If you're like me, you know that, just this past weekend, Netflix dropped the fourth season of one of its most popular original series, Orange Is The New Black. If you're like me, you probably also binge-watched the entire season over the weekend, enjoyed every minute, and bawled your eyes out at the last few episodes. I won't give any spoilers away-- watch it yourself.
Orange Is The New Black likely attributes its fame to the unique role it fills in today's modern, feminist-leaning society; no other show contains such a widely varied sample of women or showcases such raw, human emotions from its characters. The very structure of the show allows viewers to be consistently proven wrong with their initial judgments by showcasing and developing character in an entirely unique way. Thanks to its amazing ability to represent all different races, socioeconomic classes, genders, and sexualities, the show is able to be almost uncomfortably honest, which makes it vitally important in today's culture. Of course, all of this is old news, seeing as the show is in its fourth season and fans have seen characters through innumerable struggles and triumphs.
However loyal fans are, though, I still consistently meet people, surprisingly, mostly women, who have not seen even a single episode. If you are one of these women who has yet to watch OITNB, here are 5 reasons why you should clear your schedule for the weekend and watch the whole show.
1. Run the World
Like I said above, if you need to see any example of strong women, this show will be your savior. Obviously, being set inside a women's prison, OITNB contains some of the most amazing, inspiring actresses of our time who prove that women can overcome anything. Further, its diverse makeup of characters gives any young (or old) girl the chance to see a strong lead that is not only female, but representative.
2. Pretty Hurts
That being said, the women represented are not cookie-cutter or perfect or unrealistic in any way. The characters, despite their incarceration, are deeply relatable and refreshingly genuine, accurately representing women who exist rather than the fictionalized, fantastic women in the media who seem to never grow body hair in a post-apocalyptic world or live to serve their man in a suburb. These women cry, their makeup isn't perfect, they lie and cheat and steal, they get angry, and they feel even more relatable for all of it.
3. ***Flawless
You heard about it in ***Flawless, you hear about it in the media-- girls are raised to compete with one another and put each other down. So many modern movies and shows are quick to focus on negative relationships, painting girls as moody, jealous, and catty, rather than giving examples of women looking out for women or fostering positive relationships between one another. OITNB not only displays the natural tensions that exist between women, but it actually shows how deep a friendship goes and how utterly important female friendships and lifting each other up can be. Further, it shows many instances of enemies becoming friends, and why, sometimes, enemies turn out to be the best friend you can have.
4. If I Were a Boy
Uniquely, OITNB villainizes just about every man that is featured on the show. Despite their altruism or likability, each man, whether he is an employee of Litchfield or a loved one of an inmate, becomes the bad guy sooner or late, switching gender roles in a unique way and ensuring that viewers realize that the women can't trust anyone but each other.
5. Formation
Our world is rapidly changing, with women garnering an ever-growing place in mainstream society as more than just a wife and mother. Feminism is not an easy choice. Thanks to socially ingrained ideals, we are conditioned to apologize for everything, cross our legs when we sit, resent fellow women, and lower our expectations and dreams to accommodate our male counterparts. While all women may not experience jail, or anything similar to many of the women on the show, the sheer empathetic power of female representation makes shows like Orange Is The New Black important for today's women to become tomorrow's women; strong, independent, and proud of whoever it is that they are.
