17 Aug 2013

Misandrist: Orange is The New Black‘s Creator Doesn’t Seem To Be a Big Fan of Men…

Jenji Kohan probably didn't have a date to prom...
By Becky Graebner: Growing up, little girls aren’t huge fans of little boys. They tend to be sticky, they smell, and they are usually annoying: stomping on sand castles and flushing Barbies down the toilet. However, there’s a serious transformation in the way girls view boys as they both age — eventually, we realize they aren’t all that bad.
At age five, little girls are convinced that boys have cooties and the precocious kindergartener starts to believe that her sex is superior to boys: girls rule, boy drool. However, by fourteen, girls are pouring over magazines, reading about how to do their hair, makeup, and act around young men they may find “cute.” Pictures of Leonardo DiCaprio decorate their walls…he’s SO “dreamy.”
By college, girls have just as many male friends as female friends and they’re even starting to think about marrying a guy (if that’s their preference). At this point, girls have come a long way from their cootie-adverse days in pre-k. Men… they’re alright — they aren’t all jerks.
Despite this usual change of heart regarding boys — and the natural admission that your brother isn’t ALL that bad — it seems like Jenji Kohan, the writer/creator of Orange is the New Black, decided to glaze over the positives of men and chose to write all of the show’s male characters as loser-lying-creepy manipulators.
She probably still thinks men have cooties.  Essentially, men = bad in this show and Kohan shows the many facets of “male evil” in her male characters.  Nobody is spared…

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Vendetta…

The Creep: Officer George Mendez

You may know him by his other name, “Pornstache.” If that doesn’t tell you enough about him, I’m not sure what will.  Officer Mendez makes my skin crawl whenever he comes onscreen. His main tasks at work are coercing the inmates into giving him sexual favors, selling drugs, inappropriately touching inmates, and generally wreaking havoc among the prison population. He is a total scumbag and I’d really like to see someone sock him in the mouth.

The Subtle Manipulator: Sam Healy

Mr. Healy seems nice but he manipulates Piper to his own ends which leads me to believe he might have an unsavory trick or two up his sleeve. He tricks Piper into giving him the rogue cellphone and then tells her he is powerless to hold up his end of the bargain (opening the track). He also seems to have it out for the incarcerated lesbians—telling Piper to stay away from them at all costs. He also has a mail-order bride from Russia or the Ukraine… which makes me think he might have some strange past that we don’t know 100% about. Like Pornstache Mendez, the audience doesn’t quite trust Healy…

The Deadbeat: Cal Chapman

Piper’s brother is definitely an odd duck.  He lives in the woods, dabbles in drugs and alcohol, and seems to spend most of his days “edging.” To be short, it doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere fast…

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Hi, my name is Larry Lame-o Bloom!

The Loser: Larry Bloom

In the beginning, we liked Larry. He was funny and supportive of Piper’s incarceration, still asking her to marry him.  Awwww, true love!  Well, not so fast.  Turns out Larry is a pathetic guy who still can’t get his life together—he lives at home, can’t pay his rent, and doesn’t seem to get the hint that he’s not a very good writer.  In order to secure his pathetic self a piece of success, he decides to write about Piper in prison… not a smart or cool thing to do when you don’t quite have her blessing. But, I guess when you’re a loser, anything is fair game.

The PREYing MANtis: Joe Caputo

We don’t have many moments with Caputo — but we see him enough to realize that he’s really into newbie corrections officer, Susan Fisher. He’s always making weird jokes, giggling a little too loudly, uses lotion for things other than his hands (at work), and obviously doesn’t care much about the women in the prison. He’s a bit of a womanizer and I think we all secretly hope he gets sacked.

The Racially-insensitive Jerk: Joel Luschek

Luschek is the slob that acts as the head of the electrical department in Litchfield.  He proves how inept he is after not teaching Janae how to properly mind the tools in “the cage,” leading to the loss of one screwdriver. Although not taken or used for violent purposes, its loss is very, very bad news. In order to save himself, he buys a new one and replaces it on the board — not caring where the real one ended up. (Note: it could reappear buried in someone’s neck).  He’s also the king of racially-insensitive one-liners, referring to Janae as a “monkey” when she is put in the electrical cage.

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John and Daya: Creepy or Cute?

The Weak Wildcard: Officer John Bennett

Bennett is probably the “best” example of the male species that we see in this show; however, he’s still not a good character. Bennett breaks protocol and succumbs to his weakness for accessible flesh, starting a secret relationship with Daya. This relationship is not only inappropriate, but also 100% unequal. He is in a position of power and she is a lowly, criminal.  I don’t think this will end well…

Of all the men, in Orange I have the most hope for Bennett to turn out to be a good guy, but I won’t hold my breath.  Knowing his other male cohorts, he’ll probably end up in the “bad brigade.”

Redemption for Men?

I understand that a real life women’s prison would likely have creepy guards — many of which could/would be male —however, I find it unfair that all of the males in this show are portrayed as bad people. Yes, the women are obviously flawed (they all ended up in prison for their mistakes), but through flashbacks and dialogue, we are meant to feel bad for these women — and even identify with them. The males are just… bad.
It’s almost an ironic joke: all of the males (who are not incarcerated) are evil while all of the women who did engage in criminal activity are pathetic characters. Come on. Just for the sake of variety and realism, I hope Jenji Kohan introduces at least one good, male character. All of these women are searching for redemption and second chances — give the males the same opportunity!

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3 comments:

  1. Glad someone else noticed. So that's two. The other millions are learning to hate and distrust men. Thanks, NetFlix!

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  2. sweetie (: now you know how women feel in the other hundreds of men oriented TV shows, movies, you name it. uwu

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    Replies
    1. In the hundreds of other "men orientated TV shows" women are usually being saved, protected and promoted not depicted as evil natural rapists. (Except for the obligatory 'one good man' or small group of white knights) Check your privilege, sweetie. You don't know how we feel.

      In this universe, women laugh at men having their genitals cut of and minced on prime time, whole panels of women with large female audiences, in this universe the reverse would NEVER happen.

      Government stats show that women receive less than half the prison time for the same exact crime and are twice as likely to be charged in the first place, men are committing suicide at 3.5 times the rate of women, constitute nearly 100% of workplace deaths, are not allowed to sit next to children on certain air lines, have no rights to protect their own children etc, etc., etc., etc..

      Open your eyes, I challenge you to find one area where the UK or USA governments disadvantage women, just one.

      You are privileged and we are second class citizens therefore your comment is effectively an insult.

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