Orange Is the New Black

            Orange Is the New Black is an American comedy-drama series created by Jenji Kohan. The first episodes aired on July 11, 2013 on Netflix. This is a show about a girl names Piper Chapman and her struggles with going to jail. As the audience, you start out not knowing why Piper is going to jail, but as the episode progresses you learn about her past and why she decided to turn herself into jail for a year. Piper Chapman went through a phase after college where she dabbled with smuggling drugs while dating another women named Alex Devas. This backstory is the reason that she went to jail, and as it happens Alex Devas is in the same jail as her.

            As a white women raised by a religious proper family (like Piper Chapman was) there are a certain set of expectations. Some of which include, getting married to a man (not being lesbian – which she was), finding a good career (which she doesn’t have), not participating in illegal activity (which she did when she smuggled drugs), and lastly don’t end up in jail! All which Piper failed to do the right/expected thing.

            As Piper Chapman comes from a religious family, being a lesbian is the last thing that should be okay. Her family didn’t approve when she told them about her lesbian phase – because she “should have” just been interested in men. As for going to jail, that is not what a “stereotypical white woman” should be doing with her life.

As I watched, I noticed that a majority of the women in jail were “black” or of African American decent. It’s horrible to say, but it was almost as if I wasn’t shocked to see that that race was the majority in the jail. It just goes to show that  many ideas as Americans are put into our heads, that are usual not true, and that we are just judging people based on their race or gender. The entire show challenges what a white woman is supposed to do with her life, and it’s very entertaining to get a fresh new perspective on the matter. In

            Watching the first episode wasn’t enough for me, I continued watching the season, and in one night I got to episode 6. That’s a lot of television to watch considering each episode is an hour long. But I found this show very refreshing and not just something like your typical sexualized vampire slayer show.