'They should have never given us uniforms if they didn't want us to be an army'
When Offred uttered these words I got what can only be described as a TV boner. I guess it's like a regular one, but this particular type arises from exquisite television. I really need to get out more. But then again, denying my hermit like nature would starve me of watching great shows like The Handmaid's Tale.
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| Offred has no time for this totalitarian bullshit |
The premise of the show is straight forward enough. Environmental disaster and the promiscuity of the population has caused the human race to slowly become sterile due to a high amount of STDs. With the future bleak, a group of extremist Christians known as the 'Sons of Jacob' overthrow the United States government and establish the Republic of Gilead. Out of this newly found nation springs a total shakeup of society, as women have their rights stripped and become the property of men.
But it gets worse for the ladies of the new USA. Infertile women are now 'Marthas', and serve as the domestic servants of the Gilead elite. Women who are still fertile are grouped together into a new class known as 'Handmaids', where their basic function is to breed with the ruling class and keep the human race ticking over. The sex is non consensual, with a ceremony taking place in which the man (usually a Commander of the Republic of Gilead) rapes the Handmaid, who is held down by the Commander's wife. Once a baby pops out, the family claim the child as their own and the Handmaid moves on to the next post.
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| Yep, it's all pretty fucked up |
This is certainly your bread and butter dystopian society. Freedoms are limited, soldiers patrol the streets with a menacing presence and the secret police (known as 'Eyes') monitor the activities of the populace relentlessly. What makes this whole situation even more surreal is how the laws of Gilead are based on a literal interpretation of Biblical scripture, hence the objectivisation of women and persecution of 'gender traitors' i.e. homosexuals.
So the plot is pretty strong, but the characters truly make the show special. Offred (real name June, played by Elizabeth Moss of Mad Men fame) struggles to stay sane in a society that took away her family and sentenced her to a life of servitude and forced sex. On the outside, she is quiet and obedient, going along with the ways of Gilead, while her inner thoughts focus on flashbacks to the times of democratic America, when her life was close to perfect. Dark humour keeps her mind in working condition, coming out with quips such as 'a priest, a doctor, a gay man. I think I heard that joke once. This wasn't the punchline' upon seeing a row of hung bodies.
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| Life in Gilead- the new normal |
Offred (her name derives from being the Handmaid to Fred, so she is 'Of Fred') is a superb character, but it is a crime to not mention the supporting cast, such as her lesbian college friend Moira (Samira Wiley, or Poussey Washington from
Orange Is The New Black). The fires of freedom burn brightly in her as she disobeys the 'Aunts' of the Red Centre (the Handmaid's trainers) whenever possible.
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| Life for June and Moira was once so lovely |
Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) sees the Handmaids as her personal responsibility, as if they were her own children. Sadly, this entitles her to indoctrinate them with Biblical passages, happily taking part in the repression of the women of Gilead. The term 'gender traitor' is thrown about quite a lot in
The Handmaid's Tale, yet while the Gileadean definition refers to homosexuals, Aunt Lydia is the real gender traitor.
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| She's like Miss Trunchball from Matilda, but way more extreme (believe it or not) |
Last and certainly not least, the members of the Waterford household. Commander Fred (Joseph Fiennes, he was William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love you know) is powerful within the Gilead regime, and fully supports the work it is doing. He's smart and slightly creepy, which is always a good mix.
His wife Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski) is anything but joyous. She is hostile towards June, yet praises her as she will deliver them a child. Once a public speaker who campaigned against feminism, she now finds herself trapped in her own home, all lonely and such.
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| The all-powerful Waterfords, with their pretty faces and extreme Christian ideals |
Then there's Nick (Max Minghella), the Commander's driver who acts as our sexy bad boy. He's shady and mysterious, watching the coming and goings of the house with an inquisitive gaze. Is he a loyal servant to the Republic, or do other motives drive him on? Oh how mysterious.
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| *swoon* |
Great plot, top characters; The Handmaid's Tale has it all. But what made this show appealing for me was how the sub plots within the main story can be attributed to the goings on in the modern world. Canada, for example, is seen as a safe haven from the tyrannical Gilead regime- similar to how Canada and their beautiful PM Justin Trudeau advertised the country as a place to start afresh with a certain angry shouty man taking power south of the border.
On the topic of President Angry Shouty Man, certain acts and laws have been repealed relating to equal pay and funding for projects such as Planned Parenthood. This attack on the rights of women is plain to see, and The Handmaid's Tale perfectly captures an America where women lack rights and are just a means to an end. A very scary concept to imagine, but one that doesn't feel too far from reality.
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| No mercy |
Finally, the topic of religious extremism is addressed in The Handmaid's Tale. Groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda have emerged over the last few decades and are driven by their radical stance over the teachings of the Quran. We have all seen images of the destruction of monuments, hangings and stonings that have taken place within countries affected by the rise of Islamic extremism. To see the Christian equivalent portrayed as Gilead certainly is harrowing, especially in the wake of the demonstrations in Charlottesville.
The setting, in a historical context, is symbolic as well. Puritans established the colony of Plymouth in 1620, with the province named New England. Here, Puritans could practice their beliefs away from the persecution of the English state. The strict religious tones of Gilead are similar to the beliefs of Puritans, in that all work done by man on Earth was for the glory of God, and women were indeed the property of men. It is here in Boston that our story takes place, and where the Republic flourishes. See, a bit of History can be useful.
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| Oliver Cromwell would be so proud |
Goodness me, that was a long post! I do apologise, but I guess it's better than doing a review post and the whole thing is just 'I really liked it, go watch it'. Hopefully you all got the gist of this review; the setting is fantastically dystopian, the characters are beautifully complex and the issues in The Handmaid's Tale are very much relevant to our modern day society.
If you liked my ramblings about TV, then you should read the other post I did about TV. Behold, through the power of modern technology, here's a link:
https://absosham.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/my-friends-live-in-moving-picture-box.html
You should read it, I thoroughly recommend it.
Ben G xo 😁
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