The original English name of "Women's Prison" is "Orange Is the New Black", which means "orange is the new popular color" literally-because in the fashion industry, black is the eternal popular color. If there is a new one this season For example, navy blue is the new black). The clothes of prisoners in American prisons are marked with orange. This play is derived from an autobiography "Orange is the New Fashion Color: The Years I Spent in Women’s Prison". It tells that Papo, who has become a good girl today, is about to marry his fiancé. I didn’t expect him ten years ago. As Lara, money laundering for the drug dealer’s girlfriend was exposed, she had to go to jail and surrender herself and serve 15 months in prison. In this women’s prison, Pabo has gone through all kinds of hardships and came into contact with all kinds of female prisoners—as the show’s propaganda said: every sentence of prison has a story behind it.
If you like "Single Poisonous Mom", then you will feel a little familiar with "Women's Prison" again, because the main creator of these two dramas is the same person: Jackie Cohen. The two dramas are also from the perspective of the female protagonist, they are also full of black humor, and the plots are also exquisite and full of characters. If "Single Poison Mom" can be regarded as the female version of "Breaking Bad" (actually earlier than the latter), then "Women's Prison" should be the female version of "Prison Storm" (that is, HBO's classic The series "OZ"): Realistic, bold, sharp, ironic, black...Of course, "Women's Prison" is not as violent and cruel as "Prison Storm", and has more feminine softness, warmth and even fragmentation-with " According to the New York Times, this drama may be more like "Gossip Girl" than "Prison Situation".
Indeed, this is a very feminine drama: the main creator of the story is a woman (Judy Foster directed 2 episodes), it is a story about women, and it takes place in a place that is basically all women... For a long time, when it comes to female-themed dramas, it seems that it can only be a parent's short, love to love, until now, at most, there are some handsome guys exposed, and CP sells rotten. "Women's Prison" cuts from the prison to the entire social level, looking at topics such as life, relationship with men, education, growth, homosexuality, religion, etc. from the perspective of women.
American dramas with similar themes with men as the protagonist, such as "The Sopranos" and "Breaking Bad", often revolve around power and desire, but the theme of "Women's Prison" should be to return or find the true self—— In one episode, the heroine Chapman saw a chicken in the open space of the prison. Everyone suspected that this was her illusion, because the chicken only seemed to exist in the legend. But all the female prisoners refused to give up the opportunity to find this legendary chicken: some people wanted to use it to make delicious Kiev chicken, some people thought that there was a $1,000 drug hidden in the chicken belly... Chapman was questioned by others, After giving up, he tried his best to chase, but ironically found that the chicken had already flown over a high wall, separated from her by a barbed wire fence, which was beyond sight. Isn't all this a symbolic journey to find yourself?
Another unique feature of "Women's Prison" is that the group drama is beautiful and the supporting roles are wonderful! Except for the heroine Chapman, most of the supporting female prisoners in the show are not beautiful. They are either red-haired Russian aunts or super fat black women. They also have "crazy eyes" who often look like men, and A fanatical Christian with rotten teeth. However, these supporting actors, no matter how many roles they play, are extremely lively and individualized, and they may stand out in a certain stage at any time, which is eye-catching. For example, the Russian "Red Mom" in charge of the kitchen, she was the first to embarrass the heroine. It seemed that she was a tyrant in prison, and no one dared to mess with it. Unexpectedly, after a few episodes, you suddenly found out that this former bakery proprietress was How to be bullied by the Russian gangsters, looked down upon by the gang bosses, and finally established his own small kingdom in prison step by step and turned into a strong woman. Even so, she still has a good conscience and is determined not to let the prison guards use her hand to transport drugs into the prison to harm young female prisoners. You can see that she is in the limelight for a while, the queen is full of vigor, and she is maternal for a while, sheltering young female prisoners from the wind and rain, flashing back and forth, she is a cautious and humble face, a character is varied, and she is beautiful! Chapman's former lover Alex is also the red corner in the play. It has both the domineering of a big woman and the charming of a little woman. The scenes that chapman's injustices have been very brilliant and have captured the hearts of many female audiences. ——There are many fanatical female fans who said: If you want to marry, marry a woman like Alex!
In a world like "Women's Prison", there are so many attractive topics: lesbians, transgender people, rich and poor ranks, racial conflicts, patriarchy and feminist rights, religion, growth...think about it, a young and beautiful person, Suddenly, a white girl from a superior family went to prison. It was like throwing a beautiful domestic bird into the African wilderness! Foul language, drugs, unobtrusive sex, and all kinds of dirty or non-dirty transactions are everywhere. The whole series is really like a kaleidoscope, reflecting all aspects of society. You will see that whites, blacks, Latins, and Asians are so distinct even in prison. Everyone wears colored glasses to look at other people, intentionally or unintentionally. These topics are not presented in a deep way of thinking-a bit like "Broken Sisters", "Women's Prison" actually also has a strong sitcom (situation comedy) color, through the dense and interesting lines full of wisdom and no The dynamic and humorous passages show the state of the world.
The producer of this drama is the network video company Netflix, which is a cutting-edge American drama and became a hit with the previous "House of Cards". Slowly it has been enough to compete with established TV networks such as NBC, FOX, CBS, and HBO. Netflix's production ideas can be summarized as follows: the production cost is not too high (the house of cards is mainly for the main creation cost), the series is very topical, and the scale is on the same level as that of the cable station, but it does not rely on pure nudity, violence, and heavy tastes. Attracting the audience is only an essential element of the realism of the drama. This is completely different from the current seemingly hot micro-film ideas in China! The scale of "Women's Prison" is not small, but it does not seem to be "dirty" or "pornographic" at all. Whether it is sexual or violent, it is neither evasive nor exaggerated. It looks generous and looks very comfortable.
One of the outstanding problems of this series is that the drama conflict is not enough, the rhythm is a bit slow, and the warm part sometimes seems a little bit sentimental-you will see a previously aggressive "evil" woman suddenly become gentle and amiable, and then The episode will explain what pain and frustration she has experienced before. It gives you the feeling of "Fucking here, where is the abyss of evil, everyone has come to the wrong place". The series learned the technique of "Lost" constantly using flashbacks to explain the past of the characters, but sometimes it is too detailed and it is difficult for the audience to piece together a big picture. In addition, when the series revolves around the heroine Chapman or the people around her (such as the fiancé or Alex), the story will be very interesting; and once the focus is shifted to other supporting actors, it will often appear to lack focus and The main line of conflict.
In general, this is still an American drama that can bring us surprises, no less than similar classics such as "Shameless Family" and "Hindered Development". I believe that at the 66th Emmy Awards ceremony, "Women's Prison" will also be shining, and maybe it will win the award for the best drama in the comedy category.
Note: This article has been published in "The Bund Pictorial"
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