#6 - The Handmaid's Tale
About a week ago, we were asked to do a mindmap on the features of a utopian society. We were then shown a few clips from a movie titled "The Handmaid's Tale". This movie was adapted from Margaret Atwood's novel, of the same name.
Here is a brief introduction about "The Handmaid's Tale".
"The Handmaid's Tale" is a feminist dystopian novel, a work of science fiction or speculative. "The Handmaid's Tale" is set in the near future in the Republic of Gilead, a country formed within the borders of what was formerly the United States of America. This story explores themes of women in subjugation and the various means by which they gain agency.
The main protagonist, Kate is being captured for trying to cross the border and was forced to become a Handmaid. The role of a Handmaid is to help couples of the elite society to have a child. As this community was founded in the post-pollution world, only one in hundreds of woman were able to bear children. Kate was one of a class of individuals kept as a concubine ("handmaid") for reproductive purposes by the ruling class.
Kate was then forced to be a slave in the household of a Commander. That was when she changed her name to Offred. Offred is a patronymic slave name that means "Of Fred", referring to the man she serves. Her only function is to produce a child for his apparently barren wife.
The rigid training given by the Aunts provides a bluntly horrifying picture of the attempt to erase memories of the "time before" and to inculcate the importance of laying the foundation for future generations to benefit from the enforced services of the handmaids. This self-styled 'refugee from the past" endures a nightmare existence for the sake of a husband and child who may still be alive somewhere.
The picture below shows her child wandering about, crying for his Mommy.
After watching the few extracts of the movie, I was left in shock at this utopian gone dystopian society.
Firstly, they used the Bible and twisted its meaning to justify their wrongdoings. The Handmaids were forced to sing Christian hymms and praises. However, the lyrics of these beautiful songs were changed!
The pictures below show the handmaids singing hymns before they go to bed. As they sing, the Aunts will walk around keeping check that everyone sings.
In addition, only the men could handle the Bible, due to gender inequality. Also, verses from the Bible were used to brainwash the people! The community also used God's name freely, to make themselves appear more 'holy' and righteous. This certainly left me feeling horrified.
The picture below shows a pastor, 'preaching' to the handmaids.
This picture here shows Fred reading out the Bible. As mentioned earlier, only men could handle the Bible.
Secondly, there was a scene which showed how cruel punishments for the handmaids were. Minor transgressions were also not excused. In the movie, one of the handmaids had done something that was against the rules. Sadly, she was punished by muliple slashes on her feet and legs. It was upsetting to see the handmaid's leg covered in blood, due to a minor transgression.
The picture below shows the Aunts sending one handmaid out of the room to be punished.
This is the handmaid's punishment:
In addtion, one of the handmaids was forced to share her experience of being raped. As she recounted about her traumor, the other handmaids were forced to call her many nasty names. As they were shouting out their abuses to the handmaid, there were Aunts who were walking around, making sure that everyone were shouting abuses. This is seen in the picture below.
It was rather horrifying to see many nuns being hung in public. This was the result of them refusing to engage in sexual activities and to help bear children.
The picture below shows the nuns being forced onto a truck.
This picture shows the nuns being hanged.
The most exciting part was when Offred tries to concieve for Fred and his wife, Serena Joy. At first, while watching the clip, I did not understand what was going on. Seconds later, when I found out what was really happening, I was speechless. Hearing Offred's groans and wails left me feeling uneasy. In addition, while Offred and the commander were in bed, Serena was standing in the same room, watching what was going on! I cannot imagine how Serena was feeling at that moment. Imagine watching your husband having sex with a third party, just because you are infertile!
Below, shows the scene in which Offred and Fred were having sex together. As you can see, Serena was helping to hold on the Offred, and she was on the bed too.
After watching the few clips, I was rather astonished. It was very thought-provoking too. However, unlike many other classmates, I wished we could continue to watch the rest of the movie! Personally, I feel that The Handmaid's Tale has a lot of meaning behind it.Although it has a few disturbing scenes, these scenes have significant meaning in the story. It has made me very thankful and appreciative of the world we live in.
