Due to the fact that I have already written 2 texts about "Orange is the New Black", this one will not be a review. In this case, I want to share with you my conclusions as to why I think this series is worth watching. You can complain about Netflix (and it is often a valid criticism, although sometimes it is wrong), but they cannot be denied that some of their productions can enrich our personalities or change our perspective on certain topics. Or at least they are a good show that makes our free time more enjoyable. OITNB is not perfect, but this is another series from this streaming giant, to which I will definitely come back more than once, learning new lessons and morals from it.
Lots of different heroines
I like when in anime, series or books (in movies it does not always work because of too little time) there are many well-written characters. Thanks to this, even boring or simply weak stages become easier to perceive. Or you can find more threads or personality types that have had similar experiences to ours, and therefore we will be able to relate them to our life choices. So far I've only seen two series that did it very well - "One Piece", the best adventure manga, battle-shounen (at least of the more famous ones) and "Legend of the Galactic Heroes", space-opera anime, which can be summed up in one sentence - "Japanese Star Wars with more emphasis on politics, history and war". The third title that found its way to this respectable group is "Orange is the New Black". We have a huge number of diverse heroines in it, a large cross-section in the age, intellectual, sexual, personality, ethnic and racial range. We certainly do not have representatives from all groups, but I think that if I say "we will see representatives of most social groups", I will not make a big mistake. Thanks to this, we will see relationships that we would rather not see under normal conditions (or at least it would be very difficult). And believe me, there is a lot to look at, and I don't mean the bodily relationships that I will discuss in the next section. I have a better understanding of the problems of certain social groups (e.g. transsexual), individual people growing up in specific conditions (e.g. what may result in low IQ in some people or why they keep making the same mistakes), as well as partially understand the perspective of some ethnic groups perceiving the world. It is not without reason that I compared OITNB to OP or LOTGH - in this title we have many well-created figures made of flesh and blood. Although some are similar, their experiences, places and conditions in which they grew up differ sufficiently. I don't know if you guys will do the same, but I liked most of them. Some to the point that I was genuinely sad as I finished watching the final episode with my girlfriend. It did not happen often to me, I could count such examples on the fingers of both hands. Quite a good result for a 31-year-old who has met many works of culture in his life.
Relations between the heroines
This is one of the things I liked in episode 1, and I didn't change my mind until the very end. And I'm not talking only about their physical close-ups, but also in the romantic and emotional sphere. "Orange ..." hinted at the beginning that there would be good sex scenes between the girls (I mean a great sequence with Nicky and Lorna, I think), and then it's only better. We get both pleasing to the eye and soul rapprochement between women, efficiently written romances with the addition of eroticism, as well as threads explaining certain behaviors that we perceive as bad or controversial topics. As for the former, the above-mentioned Nicky or the main character's partner are in the lead in this case. Both are full of sex appeal, had many partners (it is worth noting that when they were in love, they usually tried to remain faithful to quite good results) and they just like this sport. As for the second, Blanka and Diablo should definitely be mentioned, although in fact they should both be called Diablo. Although they do not look like this, they have sincere and loving feelings for each other. Observing their vicissitudes and the difficult path to happiness was very wholesome. Or the aforementioned Lorna and Nicky, although with them it looked more like a friends with benefit relationship x great friends. Both complemented each other very much, Nicky is a concrete, intelligent and down-to-earth girl (although the initial seasons may suggest otherwise) who, despite her hedonistic tendencies, knows when to have fun and when there is an important task to do. Lorna is her opposite, she suffers from various disorders, but they are not very profound. You can call her such a positive crazy who goes through life extremely lightly and stress-free. The relationship of the black Poussey from a conservative military home and the leftist activist Soso was also interesting. Poussey was a withdrawn girl who lacked affection. A little for independent reasons, and a little at her own request, because sometimes she avoided closer relations. She matched well with the extroverted Soso, who was everywhere and begged for any attention, like a Shrek kitten. Caputo and Figueori's relationship turned out great! However, I will not say anything about him, because it's better to see it for yourself. As for the next example, these are the relationships of the above-mentioned Lorna. She had several partners who quickly ran away from her due to her crazy personality, Dogget who was raised (sorry, abused and trained) by a stupid mother who purposely made her handicapped in order to extort social money (and contrary to appearances, even in Poland such situations happen), which made her quite easily abused by others, and sometimes even raped. There is also one plot from the last or penultimate season. It is an Egyptian woman who has undergone female circumcision, which is part of some African cultures. I recommend reading after that, but don't eat anything, it's fucking disgusting and sad.
