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How are social ideologies of power and gender represented in

Orange is the new Black?
Introduction
The Netflix original series Orange is the new Black is the media text that I
am going to focus on. I am concentrating on season two, episode ten,
heavily exploring the ideologies of power and gender that are present
within the episode. Terry Eagleton (1991) suggests ideology is the process
of production of meanings, signs and values in social life. Ideology is a
construction that acts to produce our sense of subjectivity by reinforcing
the status quo through the concerns of the media. By studying these
social ideologies it will enable me to understand the ways in which power
and gender are represented to audiences through the ways in which it is
delivered within the programme. Along with this I will consider gender and
power representations within the media and how they conform to
ideologies that apply within society. By looking at power and gender I am
able to explore various theorists views on these topics and apply them to
particular scenes within my chosen episode in order to determine how
they are represented within the media.
Literature review
Ideology is a system of ideas that embodies characteristics of a particular
social group or class as a means to legitimise dominant political power,
which is easily portrayed within the media through the construction of
texts from drawing on well-known stereotypes. Gender and power both
coincide with ideology as particular assumptions in relation to each aspect

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MED5113 Television industries, texts and audiences Assignment 2

is highly evident within society. This therefore results in the creation of

discourses which then become a new form of social ideologies of which
society accepts and conforms to.
Karl Marx (1818-83) connects the idea of ideology with power by stating
that the ideology of the powerful would be unquestionably accepted by
both the powerful themselves and those they exercise power over, simply
because it acquired the status of truth. This statement suggests that
media industries present social views within texts as self-evident truths
which over time have become natural or obvious to audiences. The
power of the industry is demonstrated through Orange is the new Black,
as social ideologies of power relationships between men and women are
exposed on multiple occasions by subtly conforming to the idea of
patriarchy. Along with this, female power is also represented through
specific prisoners holding more authority over others. Additionally,
OSullivan (1998) reinforces the theory of ideology by suggesting that in
Marxism the medias role can be seen as circulating and emphasising
dominant ideologies whilst challenging others. This concept subverts the
idea of media texts consisting of dominant women, however it conforms to
the idea that powerful women cannot be commanding and sexualised at
the same time. The research I have undertaken will support my arguments
on the power relationships of men and women as well as women towards
other women enabling me to precisely conclude how social ideologies are
represented within Orange is the new Black.

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Sex in the media is commonly overlooked by audiences as they are

continuously exposed to graphic scenes of sexual encounters which
Thompson (2000) would support as he concentrates on the idea of sex
scandals within the media by suggesting that they have become the
norm to audiences. Sex is related to gender representations and the
ways in which men and women should behave towards one another, as
well as socially acceptable relationships. In previous years same sex
relationships would be frowned up by viewers however the media often
represents them through texts as they have now become socially
accepted. Orange is the new Black is based in a female prison therefore
homosexual relationships between women definitely take place. These
relationship are interesting to view as there are different types of lesbian
couples within the show. Furthermore, the typical assumptions of lesbians
are subverted creating new ideas as to how lesbians appear and behave.
The construction of the text challenges typical ideological views on gender
because the females within the show do not act in a suppressive manner.
Instead, they are verbally confident and active towards one another which
acts as a means of capturing a specific meaning within the text for
audiences to decode. Pierce (1940) suggests that texts were constructed
to present specific meanings which often lead to the encapsulation of
particular ideologies. Within Orange is the new black the text has been
constructed in a precise way to show females as governing figures who
have a significant amount of authority over others. As well as presenting
some of them in a sexual way, ideal for the male gaze and the
objectification of women. As stated previously, the research that I have

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undertaken regarding sex in relation to gender will aid me in answering

my research question of how social ideologies are presented within the
text.
Methodology
I feel as though a rhetorical analysis will be best suitable for successfully
answering my research question because my analysis of the text will be in
depth, plus I will be analysing the presentational, photographic, verbal
and editorial rhetoric aspects of specific scenes within my chosen episode.
Moreover by using a rhetorical analysis as my methodology I am able to
study the ways in which the episode was constructed and what affects are
present to the audience. As I am constructing a rhetorical analysis of
Orange is the new Black, I will be focusing on the formation and
manipulation of language used by the creator of the text in order to
determine the purpose it has when considering social ideologies through
cognition. As rhetoric means the way language is manipulated to a
particular purpose, I can relate this to social ideologies as audiences may
not always recognise the complexity of social communications within the
media. I believe that this due to media workers being skilful with their
communications making the construction of the text seem natural and
obvious, much like an ideology. The term rhetoric is used as a vehicle of
conveying meaning within a text through the construction of them, as
Orange is the new Black is based in a female prison the meanings
conveyed either regarding power or gender have been constructed in a

