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Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Orange Is the New Black compared to Attica

It's been about 8 months since I've published a blog because of my environment. Last blog was an anticipation to post about my latest adventure to Europe. I did it. I spent a month traveling from New York to Boston then to Iceland, The Netherlands, Germany, The Czech Republic and then to Copenhagen before my flight home back to the New York City. I will likely write about my adventures on that another day.

There are a few topics that interest me. Traveling and culture are of course two subjects. Another two would be survival as a homeless person and the inner system of the prison culture. I'm going to talk about the latter subject.

This topic of the television show Orange Is the New Black comparison to Attica brought up by a friend raises a few interesting topics. My first thought was there must be some correlation between the two. She also mentioned in the subject the book to compare the television show by: Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy by Heather Ann Thompson.

Orange Is the New Black plots about a Caucasian lady (Piper Chapman played by the actor Taylor Schilling) going to prison from an average, what seems to be middle-class lifestyle. She does some money laundering for some drug dealers/smugglers and is sent to prison. She then has to adapt to prison life and there comes the rest of the cast of female inmates and what happens in Litchfield Prison. Ok, fine, the topics from scenes illustrate properly as the shows category: Comedy-Drama. At some points it will highlight on Lesbianism, violence, race, hierarchy, power struggle, mental health, survival and other prison life subjects BUT here's what makes the show Award Winning: it turns those very real subjects into a huge spin on satire. It turns those real subjects to the point of soap opera in prison for a show based on a non-fictional story line.

In season five one of the episodes during the riot a couple of prisoners started shouting Attica! But briefly after they did that they discussed why they were shouting it. They had no clue, they were just following along with others shouting it. They're not stupid, just a lack a knowledge I guess. I defend their ignorance for a few reasons. I too lacked that knowledge. I didn't know anything about Attica Correctional Facility, until I read the book Blood in the Water,  except it was a well known prison. I figured something big went down there but never sort to research it's history. And it happened 47-48 years ago. It being in history is one thing I learned, the date of it's occurrence. I also learned that what put it in history is the riot and why the riot occurred. I learned that it's still in operation. I had assumed it was closed down for such an old prison.

Does the show compare similarly with the book Blood in the Water or the Attica uprising? I can't compare it the television show with the actual memoirs the show is based on from Piper Kerman's Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison.

Yes, the television show Orange is the New Black has a light similarity to the book Blood in the Water.

-Piper Chapman is sent to prison for a somewhat considerable low-level non-heinous White-collar crime compared to some of the prisoners serving jail time in Attica before the Attica riots were also doing low-level non-heinous Blue-collar crimes. They were sent imprisoned for reasons other than their crime.

-Some of the actions and themes taken place in the show did also occur in Attica prison based on the comments from prisoners in the book such as abuse and sexual misconduct.

-The book and the show sort of give a little story line or description of prisoners and their life inside and out. I like that the show gives scenes relating to the prisoner's earlier life before they were imprisoned. The book gives a very light why prisoners are in jail.

-Racial and hierarchy between prisoners and guards did play a major factor in culture life in both prisons.

-In the show the riot began when one or more (with her associates) of the prisoners lead by prisoner Taystee started a sort of stampede. She was upset over a briefing by the warden defending a guard that killed her other prison friend. In the book, it was stated that the Attica riot began when one of the guards was struck in fear or sort of defense. A certain block of prisoners were being rerouted from one part of the jail to another when one gate had been locked the prisoners were trapped and for one reason or another fear of being trapped in a sort of tunnel caused a prisoner to assault a guard and that's when a single action from a circumstance caused a chain of chaos.

Warning: Spoiler Alert!

-In both themes, negotiations were not fruitful in the immediate future. In the show who knows what will happen if there is a season six. In real life or that is in the aftermath of the Attica riot there were questions on why the outcome with such as forceful raid actually necessary and lawsuits.

-In both there were negotiations (of course different demands). The show had a list of comfort and entertainment negotiation demands while the actual Attica prisoners of 1971 wanted amnesty and fairer treatment.

-In both story lines there was raid or that is a storming of the prison by force. The actual event is said to have had 49 prisoners/hostages lives lost. In season five of the show besides, Poussey dying in season four, two died.

-Both gave a look inside what prison life is like but probably not the whole story, one I would gladly never like to experience.

There's probably more and some details slightly off or not written but just an update on what's currently on my plate.

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