A good combination of comedy and drama and the influence of the past on the present
In the previous paragraph, I started writing about the sad elements. As this is a series about a prison (and later a series about refugees, which has been portrayed just as well), there is no shortage of sad elements. This is not only due to the reasons for which they were imprisoned, but also due to the difficult life situation or other factors that made their lives go the way they did. The fact is that humor is not always top flight, a few times I wondered if the dialogue was written by some high school student and moderately intelligent, but most dramatic or downright sad scenes are at least good. At least a few of them made me think seriously about my behavior so far in certain situations or with certain types of people. In this respect, it is one of the best Netflix series and even if you do not like some things, it is worth watching further, because sometimes you can be surprised by the topics that the creators touched upon. Even though I did complain about some of the jokes, it's generally a good comedy. Lots of things are genuinely funny - sometimes because of the absurd, sometimes because of the accurate and accurate commentary on life and relationships, and usually it's just a successful comedy scene. There were a few moments that needlessly watered down a serious plot or spoiled any kind of immersion, but apart from these single exceptions, that was generally fine. Such a bittersweet taste as it sometimes happens in life. When it comes to the past and the future, the series is interspersed with the present and flashbacks that show us the characters before their imprisonment. Sometimes this is only limited to the short period before going to jail, but there are a few situations in which we have a deeper insight into the characters' past. It is a truism, but the OITNB shows that there is no future without the past, or how much past events and their effects have for our present personality and views. Thanks to this series, I have more humility towards different people and their weaknesses, because I understood that it is not the end of their fault that they are like that.
The series debunks a few leftist lies
What I mean by this is that some left-wing and feminist circles claim that women do not use violence and that it is the domain of men only. They show similar ignorance of racism, saying that it is the domain of exclusively (or we dominate) whites. Not to mention the fact that some people with leftist views negate the sense of working on themselves. The Netflix series beautifully refutes these statements. Sure, under normal conditions (i.e. in the wild), women are less likely to use open violence than men, at least in an open way, because there are studies that show that domestic violence against partners is increasing. This is due to the fact that, as a rule, women are weaker than men, they have other, less invasive methods (micro-aggression, they use manipulation more often, compensating for inequality in physical strength) and they care more about a positive image (I am simplifying it in a way, but these two reasons cover many cases). However, this is not the case in a prison where the only males are its staff. Then you don't have to take care of your image so much, even the bad one can be an additional advantage, and potential opponents are at our level, so there is a greater chance of success. And to quote a few smart women I have met in my life - "girls can be even worse than guys". The protagonists of the series talk quite freely about the fact that various situations happen in prison and sometimes you have to make use of your dimensions. What we see quite often, fighting with bare hands or with some equipment (knife, razor blade). The most memorable quote in my mind is - "You're bigger and heavier, you can fuck her without any problems". When it comes to racism, it's enough to just watch this series. As for the explanation, this is the nature of most people and of the animal kingdom. It is normal that if we stand out noticeably in a given environment, we will be monitored more closely and the tolerance to our mistakes will be lower. People all over the world exhibit these or similar mechanisms. Don't get me wrong - I'm not explaining negative behavior that should be stigmatized at any place and time. The point is that the Left attributes it only or mainly to white people. When it comes to working on yourself, you might disagree with Jordan Peterson (although in my humble opinion most of these allegations are wrong), but he is definitely right about the fact that everyone should clean up their life or reflect on their negative ones. behaviors. Everyone manifests them, not just people who grew up in a troubled or pathological family. Sometimes it is open aggression, sometimes too much naivety, sometimes even stupidity (then we hurt ourselves), sometimes toxic behavior.
And since I stuck a pin in the butt of the left, I will also prick the right - contrary to popular belief, Netflix does not create progressive propaganda in its series and movies. At least it is not their main target, as some claim (I myself belonged to this group of people for some time). Sure, there is a lot of left-wing, progressive and sexual content in them, I would be a cheat if I were to say otherwise. However, this is due to another reason - they care about money, and since sex sells well + there are many more progressive people in the US (who are the main target of Netflix), they create content mainly for them. Sometimes it pisses me off a bit, but it definitely pisses me off more that they create a lot of poor / average series to clog their TV programming. To conclude this paragraph, I recommend OITNB to right-wing people to find out that if Netflix wants to, it can show the truth.
Education and introducing new habits is the key to self-change and rehabilitation
As a recent US study on educating black people from poor and pathological backgrounds has shown, it is usually better to spend money on education than on benefits. Now I will not give the sources (I have not saved the links, and I heard about it on two YouTube videos), but I can describe what it is about. The first is related to the new policy in the American prison system. Instead of sending a policeman for a learning interview, you send an educated prisoner who is black himself. The policeman will fuck off his job anyhow, because he doesn't know their living standards and the problem is alien to him. Black man, on the other hand, knows how and what to talk about him, knows the problems he is struggling with, he grew up in the same or a similar environment. As for the second, I have seen American research which shows that in most cases (not all!), Social benefits do not help much, and sometimes they can even aggravate the problem. Better to spend it on educating and teaching people what to do to improve their condition. The rule is as old as the world - give a man a fishing rod, not a fish. Fish makes him lazy, teaches him that food is falling from the sky, and does not solve the problem. The rod, on the other hand, teaches him a new skill and will make him stable, at least in terms of eating. It is often not their fault that they are in such a place, but their ignorance and lack of good role models in their family home or their immediate environment. Continuing the thought from the previous paragraph - many people do not like to work on themselves and educate themselves. Or differently, maybe we like it, but on our own terms, slowly, etc. Unfortunately, it is often ineffective, too slow, we waste a lot of time, we can absorb false knowledge or negative patterns. Some left-wing circles call for laziness, not caring about their appearance and weight, because these are irrelevant problems for them. Whether or not they are relevant depends on each individual case, but the fact is that, without developing, we stand still. Stagnation can cause us to get into trouble again, or we can go back to a point that we have already passed and have to repeat our lesson. This is clearly visible in the second half of the series, when some of the protagonists get a chance to return to freedom and do not use it. Instead, they duplicate the mistakes that got them behind bars or make other, equally big mistakes. In some cases it is due to ignorance (some of the girls did not participate in rehabilitation lessons, preparing them for life outside prison), and in others they were ignored by what they had learned. Because they think they know better themselves or that they have changed with little effort. Which is not true, it is rarely possible to change your negative habits or toxic character traits easily.
