Essay plan
"To what extent does OITNB promote a
liberated representation of women in society?" [2000 words]
Note: quotes and specific references yet to be embedded into the plan but are accessible from the Notes & Quotes document, according to what has been detailed in the plan.
(SHEP) SOCIAL, HISTORICAL, ECONOMIC, POLITICAL
(MIGRAIN) MEDIA LANGUAGE, INSTITUTION, GENRE, REPRESENTATION, AUDIENCE, IDEOLOGIES/VALUES, NARRATIVE
Intro
Debate - OITNB establishes itself as a WIP show which succeeds in encouraging support for feminism and the liberalisation of the LGBT population. OR does OITNB ultimately reinforce patriarchal standards as it depicts a system in which the empowerment of women results in social failure? (S,P)(G,R,I)
The common denominator of WIP shows is that women are consistently exploited for the voyeuristic gratification of audiences. This is what fuels the basis of my investigation as OITNB is repeatedly claimed to craft a narrative which offers the dimensioning of women by granting them complex traits linked to narratives of their conviction which convince an audience to identify with them beyond the mere gaze of sexual gratification. (S)(G,R,A,I,N)
- Use quotes from articles and reviews as well as show representatives offering a sociopolitical angle to the show - claiming it to be provide liberation
- LGBT activism
- Support from feminist blogs
- Support from social media
- Multifaceted characters in the narrative
- Conclude the intro with a sentence,or two, suggesting how this adaptation of the WIP subgenre still reinforces patriarchal values - entailing the objectification of women, reinforcing misogynistic stereotypes (use quotes to justify the view of each one): women cannot run society, sisterhood is a failed concept, women strive to appease men and esteem themselves accordingly.
Traditional/contemporary representation (2-3 paragraphs)
Quote to support the statement: If media serves to provide a representation of reality as well as shape reality. (S)(I,I,A,R)
The (use statistic and quote to support) rising significance of women in film and television corresponds to an irrefutably liberated representation of women - relatively at least. (S)(I,R)
Today: (WFTV) - Women make up only 6.4% of film directors (P)(I,I,A)
- Jenji Kohan - OITNB
- ‘Undercover director’ Saudi film-maker Haifaa Al-Mansour - Wadjida
Womanist genre of multimedia entertainment - blaxploitation films - Jackie Brown (Tarantino analysis) - use Richard Dyer’s ‘power’ theory to explain producer intentions and hegemony in the media (S,H)(M,I,G,R,A,I)
“A naive nineteen year old widow becomes coarsened and cynical when she is sent to a woman's prison and is exposed to hardened criminals and sadistic guards.” - Resembles Piper’s character development. (S,H)(R,N)
Consensus of liberating women - media texts and documentaries
More theoretical analysis, academic research. Discuss compromise of women’s liberation and gain of power - by means of masculinisation, by anonymity
- TheGuardian - http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2014/feb/04/progress-womens-rights-compromised - Compromisation of women’s rights.
- ‘A world with no men? We'd have no one to laugh at! (or to make decisions for us - even if they're ALWAYS wrong)’
- New data on the rise of women TED TALK (2010)
Over 50 percent of managers are women these days, and in the 15 professions projected to grow the most in the next decade, all but two of them are dominated by women.
- The End of Men: And the Rise of Women - CITED IN OITNB - Scene where male prison chief
(S,H,E,P)(I,R,I,N)
Textual analysis of scenes (2 paragraphs)
explore whether each scene (approx 3), promotes a liberated representation of women or conforms to patriarchal tradition
Voyeuristic nature, intrusion into private debate.
Raises social debate of women’s worth in society - intellect/beauty - use quotes to indicate reinforcement of this/traditional advocation pre-feminism, e.g. “men act and women appear”
Reinforces misogynistic values - subverts sisterhood in lesbianism.
Subverts stereotype of femininity entailing excessive compassion.
(S)(M,G,R,I,N)
OITNB narrative support
Within the expository 4 hours of the show, the audience is familiarised with the conviction stories of characters including of course - Piper, but also Red, the cafeteria mogul of the prison, for whom the audience is placed on the brink of a multitude of opinions instead of simply disliking her due to her unfavourable representation towards the protagonist. The reason for this is because of the narrative’s craftation into exhibiting retrospective scenes of the characters’ pasts preceding their conviction. These flashbacks are applaudable also for their diligent integration into the script as the dialogue featured in the scenes are synchronised to the current stage of experiences of the character in question - leaving the audience gasping in awe and questionability regarding the seamlessness of the narrative. The delineation of characters is also demonstrated witful as the audience is constantly barged into the disposition of accepting fallacies about characters who are temporarily vilified, but may even be righteous and likeable. Warranting this, it is important to acknowledge the producer’s representation of moral conflicts such as rape, drug abuse and most interestingly: prejudice against marginalised groups of race, gender, body types and sexuality.
(S)(M,G,R,A,I,N)
OITNB narrative antithesis
Validity of women’s representation is hindered by the misrepresentation of their male counterparts - The practise of this notion has raised accusations of reverse-sexism as the actions of men in the series are represented in a higher magnitude of negligence than even those of the female felons. {examples: females engaging in drugs, sex, violence etc. - compared to the men’s stories which are not as severe from a sexually impartial perspective} Audiences are encouraged indubitably to be sympathetic for the women in the show, by the manipulation of representations which I’d say are fair and accurate to the extent of the characters reflecting valid social realism. This however ends at the point when no male characters are constructed to be deemed in a favourable manner by the audience. (Even the protagonist’s brother, who is in fact dominated by his female counterpart in the marriage)
Arguably, OITNB absolutely vilifies men in the entirety of the show, to the extent that it becomes an unrealistic representation of the social system in nations such as the UK and America. Because of this, the show arguably loses credibility in the sense of it striving to encourage a social movement to raise awareness of prejudice faced by minority groups - and as a consequence, the arguments for the liberation of women and other oppressed groups lose validity.
(S)(M,G,R,A,I,N)
Conclusion // Reception to OITNB (2 paragraphs)
OITNB - A reasonably pivotal impact considering the achievements members of the marginalised women have made as a consequence of the show. (e.g. Laverne Cox’s awards, Kohan’s recognition and success; Ruby Rose’s thrilling debut and attention for her short-film exploring femininity and gender transgression)
Social media reactions; blog followings; online hashtags, trends.
Interviews, debates, headlines. - audience interpretations affect the social polemic of the treatment of women from a production perspective - correlating with industrial action - rising significance of women in TV and film. Awards and nominations. Critical analyses - classification as a womanist/feminist work.
(S,H,E,P)(I,G,R,A,I)
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