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MED5113 Television industries, texts and audiences Assignment 2

particular way to demonstrate prison life by challenging or conforming to

the social ideologies that already exist.
Analysis
The opening scene of Orange is the new Black immediately introduces the
social ideology of gender combined with sex. Straight away we are
exposed to a lesbian sex scene, with a photographic rhetoric consisting of
medium long shots, exposing Pipers sexually aroused facial expression
along with breast, which is then followed by a medium close up of Alex
appearing from underneath the covers whilst smiling. Along with this there
is verbal rhetoric of sexual moaning highlighting the erotic act that is
being performed. This construction of the text creates a meaning of
intimacy to audiences. The stereotypical view on lesbians is that they are
butch, have short hair and each lesbian couple must consist of a man
and a woman. Instantaneously this social ideology is challenged as both
women within the opening scene are feminine and have long hair,
furthermore there is no indication of specific male and female partner
roles within this relationship. Perkins (1997) indicates that stereotypes are
simple, about minority groups and are thought to be rigid. This opening
scene subverts ideological assumptions of lesbians and continues to
embrace them during the episode, (through graphic scenes of intimacy
constructed throughout), emphasising the idea of lesbianism as the
norm, therefore supporting Lippman (1922) with the idea that
stereotypical views are not meant to be negative. Gender ideologies of
women are confronted as initially women are deemed to be sensitive and

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emotional, however both women in this scene are far from vulnerable.
Instead both women are highly sexualised, thus conforming to the male
gaze for audiences. Gender is used as a performance in this scene
(Butler, 1990) as both females are objectified through the construction of
the text. As Piper is nude and Alex is performing the sexual act, both
women play an import role in the meaning conveyed from the
construction of the scene. This relates to McQuails (1964) uses and
gratification theory, complying with the idea of personal identity in terms
of lesbian audiences being able to understand and relate to the
destabilised stereotypical views on lesbian women in this particular scene
by identifying with the ideologies presented.
Another intrinsic rhetoric element regarding social ideologies in the
episode is from 39:00 39:40. This particular scene is a conversation
between Daya (a Latin-American prisoner) and Jon (a White-American
prison guard) regarding their secret relationship. Daya is pregnant and she
is fuming with Jon as she feels he is not standing up to his responsibilities
as a future father because he does not want to tell the prison warden that
he is the father of her child. Additionally they both lied and decided to
frame another prison guard by saying that he is the father of her child.
This supports Thompsons (2000) idea of digital television revealing a sex
scandal but audiences would not be shocked by it as it is deemed as the
norm. The editorial and photographic rhetoric consists of quick jump
cuts between both characters, each shot is filmed as a close up to exploit
the frustration and tension of the argument. Dayas character

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demonstrates a powerful, out-spoken woman with no qualms on stating

how she feels. The verbal rhetoric in this scene that I found incredibly
useful was the statement made by Daya stating where Im from real men
would own up to their kid and well I guess well both be even then.
OSullivan (1998) argues his view on Marxism which challenges ideas on
dominant ideologies, in this case that would be significant to the ideal that
women are impassive. Alternatively, both of these statements validates
the idea of women being strong-willed and commanding which once again
overthrows the social ideology of women being passive, unable to protect
themselves, being controlled by men or completing household domestics.
Jon on the other hand is considered to be submissive in relation to Daya
he struggles to admit his wrong-doing (although he has genuine feelings
for Daya) and is not willing to lose his job for the love of his life and
unborn child. In comparison to Daya, Jon does not show any forms of
masculinity as a real man would, simply because he cannot take
responsibility for his actions. This alone illustrates the fact that gender
roles are not presented in the expected way within Orange is the new
Black therefore, once again undermining the social ideologies on gender
roles.
My final point regarding gender applies to sections 16:30 18:00. This
scene specifically exemplifies the switch in gender roles between men and
women. The presentational aspect of this scene is based in an office, the
mise-en-scene consists of all furniture expected within an office, however
Natalie Figueroa is sitting behind the desk and Joe Caputo knocks onto her
office door. They have a discussion of Dayas sex scandal and bring her

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pregnancy to the surface, following this they then discuss what the
appropriate angle to tackle the situation is. At this moment in time the
verbal rhetoric become essential as Caputo says youre keeping him at
work and Figueroa replies Just until I get my ducks in a row, this thing
has to be handled right. From these two lines of diegetic sound it is
evident that Figueroa is of a higher position then Caputo as tradition
gender roles are demolished because a male is informing a female of the
prison events and she is making ultimate decision on how to deal with
these measures. For that reason, traditional views on gender are
annihilated as majority of the women within the prison (including prison
guards) do not maintain expressive roles, such as providing emotional
support, sensitivity or sympathy. Instead the women uphold a state of
confidence, independence and supremacy over men demonstrating that
Orange is the new Black completely ignores the ideal social ideologies on
gender.
However, power relationships between men and women as well as women
to other woman become an interesting aspect of Orange is the new Black
as they tend to shift during different scenes with the episode.
Aforementioned the scene with Figueroa disrupting the social ideologies of
gender enables her to gain the overall power within the prison. Female
power is a prevailing feature within this episode as more than one inmate
holds power over others. Towards the end of the episode, 52:30 53:00, a
distinctive power relationship between two prison mates is shown. In this
scene Poussey is drunk in the bathroom and decides to attack Vee,

