Picking up from where we left off in season 4 of Orange Is The New Black (OITNB), the recent release of the show’s fifth season jumps right back into the chaotic, anarchic mess of riots and cries of injustice spurred by Poussey Washington death in Litchfield (r.i.p). This season, we join Poussey’s gang of inmates and the Spanish Harlem in the capturing of Litchfield prison and their rise and fall to the power of their resistance all while navigating through more sensitive topics such as police brutality, human rights and more through the lives of the inmates themselves.
Speaking about the navigation of sensitive topics by Netflix, the show’s controversial decision to kill off Poussey Washington character is still wildly debated by critics and viewers alike as both the “best and worst decision ever to be made” in Orange Is The New Black.
While some argue that Poussey’s death is the turning point of the season and is necessary for the plot, the fact still remains: Poussey’s death reinforces the “WPOC characters get killed off” trope now more so than ever. So, this begs the question; is Poussey’s death another one of the cruel kill offs of WPOC and LGBT characters done by media companies or is it a symbolism of injustice and #blacklivesmatter? The answer to that is far more complex than it seems.
The trope of killing WPOC and LGBT characters/TV shows isn’t new
We’ve all seen it, where POC and LGBT characters or even worse diverse tv shows are being killed off by film directors and broadcasting companies, in particular, The CW. The CA have evidently committed this onslaught of mass diversity murder. From the unnecessary murder of Lexa in the 100 to the removal of a healthy interracial relationship between Kara Danvers and James Olsen in replacement with a white-slave owner-egoistic-cis male in Supergirl, other broadcasting companies alike are enacting the removal of POC and LGBT representation in the name of “poetic justice” once achieving their viewers’ quotas. Netflix proves to be no different.
With the recent outrage and protests of the cancellation the most racially and LGBT diverse show Sense 8 and The Get Down, it’s natural to call to attention on the senseless murder of a Poussey Washington.
Pre-Poussey Washington death
Poussey Washington’s character has stood out throughout the series due to the introduction of a different narrative as a coloured inmate in Litchfield which breaks the stereotype of black people.
Right off the bat, Poussey’s upbringing is one which initial viewers would never expect. It was first revealed in earlier seasons that Poussey is the daughter of a high-ranking general in the United States Army who, while in Germany, had a forbidden relationship with the German commander’s daughter (resulting in her family being posted back to America). The stereotype of black inmates being in jail due to their poor, socio-economic class in society that leads them to commit crimes is immediately shattered. This is also shown As the series Season 4 intentionally pointed out with the dialogue between Judy King and Poussey when Judy King commented that ” [Poussey has] been through a lot”, it is obvious that King projected her perception of black people onto Poussey. This projection, which Poussey later clarified, speaks volumes of our society’s existing prejudices on coloured people.
When you think you can’t love Poussey more, her love for literature will make you love her even more. Throughout the seasons, it’s evident that Poussey enjoys literature and books which are the reason why she’s in charge of the library with her good friend Taystee. Her rejection of violence and crime related activities within Litchfield itself is prominent as she stood by her convictions in not engaging in underhand business despite having all her close friends leave her for it.
The Significance
So when Netflix killed off a character
that a) is so well loved by the audience b)in a healthy relationship with her partner Brooke Soso and c)Is educated and stands by her moral beliefs and convictions, you best believe there will be riots over her death like the ones in season 5. It doesn’t help the situation when it’s revealed that white directors and writers decided on her “death”.
But maybe that’s exactly why they have to kill off Poussey now, where the political landscape of America and abroad has trickled down in endless depths of complexity. It’s because Poussey is the symbolism of justice and hope that killing her character through the hands of a white cis male correctional officer in season 4 lays down the foundation of what season 5 hopes to achieve: Battling Injustice and inequality in an environment that oppress the people and at the same time showing the insensitivity of the mass media.
Season 5 has so far been the most politically charged season the series has had so far which have no qualms in getting right into exploring the more prominent themes of police brutality.
The outrage over the death of Poussey and the measures to convey the rage parallels with that of the state of America’s. With videos by Poussey’s friends in efforts in getting the media’s attention of this murder of a harmless inmate and their fight in achieving basic demands , one can not help but feel the same kind of oppression for the inmates in Litchfield.
With the uncalled for deaths Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and many more in the hands of Neo-Nazi extremists and the police, Season 5 is needed more than ever to let the world see how senseless these murders are towards a race that’s been oppressed for over 200 years as well as bringing in hope for the better through the solidarity of the inmates shown upon the shutdown of Litchfield.
The killing of Poussey Washington in Orange Is The New Black symbolises the motivation of change and progression (though not in the best way) and that change is what propels our society forward, especially so now under Trump’s America.
