The Handmaid's Tale

[frelling_tralk]

I think what makes the book so scary is just how real it feels in comparison to a lot of the other dystopian classics, and I was pleased to see that the tv show absolutely got that with all of the parallels to our own world. One departure from the book that did surprise me though was that I always remember Gilead as being a white supremacist state, and the breeding program was all about them panicking because the birth rate of white babies was decreasing? You see people panicking about that in Europe today actually, wringing their hands over all of the Muslim babies being born in comparison to white babies, so I was surprised that the tv show decided to drop that entirely and have black handmaids. That kind of strict fundamentalist regime would almost certainly go hand in hand with racism IMO, with that whole fantasy of wanting to go back to some past golden era. I did really like the casting of Moira though, and I guess I can understand why they would want to make the tv show more diverse when it comes to casting, but I am surprised that race hasn't been brought up at all yet when it comes to a regime like that

The departure from the book in episode 3 however worked really well for me, obviously the book is all from Offred's PoV, and so we never find out Ofglen's fate there after she gets replaced by another handmaid. It was really powerful to follow Ofglen in the show after she disappears from Offred's world, and Alexis Bledel was absolutely brilliant and haunting, even without a single line of dialogue. That whole court scene was one of the scariest parts to me actually, it was such a chilling parady of an actual courtroom, but with Ofglen not even being permitted to speak and defend herself.

The protest scene was another one that really stood out to me, again it was just chilling to at first see a regular peaceful protest that's recognisable to everyone in the audience, only to see the militia from Gilead turn up with guns and grenades, and how quickly that can make everyone disperse. Another moment that was extra creepy was the sexist jerk in the coffee shop calling them sluts, because you see so many men like that in everyday life now that would just jump at feeling like it's now acceptable to say what they're really thinking, something that has already happened to an extent since Trump came to power in America. (And the irony of even Trump's fans recognising how close to home this show hits, complaining about it being a direct attack on Trump, until Margaret Atwood pointed it that she wrote the book in the 1980's).

And some of the subtler stuff was the creepiest to me as well, like how you saw an almost paternalistic concern for the women when for example Ofglen and her girlfriend both had their heads protected to prevent them bumping themselves as they got into the van, even when the van was about to drive one of them to their execution, or when the militia were holding the door for June after they were all 'let go' from their job. I thought that was a nice illustration of Moira's frustration with June's husband treating them like the weaker sex that need taking care of, and pointing out what that can lead too

I also liked how they showed the Commander flirting with Offred, believing that he's a nice guy and being benevolent in playing scrabble with her, even though the reality is that he has complete control over her and she cannot refuse his invitation. It really shone a light on how he had zero awareness of what consent actually means, he was part of the regime that took away all women's choices, but he still wants to play that little charade anyway that she might want to spend time with him out of choice

Serena Joy is another interesting character to me, I'm wondering if they will bring up more of her background from the books, she was actually a major part in campaigning for that regime, so I always thought it was interesting how shut out and powerless she ended up feeling when it actually came to pass.



The only thing I will complain about is that it feels like the kind of miniseries that belongs more on Netflix, and so it's going to be a real adjustment to have to start waiting weekly for new episodes! I wouldn't necessarily be able to stomach binge-watching the entire show in one go either, but I'd love to work through the entire series at my own pace, it's going to get really frustrating to have to wait a week in between episodes from now on

Comments

[sandrine]

I'm curious about this show and part of me wants to watch it, but I think that would be a bad idea. I was a mess after I read the book - it was hands-down the scariest fictional thing I've ever consumed, and that was during a day and age when there were far fewer parallels to current real-life politics.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Honestly it sounds like it might be too much for you in that case, it's very heavy-going, and some of what happens to the characters is incredibly tough to watch :(