I'm sure at least some of Sup Forums is familiar with the Netflix original series Orange is the New Black.
For those who are not, the series focuses on a minimum security women's prison in up state New York that eventually becomes a privatized part of the United States' prison industrial complex. While I could talk about this aspect of the show, what most bothers me is how pleasant this show presents prison.
Based on the men I've talked to before that have been incarcerated, prison is a boring experience where you have limited free time outside of your cell and/or cell block and most of your limited time is spent alone reading, exercising, sleeping and sometimes, just trying to avoid fighting and/or rape.
At Litchfield, the women's prison in Orange is the New Black, however, women are free to come and go throughout the prison yard and their bunks, visit friends and loved ones, both visitors and fellow inmates, carry out consensual sexual relationships with other prisoners or guards, play games, exercise, garden, do yoga, bake, read, drink alcohol, smoke, do drugs, visit the showers during non-peak hours for longer beauty time, visit a hair salon, watch TV, etc. There are exceptions, but these seem few and far between.
I know that anyone who has watched the show will mention many of the bad things associated with prison, such as the lack of privacy, potential for abuse, etc., but the series portrays prison much more like a camp. The series does get tougher for the main cast, they still get to enjoy much of the same luxuries above, despite their hardships.
What does Sup Forums think about women's prisons, our understanding of their operations, and or their depictions in media?
