Orange Is The New Black

A television show that has been absorbing much of my free time this week has been Orange Is the New Black, an often compelling and fascinating prison drama with comedic overtones. Much of the show's appeal may reflect the zeitgeist of American television of the day, which is less afraid to have female-centered programs taken seriously in the mainstream. Moreover, the show is about women in federal prison, full of interesting characters, institutional dysfunction, corruption, and structural and personal choices made by the inmates. Race, gender, sexuality, class, and even a transgender character are featured in addictive tales rooted in the larger story arc of Piper's imprisonment for carrying drugs ten years ago.

What disappointed me about the show is the lack of an authentic Haitian accent in Miss Claudette, who was one of the more intriguing characters in the first season. While her character, in a flashback, is revealed to be from Haiti and comes to the US working as a domestic to pay off her debt, it would have been more intriguing to learn the particulars of her experience as an immigrant, as well as how she operated her cleaning company composed of similar young, Haitian woman workers. Furthermore, in consideration of Vicky Jeudy's Haitian heritage, why not have black inmates who are Haitian-American or Caribbean-American? After all, Litchfield is in New York.

Another aspect of the show I am not sure is quite accurate, or I have trouble personally buying, is the divide between the 'ghetto' and 'Spanish Harlem' in a prison full of Afro-Latinas. Several of the 'Hispanic' women in the show are of African descent, and one even practices Santeria. Why was there no overlap between that woman (Gloria) and Miss Claudette? Would these 'Spanish' women of African descent really be so divided from African-American women in the prison? I am not sure if this film accurately portrays the nuances of racial diversity among Latinas or the intersectionality of identities. In other areas, yes, the series catches on intersectionality, but not quite successfully here.

Nevertheless, Orange Is the New Black is a step forward in television drama. It's very rare to see so many women of color in a single television show that is not marketed exclusively to black audiences. I know I will keep watching.