Orange Is the New Black (OITNB) offers Netflix viewers the chance to go behind bars and see the Prison Industrial Complex from the inside. Described by creator Jenji Kohan as “my activism,” OITNB showcases the reprehensible treatment of elderly female prisoners, while simultaneously adhering to age-old tropes of femininity as manipulative. Using Goffman’s work on stigma as a framework, we examine representations of elderly women on OITNB, while also considering “binge-watching” (the process of consuming mass amounts of television) as a method of analysis. Binge-watching, or “marathon viewing,” a temporal phenomenon laden with feelings of guilt and shame, works to highlight the stigma of temporality aging women on OITNB face. Thus, we offer “marathon viewing” as an alternative, stigma-free method of critical feminist media analysis. This article suggests marathon viewing is a product of media convergence, reliant on today’s streaming services and a highly productive method of media critique.
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