Orange Is The New Black Returns with Its New Season

It is quite rare to find a good show that also has a woman as a protagonist. However, for Jenji Kohan, this has never been a problem. She created Weeds, with a marijuana-selling widow Nancy Botwin at the centre and her latest Orange Is The New Black has so many strong women characters that it is hard to name all.

Orange Is The New Black is a show that every woman should watch. Not because of the fact that there are so many women in the show, but because these women remind us of the struggles we go through on a daily basis.

Based in a women’s prison in Litchfield, New York it talks about the injustices that the women prisoners suffer. It also shows the friendships that these women have in the prison, the little things that make them happy, how they survive on a day to day basis.

The latest season of OITNB, is somewhat of a revelation - the previous seasons dealt mostly with the stories of each woman in the prison, their personal struggles and how they dealt with it.

Power does funny things to people, and that’s exactly what we see in this season. After the accidental death of a loved character Poussey Washington on the show, things go awry in the prison, and there is a riot. The riot brings out the best and the worst part of the prison inmates.

A strong performance by Tasha Jefferson // Pic credits: Entertainment.ie

Another topic this season touched upon is the power of social media. The inmates at Litchfield find phones and computers (and the internet) during the riot and record their dire conditions for the outside world to see - because of which there are protests outside the prison to give better living conditions for these ladies.

The season also sees a very strong performance by Taystee (played by Tasha Jefferson) who is trying to negotiate with the prison authorities to make things better in the prison and also trying to get the guard arrested who is responsible for her dear friend Poussey’s death.

You get to see, in depth, how each of the characters deal with life in a prison riot. It perfectly sums up the struggles of women (even though they are in prison), we can still relate with the ladies of Litchfield.

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Pic Credit: Vox.com

Also read: 8 Shows on Netflix India with Badass Female Leads
Read more stories by Nikhita Sanotra