The Handmaid's Tale-Margaret Atwood
I'm sure many people have already heard of The Handmaid's Tale due to the recently popular Hulu series based on the novel. While I've read other books for this blog that have had TV/movie adaptations, none have been so popular in the modern day as this.
The novel takes place in the United States, some unspecified time in the future, after the collapse of the United States. The U.S. is now the Republic of Gilead, which features a strict caste system for men and women centered around the tenets of Christianity. The novel follows Offred, who is a handmaiden, which means her job is to live with a family and copulate with the male head of household in hopes of producing a child. This is extremely difficult in this setting, as increased usage of birth control and environmental pollution has left many women sterile or unlikely to produce healthy children. Offred's perspective shows us how crushing this lifestyle is on the human spirit, not just for her and the other handmaidens, but every other caste as well. She thinks often of the people she knew before the revolution, the family she had, and where they might be now.
Honestly, I wasn't as excited reading this book as I thought I would be originally. Offred's stream-of-consciousness narration began to annoy me and it felt hard to keep up with. But it also makes sense for her to think this way, because she is constantly trying to occupy her mind with memories, trivia, and seemingly unimportant observations just to stay sane. I think I wouldn't have minded it so much had I not plowed through the book (finished in about 2 days). As I kept reading, I enjoyed it much more. And without spoiling anything, the end absolutely captured my attention.
The show has received major critical success, winning multiple television awards and recently being renewed for a third season. I purposefully haven't watched the show because I knew I would be reading the book for class, but now that I have finished it, I'm definitely excited to jump in (after a couple weeks maybe: the content left me feeling a bit emotionally drained).
So why is the content of this book so compelling, and why now? In a political landscape where women increasingly feel like their rights are being restricted, I think this dystopian depiction of state-mandated sex slavery is equal parts emotionally resonant and jarring. Cultural relevance is key.
What are some of your favorite/least favorite book-to-tv/movie adaptations?
The novel takes place in the United States, some unspecified time in the future, after the collapse of the United States. The U.S. is now the Republic of Gilead, which features a strict caste system for men and women centered around the tenets of Christianity. The novel follows Offred, who is a handmaiden, which means her job is to live with a family and copulate with the male head of household in hopes of producing a child. This is extremely difficult in this setting, as increased usage of birth control and environmental pollution has left many women sterile or unlikely to produce healthy children. Offred's perspective shows us how crushing this lifestyle is on the human spirit, not just for her and the other handmaidens, but every other caste as well. She thinks often of the people she knew before the revolution, the family she had, and where they might be now.
Honestly, I wasn't as excited reading this book as I thought I would be originally. Offred's stream-of-consciousness narration began to annoy me and it felt hard to keep up with. But it also makes sense for her to think this way, because she is constantly trying to occupy her mind with memories, trivia, and seemingly unimportant observations just to stay sane. I think I wouldn't have minded it so much had I not plowed through the book (finished in about 2 days). As I kept reading, I enjoyed it much more. And without spoiling anything, the end absolutely captured my attention.
The show has received major critical success, winning multiple television awards and recently being renewed for a third season. I purposefully haven't watched the show because I knew I would be reading the book for class, but now that I have finished it, I'm definitely excited to jump in (after a couple weeks maybe: the content left me feeling a bit emotionally drained).
So why is the content of this book so compelling, and why now? In a political landscape where women increasingly feel like their rights are being restricted, I think this dystopian depiction of state-mandated sex slavery is equal parts emotionally resonant and jarring. Cultural relevance is key.
What are some of your favorite/least favorite book-to-tv/movie adaptations?
I haven't seen the show or read the book- but I'd be curious to hear what your thoughts are on a recent scandal related to Handmaid's Tale. A few weeks ago, there was a "Sexy Handmaid's Tale" costume that was released, received major backlash for insensitivity, and the costume ended up getting pulled (Link here to read about what I'm mentioning: https://uproxx.com/tv/sexy-handmaids-tale-halloween-costume-controversy/3/). Now, personally, I wasn't too upset by the creation of this costume, since the Halloween costume industry takes everything and makes it into a risque version of itself. But, considering the seriousness of the subject matter and how it deals with female oppression, do you think the company was right to pull it? Great analysis of the content- by the way
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliment! :) I heard about this as well-in the book, the outfit is worn by women who are a part of what is effectively government-controlled sexual slavery. I think that kind of character is really inappropriate to make a costume of. I see where the website was coming from, because like I said, the show is super popular. But I think they jumped the gun making a costume around trendiness without looking at the bigger picture.
DeleteI watched the show this summer, the two seasons that are out, and really enjoyed it. Like you said from reading the book, it was pretty emotionally draining to watch as well. To be honest I didn't even know it was an adaptation from a book but am curious to look into it. In general I don't like most book-to-movie adaptations, (some movies can hold their own but shouldn't be compared to the original books while other movies are just trash) but I really liked Hulu's version of the Handmaid's Tale and highly recommend it.
ReplyDeleteI read the book on the recommendation of a friend in college and really enjoyed it. That was such a long time ago, now, though, and with the renewed interest in it, I feel like I should go back and reread.
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