I'm big on law and order. I just don't think everything is as clear cut as we'd like to believe. Some people are born into a terrible situation that they cant get out of.
And now a word about Larry. I know he wants to jump start his career as a journalist and sharing info about Piper is doing that. However did he consider that talking about the prisoners might get Piper killed? I know Larry is having a rough time and doesn't want people to mistake him for "single or divorced". But seriously? Is that your worst problem? If so, you are indeed a self involved liberal elitist. How about poor Taystee who has nowhere/no one when she leaves prison and has to get back to jail so she has a place to sleep and food. Now that's a real problem.
Grade: 5 Monsters (out of 5). I cant think anything that could possibly be added to make this show any better. Sheer perfection.
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