April Kalogeropoulos Householder

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It really gave a multi-dimensional view of OINTB in such a way that I problematized the show and was desensitized simultaneously, an effect I think is necessary when it comes to this type of television.

I fully agreed with many of the essays, others not so much, and yet, since there were thirteen of them I could not be entirely be mad at the book for presenting any one.

Some things I had not considered before reading were: the ostracization of the one trans women in the series -- more familiarly known as Laverne Cox, and the ableist narratives that looking back now are so obvious whilst being multifaceted in methodology.

I have some interesting perspectives of the Trojan Horse theory, one that was proffered several times throughout the book.

In relation to that, I found the books downflaw was its unoriginality. Some of the essays were incredibly unique. Most were not. However, I did appreciate that the book gave less recognized authors a space and a voice, and I hope in the future their writing will reach outstanding status.… (mais)

This collection of essays critiques the first three seasons of the television series Orange is the New Black, often referred to as OITNB. As with all collections, some uneveness in the chapters is to be expected, and each essay focuses on a different aspect of the series. While all chapters deal to some extent with race and same sex relationships, some focus more on "invisible" divisions, such as class and mental ability/disability. I found Susan Sered's essay on "Pennsatucky's Teeth and the Persistence of Class" to be one of the more interesting chapters, as well as Katie Sullivan Barak's " Jenji Kohan's Trojan Horse: Subversive Uses of Whiteness" to be useful in explaining the popularity of the series. I am not a fan of the show, but I do appreciate the barriers the show is trying to overcome.… (mais)