Cortlyn Buck: Culture and Conflict in Orange is the New Black

Cortlyn Buck

Culture and Conflict in Orange is the New Black

“Culture is largely constituted out of the taken-for-granted, seldom articulated patterns of everyday action and belief. To the parties in an organizational conflict, their own cultural patterns simply constitute the “natural” way to do things” (Kolb). Frequently practiced culture becomes one’s second nature, which can potentially grow into problematic issues when two or more individuals differ in culture, causing differences i.e. conflict. “In contemporary organizations, the sources of conflict often lie in the cultural patterns that distinguish and differentiate functional specialties from one another” (Kolb). Two varying culturally diverse groups attempting to come together will cause very many altercations due to varying practices and beliefs held between the groups.

In the popular Netflix series Orange is the New Black, which is based on women’s prison, is culturally diverse and presents many conflicting problematic issues. Looking in comparison and contrast of several varying racial profiles of the characters will help aid in separating the varying cultures into groups. Not only her red hair separates her, but also her hot headedness of her personality defines the character Red. She is apart of the Russian culture where family and honor are very important to her beliefs. Piper, the main character (a well-educated, middle class, white woman) commented on disliking the prison food made by Red, due to the expectation of higher quality meals she is accustom to. Red misconstrued this as a jab to her cooking capabilities, and Piper and Red soon find themselves in a whole lot of trouble.  Red also takes on the maternal/sibiling role by protecting over and watching out for many of her friends in prison throughout the course of the show, implementing the Russian cultural aspect of family as a priority. Red faced mal friendship relation issues, which constituted in to her to adapt by adopting and taking on the protective, yet hostile family/friend role. This is just merely one example of the many characters within the realm of the series.

Source: Kolb, Deborah M. Hidden Conflict in Organizations: Uncovering Behind-the-scenes Disputes. Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage, 1992. Print.