How real is Orange is The New Black? The Netflix series Orange is the New Black is a show that uses plot and character to represent themes of race, sexuality, class, and gender. These themes are conveyed in the short Netflix series based on the vision of today's society. With these themes, not only are social norms and views revealed, but many uncomfortable truths are also revealed, one of which is that more African Americans than Caucasians are sentenced to prison every year. Not only that, but the show also reveals how many women are incarcerated even though many people don't automatically visualize their imprisonment. Even though the show is fictional, it does a great job of revealing the reality of prison life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay One of the ways the show conveys these realities is through exposing all aspects of prison life for female inmates, as for the most part, a women-only prison is not something one would think of for the first time time when correctional institutions are set up because of what society normally shows us. Orange The New Black makes a breakthrough in showing the dynamic within this prison. In the show all the main characters are women with some supporting roles being male. The plot centers on Piper's story of incarceration. Piper is a young, upper-middle-class white woman who has been sentenced to prison for previous degenerate actions in her past. The show follows how Piper deals with prison life and her countless interactions with other inmates. Smith, who analyzed the series, calls this perspective the “white gaze” (Smith). Smith argues that everything in the show is shown through an upper class white person. An example of the “white gaze” would be for the viewer to notice how African American culture speaks differently than white inmates or how the African American stereotype would appear. For example, one of the scenes in the series takes place in a barbershop, and all the inmates in this scene are black with crazy hairstyles. This “white gaze” mentality makes sense because Piper is the main character and the show is shown through her journey and how she is dealing with being the new inmate. Although Orange is the New Black is a Netflix series, it does a good job conveying the realities we deal with every day. In the series it is made known that there are more non-white inmates than white inmates. One study shows that only 7.5% of whites born between 1969 and 1999 in high school or recently graduated end up in prison, where 14.2% of blacks are sentenced. Even after high school, whites have only a 33.4% chance of getting a prison sentence, blacks 43% (Schanzenbach). This information shows that even if it's just characters, the producer had an idea that realistically there were more incarcerated African Americans than whites or otherwise he could have put more whites in the series. Ethnicity among inmates is not the only thing that compares to the national average, but genders are also put in the spotlight, especially the truths regarding the reality that both sexes live in prison. The national average of women sentenced to prison is 5.7%. Now a survey was conducted comparing female inmates to male inmates and of the total sample of 11,397 inmates, 2,255 were female (Huey Dye). When comparisons were made between male and female inmates based on personal characteristics, of the 2,255 women interviewed, most of them were somewhat older and more commonly black,separated, divorced and widowed (Huey Dye). The idea that many women in prison are African American was well represented in the show. Characters like "Crazy Eyes", Taystee, Poussey Washington, and Eliqua Maxwell are just some of the African-American characters on the show who are single, and can come to the conclusion that most of them only have a high school education. Another aspect of the show is the parts where the women break the rules of the land. In the show, one of the white characters, Red, illegally finds a way to smuggle contraband items into the facility for the inmates to then buy from her. Red isn't the only inmate who brings in contraband as Vee does as well. In the real world, a survey conducted showed that nearly 41% of women prisoners were found guilty of breaking prison rules during their current confinement. As the series continues towards the end, the black inmates begin producing drugs which they hide in the warehouse. Additionally, in the Orange is the New Black series, the show does a great job of incorporating a chain of command. One of the characters, Vee, shows and represents this command system very well. In the series the character Vee cares for her fellow African-American inmates who have earned her respect. Some of the well-expressed benefits involved things like protection from other inmates and other special treatment. However, in the show, in order for the inmates to receive this special treatment, they had to do something worthy of earning Vee's respect. After speaking with a prison guard, he said that “within prison systems, especially women's ones, it is very common for the chain of command to be more familiar than for men. Most of the time there will be one “mom” and the rest will be daughters or something like that. Just as in the men's prison there are gangs, in the women's prison there are families" (Narcaviage). In the series when Piper first arrives she wants nothing to do with anyone and just wants to take her time and leave, but after a while she realizes that she needs the help of the other inmates to stay out of trouble . “A good part of the time prisoners will have to prove to the hierarchy that they are worthy enough to be part of that family or gang” (Narcaviage). The whole concept of family is very well represented in Orange is the New Black, especially among the African-American population. Interconnection with the family system Prison life is a society within a society, which means that within the four walls of the prison a separate society continues to exist. . Throughout the series, there are moments of flashbacks or even when Piper receives release from prison it shows her functioning in normal society. Although there are some differences between his functioning outside of prison and inside, life is very similar in different ways. For example, inside the prison, as mentioned before, there is an exchange of products, there is a form of currency. Along with the exchange of goods and other products there are things that concern normal society, such as the family system that takes place within the prison. During the interview with the former prison guard he stated that:“Even though these people are locked up, society still continues as if they are free people. Money still flows from hand to hand, sex still happens, whether it's the same sex or not, there are still rules that inmates have to follow just like ordinary people should. In other words, prison is a society within a society” (Narcaviage). Everything Mr. Narcaviage says is well represented in the series. The flow of money and products among the prisoners that the character Red takes care of, the family system.