The series shows some valuable features
Due to the fact that I saw the series some time ago, I managed to forget about some of them. Therefore, I will only focus on a few. Nowadays, a narrative is promoted (which is fueled by left-wing circles) that people do not have to take responsibility for their character, appearance, consequences of their behavior, decisions, etc. Of course, we do not have much influence on some things and we can only make small adjustments but we already have some of them. OITNB shows us that if we have behaved badly, karma will most likely come back to us, sometimes when we least expect it. The series reminds some (I mean the so-called "snowflakes") that each action generates a reaction - if you do or say something, you have to reckon with the fact that someone will react. In a way that is positive or negative for you, with different shades of good or bad (i.e. praising or criticizing). The creators also show us that life is unfair and this does not only apply to one side, i.e. we are bad, even though we have done nothing wrong, but also that sometimes we get something for free. Due to the fact that the OITNB action takes place in a limited area, we see these and other cases in different examples and in different configurations. Due to the dramatic and comedic nature of this series, not all of them sound strong enough, but there are so many of them that you will surely find at least one that relates to your life or at least you will be able to identify with it. The series also shows why education is so important. Thanks to it, we not only gain new qualifications, but also have a positive effect on us. It may not be a rule, but many people pay more attention to their work when it is appreciated (which is difficult for most inmates). They are even able to severely limit their addictions or give them up completely when they find it disturbing their self-fulfillment. Their level of responsibility also increases, and even if they do not, as they continue their education, they will begin to notice and even understand other things that have so far exceeded them. For example, how to break the streak of bad decisions and live like normal people.
It's just a good show with a well-made ending
And the last point. Although during the screening I had a few complaints about this series, in the end I rate it as really good. Contrary to appearances, it is not that easy, especially when the action mostly takes place only in a few places. You can get bored because of it, especially with so many seasons and episodes. With this amount, it is sometimes difficult to constantly develop heroes and heroines or write them some new threads that would not be invented by force. This was not avoided in this production and if it were not for the fact that the fates of many of the heroines were interesting until the very end, we would probably not watch this series to the end. Both me and my girlfriend were annoyed by spoiled and sometimes goofy Piper, or a few side characters. Fortunately, these well-developed personas outweighed our short-term weariness and annoyance as the ending was satisfying. I don't know if others share my enthusiasm, but towards the end I was a bit sad that it was over. On the other hand, there was also a lot of joy in the few tears I shed. This is because it ended almost perfectly. Let me compare again to "Legend of the Galactic Heroes" - the threads of all heroes were closed, a certain stage in their lives ended, we got answers or clarifications to all important questions and doubts. We did not feel too hungry or overeaten. More specifically, some (including me) complained that the story could still be pulled, but that was because we didn't want to stop the great fun. Or, sticking to the culinary themes, we wanted to eat ourselves to the fullest until our stomach ached. However, it was enough to wait a day or two for emotions to subside (and in the case of food - wait 15-30 minutes to understand that our bellies are full) to find that LotGH ended at the perfect time. It is similar with OITNB, but a bit weaker. There was a bit more space to develop in Netflix's production, some threads could be better summarized. However, this does not mean that they were summed up wrong - it simply could have been done better. Just like a student who passed the test for 4, he could try a little harder and get a 5.
Come on, it's over. I hope you will like the new series of texts. The next title in line is "Initial D". I have no idea for another title, so I'm waiting for your suggestions. Suggest an anime, series or movie. If I saw it, I will be able to write something more about it, I will probably post it after the text about the ID.
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Comenzaré por defender a capa y espada el excelente trabajo que el escritor o director de esta serie, se enfocara en investigar con transparencia y sin filtros, el habitad del centro penitenciario; ya que a pesar de ser inspirado en el sistema extranjero,contiene demasiada información que expone la cruda realidad de dichos lugares, en los cuales el rival mas debil es la mayor desventaja y la astucia se conviente en una increible defensa. Muchos de nosotros obviamente evitaremos caer en una mala decision que nos haga perder nuestra libertad, pero eso no quiere decir que seamos ajenos al ambiente que se vive tras los muros carcelarios, ya sea por morbo o por interés cultural; considero que esta serie sería un elemento inicial para indagar el sistema penitenciario fuera de la manipulación de información que las televisoras realizan.
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I would wholeheartedly recommend this masterpiece to everyone. Although it centres around female inmates and their stories, there is truly a lot to learn from this series. I believe you wouldn't regret it if you try.
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