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however Crazy eyes intervenes resulting in a violent attack towards

Poussey which is indicated by a silent but controlling head gesture from
Vee. The photographic rhetoric within the scene is especially important
when understanding the meaning and representation it constructs. A close
up is used of Vees face each time she gives a head gesture to Crazy eyes
imperceptibly indicating for an attack to happen or stop. As Crazy eyes
has a mental disorder she is easily influenced by Vee which is undoubtedly
shown as the mind control Vee has over Crazy eyes can be seen as a
process of selection (Bignall, 2008) because the producers specifically
choose a mentally unstable character to become subjective by a wellrespected intimidating inmate. Straightaway this creates a preferred
meaning towards the disabled with the idea that they are easily
persuaded to complete tasks in order to fit into society and be deemed
normal which is an indication of social ideologies that are shown through
a representation of society through mediation (Hall, 1973).
Consequently, the power of women over other women is striking within
this section of the episode as it demonstrates the idea of superior women,
significantly preying on the weak to complete horrid actions on their
behalf. Once again, this ties in with my previous point regarding women
and the subversion of social ideologies, in terms of them upholding a state
of independence and power towards and over one another, thus
enhancing the notion of society being represented through mediation
(Hall, 1973).
Saids theory on Orientalism (1979) is ominously present within sections
21:25 22:05 of this episode through the idea of the west holding power

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of the east. In this case, it is the white prison guard exalting supremacy
over a black prisoner. This definitive section of the episode is of the
guards completing a sweep in the prison bunks searching for contraband.
A white male guard finds cigarettes in a tampax box of a black prisoner
and he becomes verbally abusive towards her. The verbal rhetoric used by
the guard is imperceptibly racist, emphasising Dijks (2000) concept on
new racism, with the idea that the media produces texts, which consist of
discrete bigotry that is overlooked by audiences. This is shown within
Orange is the new Black as the prison guard articulates to the prisoner to
get your little black ass to the shoe. By unnecessarily addressing the
prisoners race it automatically illustrates orientalism plus new racism
aspects within the episode, hence supporting the fact that these theories
are still present within the construction of modern media texts. The power
position between the guard and the prisoner is particularly clear and
follows the perception of men sustaining more power than women. A
patriarchal impression is established by the construction of the text,
creating a closed meaning to audiences (through denotation) of guards
dictating towards prisoners. Furthermore, this confirms the initial social
ideology of men governing over women, along with highlighting the idea
of women being deemed as having lower importance than men. Despite
the photographic rhetoric of close up shot types used to accentuate
power, the language present within this short segment of the episode
conveys social ideas (Barthes, 1972) of black prisoners (male or female)
receiving racial treatment and a difficult period in jail. This therefore,
draws attention to dominant social ideological discourses which are

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considered to be regimes of truth (Foucault, 2000). These truths are

encoded by the produces to represent the power relationship between
men and women, following this the truths are then decoded by
audiences in order to gain a particular meaning that assists the ideology
of patriarchy via male dominance.
Conclusion
To conclude, through my research I have concentrated on various sections
of the episode, determining the different representations of power and
gender that are revealed within Orange is the new Black. My analytical
observations have revealed that the producers of Orange is the new Black
have carefully thought through the ways in which they represent power
and gender to audiences. By subverting and conforming to expected
social ideologies on both topics, the producers maintain an ambiguous
portrayal of the storyline, creating an enigma feeling for audiences to
experience. I feel as though through the construction of the text it has
enabled the episode to enlighten audiences to the change in stereotypes
as well as the change in authority, by exposing females as overriding
characters due to their behaviour. As a feminist, I believe the positive
factors within this episode of Orange is the new Black divulge the
prominence of female independence and liberation through the powerful
scenes constructed within the text. Although, the episode solely focuses
on female imprisonment the events that take place within the prison are
significantly more far-fetched in relation to reality, therefore encouraging
the perception that social ideologies are represented in an

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idiosyncratically manner. This episode reveals controversial concepts,

which highlight the ways in which the producers have significantly
constructed the text in order to create a preferred meaning regarding
social ideologies of power and gender. This meaning has been created
through subverting the expected discourses of power and gender that are
usually expected within media texts. Ultimately, this essay explores how
social ideologies of gender and power are represented, due to the
continuation of gender and power roles being expressed in an
unconventional approach.

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