{"id":18284,"date":"2022-02-03T09:43:13","date_gmt":"2022-02-03T05:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/?post_type=articles&p=209060"},"modified":"2022-02-03T09:43:13","modified_gmt":"2022-02-03T05:43:13","slug":"anna-sorokin-slightly-essay-netflix-prison","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/me\/articles\/anna-sorokin-slightly-essay-netflix-prison\/","title":{"rendered":"Unpacking Anna Sorokin’s Slightly Chaotic Take On New Netflix Show “Inventing Anna” And Life In Prison"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Credit: TIMOTHY A. CLARY\/AFP via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On February 11, Anna Sorokin (aka Anna Delvey) will be the subject of a nine-part Netflix series starring Julia Garner and titled Inventing Anna<\/em><\/a>. Between 2013 and 2017, the infamous conwoman posed as a German heiress to a $67 million trust fund which she used to defraud banks, businesses and acquaintances.\u00a0In 2019 she was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment on four counts of theft of services, three counts of grand larceny and one count of attempted grand larceny.<\/p>\n

Garner and producer Shonda Rhimes reportedly visited Sorokin in prison to develop the show before she was released in February 2021. She was rearrested six weeks later by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for over staying her visa. In the lead up to the highly-anticipated series, Sorokin wrote a lengthy essay on her experience in prison for\u00a0Insider<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

an attack on the “daily mail”<\/span><\/p>\n

While discussing her run in with ICE, Sorokin attacks\u00a0Daily Mail\u00a0<\/em>and in all honesty we can’t really blame the hostility.\u00a0“Apparently, Daily Mail headlines are admissible evidence that override the decisions of the New York State Board of Parole and can be used to back up the Department of Homeland Security’s arguments that instead of getting a job, I was “busy getting my hair done” \u2014 me and my bad ways,” Sorokin wrote.<\/p>\n

“Tell me I’m special without telling me I’m special.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Is that an attempt at some much needed humour or narcism I sense? While attacking ICE, the conwoman notes that she is the only woman in custody at this particular facility.<\/p>\n

Sorry, am I on trial for this again?<\/span><\/p>\n

While discussing the reason for her arrest and potential deportation which includes her ability and “knowledge” to defraud again, Sorokin notes that she feels as if she is on trial for her past charges. Unfortunately, a criminal record is for life.<\/p>\n

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Credit: Nicole Rivelli\/Netflix \u00a9 2021<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No, she won’t be watching\u00a0Inventing Anna<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

While she is in custody it is unlikely Sorokin will be able to watch her own series but regardless, the German native says she has no interest in watching it anyways. “…nothing about seeing a fictionalised version of myself in this criminal-insane-asylum setting sounds appealing to me.”<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: Sorokin Developed Self Harm<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps one of the most alarming aspects of the essay is Sorokin’s “newly acquired habit” which we will allegedly not see in Inventing Anna.\u00a0<\/em>According to Sorokin, she “methodically” bites the skin around her nails until the bed fills with blood before she squeezes it out over the sink.<\/p>\n

She contracted covid-19 in jail<\/span><\/p>\n

On January 19, Sorokin contracted the illness in custody. When inmates have the virus they are allegedly locked in a cell in “quarantine isolation” without being able to leave for weeks on end. “I’m sure I’ll live, but I haven’t been this sick in years,” she added.<\/p>\n

The system is broken<\/span><\/p>\n

While it is hard to move past Sorokin’s relentless victim blaming, she makes a good point at the broken system of justice and reform. “It’s hard to prepare or submit any evidence for the court’s consideration when you find out about the hearing 10 minutes before it takes place,” Sorokin wrote. “Is it fair to call me “unpredictable” if you never gave me a chance to create stability?”<\/p>\n

Watch the trailer to\u00a0Inventing Anna,<\/em> below.<\/p>\n