Week 11 Readings

The readings this week focused on queer studies and queer representations in the media. Tongson describes queer media as “queer media is an emergency category acknowledging that media forms, from film and television to an ever expanding digital sphere, are no longer just “playing to Peoria” as the standard of demographic normalcy and desirability.” Queer media has created a new platform, with Orange Is the New Black being one of the pioneer TV shows. That being said, I wanted to choose a quote that embodied that, which is the Tongson quote in my video. Shows like this have come into being due to the uncomfortableness that was felt by the queer community, much like narrative that Munoz shares of wanting to fit into the “house of gender normativity.” So, this week I wanted to focus in on the complex idea of sex that surrounds the prison in Orange is the New Black. When Piper first arrives in the prison, the correctional officer that is assigned to her reassures her that she absolutely “does not have to have lesbian sex.” This audio clip is included in my video. That is paralleled with the complex sex lives of the other inmates, some open lesbians, some that participate in lesbian sex but say they aren’t lesbians, and everything in between. It’s important to realize that there is a lot of gray area that each person navigates a little differently, but that each person is entitled to their own journey specifically. I think that is what the narrative of Munoz and the reading on Queer is trying to say, that everyone has their own experience and they are perfectly entitled to that, so queer media exists to help dispel some of the harsh binaries when it comes to gender and sexuality.

To create my clip for this week, I used iMovie and included a clip that takes the audience on a journey of just one complex sexual relationship that Orange is the New Black follows. I used audio from a clip of the director and actors discussing the different sexual relationships that occur in OITNB, with different cast members discussing sex in OITNB. The narratives of the different relationships that occur is really profound.