Where do I Live? / More on Orange is the New Black

[thistlechaser]

The third book came in, just a little late to be included with the book post last night. It'll be a short review.

Where do I live? by Dr. Kristine Duehl.
(Book received for free for review from Smith Publicity)

Is it odd for an adult to enjoy children's books? I enjoyed reading them when I worked in the kids' library, but that was (wow) 20 years back. Some of them, like the two I reviewed yesterday, I like for the story's and/or the art's sake, but some (like Where do I Live?) are less enjoyable for adult-me, but I think would be more enjoyable for kids than the previous two.

If I had a child, I think I'd love the way Where do I Live? urges them to think. It starts out with a picture of an animal, then asks where it lives. Perfect time for a parent and child to work on that question together, then you turn the page and read about the animal's environment. The section ends with another question, which the child can look at the picture to figure out. (Like "What else about a cheetah might help it hide in yellow grass?".)

So: Recommended if you have kids, especially ones that like animals, but this one is a pass for adult-only readers.

---

I watched a lot of Orange is the New Black over the weekend. I have only three episodes left for the season, but I'm dragging my feet on watching them. The problem is they're too realistic about the issues of power that would arise in a women's prison staffed by mostly men. I know at least one person is watching the series since I mentioned it last, so I'm going to put this behind a cut to avoid spoilers.



I don't even know which situation bothers me most.

1) The head guard (I forget his title, but I'm pretty sure it's not warden). He's a "good guy", but he has issues with lesbians (I think, or that might be an element of some bigger thing), and of "good girls" staying good, etc. A lot of women issues. When the main character comes in to his prison, she definitely qualifies as a "good girl" -- ten years back, she moved drug money into the country. She's made a good life for herself since then, no other issues with the law. The statute of limitations was 12 years. He warns her about all the bad things that can happen in prison, warns her not to make friends and to beware lesbian sex.

Lots of episodes/storylines happen, and the main character's girlfriend (of the lesbian sort) from 10 years back shows up. The two dance together (and yeah, it's a sexy dance, but the two remain clothed and in a big group the whole time), and the head guard goes batshit insane. He charges her with trying to rape the former girlfriend (calling the dance rape) and tosses her into solitary confinement. All based on HIS issues. And he has the power to do it.

2) One of the worst guards is moving drugs into prison. He forces the woman who runs the kitchen to let them move through the kitchen. To intimidate her, he pees into the vat of gravy she's making for their Thanksgiving dinner. He forces a druggie who is just getting clean to sell drugs for him (and she kills herself over it -- either on purpose or not, she uses them to OD). He's an awful person, but he can keep his job because he keeps it under wraps in front of non-prisoners and covers his tracks and does his job well.

3) A war veteran lost his leg and is now a prison guard, he's as considerate and kind as one can be to prisoners. He and a prisoner fall in love, leave love notes for each other in secret places, and eventually have (unprotected) sex. It's sweet, and is as consensual as can be in that situation. The woman gets pregnant. He wants her to "take a pill" to abort it, she doesn't want to.

This whole show makes me think about he RL issues. Genders aside, is it possible for COs to ever be as fair as the rules allow? To always see their prisoners as human? I don't think so.
The Stanford prison experiment tells us how quickly normal people become abusive when they have power. ("Two of the prisoners quit the experiment early and the entire experiment was abruptly stopped after only six days.")

I've never really thought about prison in a realistic way until now. I try not to speed or otherwise break the law, so hopefully it won't be an issue for me. But the others already there? It worries me. (Or the chance I might somehow end up there anyway? Bad traffic accident and I kill someone, say? Makes me shiver.)

This is not at all to say I don't see the other side of the coin. Correction officer has to be a really rough job. Of course that doesn't give anyone the right to abuse anyone else, but both groups are in a bad situation. ("But one group chose to be there!" Sort of. It's not just a job, it's a good-ish paying one. For some, it's the best option they have.)



So, Orange is the New Black has gotten darker than I originally said it was, and that it's in a realistic way makes it... "worse" is the wrong word. "Even darker" fits, I guess. I still recommend it, but if you're like me, it might keep you up at night thinking about issues we have no power to fix.

Comments

[al-zorra.livejournal.com]

You have probably articulated my own nebulous, unexamined reason(s) for not having checked out "Orange Is ..."

Sometimes I can't handle this stuff, and / or more stuff, of power inequality and the abuse of it. Sometimes there is so much fraughtness in one's life -- not necessarily out these issues, or at least not personally -- one just avoids more where possible. If that makes sense?

Love, c.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

That makes perfect sense. Now is an especially bad time for me to be watching it, too. With the powerlessness around the Trayvon Martin killing, I don't need to be further reminded how much more power some factions of our population have over others.

[machinegirl.livejournal.com]

I finished Orange last night. Ugh. It is so good and so heart wrenching and just so....much. It's fantastic television. I want to re-watch it just to keep a better eye on how the main character changes over the season.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Isn't it? I still have the last three eps to watch, just need an evening to finish it.

I'm dying to know where the main character will go -- what will happen with the girlfriend vs the boyfriend?

I'm so glad it's been renewed for another season!