How Does Jodie Foster Describe The Challenges Faced In An American Prison?

The TV show Orange is the new Black is an American comedy-drama television series created by Jenji Kohan. Piper Chapman, the main character is a woman in her 30s living in New York City, who is sentenced to 15 months in prison for being convicted of transporting a suitcase full of drug money to her girlfriend Alex Vause. Jodie Foster uses a variety of diverse techniques including camera angles, sound, lighting and colour and costumes to describe the challenges faced in an American prison.

Through the use of camera angles and symbols, Foster elaborates on loss of identity, as a theme in Orange is the new Black. Foster chooses to display several close up shots of prison gates, barbed wire fences and handcuffs to demonstrate that the prisoners
freedom and independence has been lost. In the orientation of the TV show, Foster also uses an extreme close up of the prisoner’s face to express the feelings that their eyes and mouths show. The prisoners range from many cultures, which shows that the prison holds all different types of people. Another close up of the weekend visiting times with the prison fence in the distance is used to express that the prisoners are restricted to visitors and that their social connection with the outside world has been removed. Foster has also decided to use a slow pan to highlight the wall of telephones that the prisoners will use to communicate to the outside world. This demonstrates that the prisoners have lost their freedom of speech, as everyone will be listening to the phone calls. A non-diegetic sound is put fourth when the prison gates close, which heightens that, the prisoners are locked in and cannot escape. Foster has placed all prisoners in the typical orange and grey prison uniforms, which expresses that they are all equal.