Orange is the New Black in Context: Historicizing the Women in Prison Genre

Netflix series Orange Is the New Black (2013), based on Piper Kerman’s memoir (2010), has been criticized for its white, middle-class perspective. While acknowledging OITNB’s limitations, this presentation will ask if, and to what extent, the TV series and memoir can be reclaimed for a politically progressive project not dissimilar to that motivating Critical Prison Studies. Considering questions of target audience and implied viewer, the presentation contextualizes OITNB in the history of the Women-in-Prison genre, from forerunners in nineteenth-century popular fiction to classics of twentieth-century Women-in-Prison films, while examining moments of self-awareness and meta-commentary on generic conventions and viewpoint.

Please note that this presentation may include clips with sexually explicit content.

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