The Handmaids tale

[DumbledoresArmy]

Anyone else planning on watching this at 9pm on channel 4?

The photo I'm attaching was in an embedded tweet in the Guardian's recent Handmaid's Tale article. I posted it recently on the Trump thread. I thought it was a still from the series, but its actually feminists protesting the curtailment of women's rights in one of the US state legislative courts, Texas if I recall. Very powerful co-option of Atwood's symbolism in my view.

I was looking forward to this, and to seeing what my partner thought of it. I knew he would find it a bit hard to follow, but the sound quality was so terrible he gave up . I see a few PPs have commented on this, but not many. Maybe it's mostly our TV? I had to turn the volume up for him because of the whispering (he is a bit deaf especially in the upper register), and then it was so distorted it was very difficult to hear. I'll probably watch it by myself though and come back to the thread afterwards, because all the comments are really interesting.

Just some of the stuff pp have said, and if I recall correctly I had loads of what ifs and things. For example, the wholesale buy in from everyone in such a short time is one - I know there's a similarity to Germany and people turning a blind eye or being scared but I'm just not convinced about the power balance.

Noeuf how about Iran?

Afghanistan is a point in case. Whilst all efforts were made to release women from being mere chattels to engaging fully in life, this was overturned by the emergence of the Taliban.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliban_treatment_of_women

Stoning of women to death is common in several countries.

mic.com/articles/68431/women-around-the-world-are-being-stoned-to-death-do-you-know-the-facts#.swQheOuPx

It surprises me that most people are shocked by the beating to death of a man by women (an inverse of what really happens, but a powerful and symbolic tool nonetheless).

The frightening thing is the question: 'Would women really be so compliant?' And the answer is not yes, but that women are already compliant, despite the freedoms they have, so compliance is just about being angry at the freedoms taken away from them on a bar set very low in the first place and certainly not equal.

I didn't have any problem with the sound, but a few years ago I found Jamaica Inn unwatchable for all the mumbling/poor sound quality.

I watched it on catch-up last night. It's been one of my favourite books for about 30 years, and I have a habit of constantly re-reading my favourites so there are whole blocks of text I literally know by heart. However, I'm not attached to TV serialisations being doggedly faithful to the original, and I've been looking forward to seeing how the book is re-interpreted for a 2017 audience.

Overall, I wasn't disappointed. I was intrigued by the uber-bright, wide-aisled supermarket, and it made me think of the most recent version of The Stepford Wives. At first it jarred, and then I wondered whether the comparison was in fact deliberate - the point being that these women aren't robots but have been forced to dissociate themselves from their surroundings to some extent in order to survive mentally, and to accommodate to the new 'ordinary' (I thought that point was very well made by Aunt Lydia). I would have liked Janine's descent into madness to have been more drawn-out - that way we would have had more of an insight into why the women collaborated with the regime. The particicution happened far too early, which meant we've lost an entire storyline about the resistance. I wonder how this is going to be replicated? I think the reason we haven't heard Mayday yet is because we've not heard much about the resistance, which will presumably come next week or the week after. I thought some of the acting was great, especially the utterly terrifying Aunt Lydia. Having Serena Joy younger worked for me.

Worst thing by far was the quantity and timing of the adverts. Even watching on catch-up and being able to forward them, there were far too many breaks.

I suspect this is a scheduling coup for C4 - prime advertising slots - hence the wall-to-wall breaks. Was tiresome though & reminded me why we hardly ever watch normal TV now.

I have watched ahead so I am referring to more than just the first episode, but no spoilers.

I wasn't familiar with the book, I will read it after watching this. I find it hard to watch but also compelling and perhaps the hardest thing about it is that it is far too close for comfort. I feel like not having previously been aware of it, I should be more shocked than I am. The Hunger Games and Divergent felt alien, and this really should as well. But it doesn't and that is scary to me.

No spoilers, but can someone who's watched ahead say whether there is reference to Offred's mother in the tv series?

Although she's only referred to through Offred's memories in the book, I think she's really important.

That's a good point Freezer. I do hope they include her.

I am up to ep 6 and so far no Freezer.

I'm really enjoying this but it is harrowing viewing. I'm on episode 3 and I've just had to pause it for 10 mins to take a breather from it, one bit in particular, it is heartbreaking and so well acted.

I know it's fiction but I can't help think of all the women who are living this reality, my heart is breaking for them and it is so scary that there are people who want this to become our reality, it's scary stuff and I think this is why I'm finding it hard to watch.

Don't think Offred mother was in the book.

No spoilers but the moving of the particicution scene doesn't impact on the resistance storyline too much.

Mother is in the book (in flashback) she isn't in the show I don't think.

Offred's mother was in the book - she was a proper feminist who brought Offred up to be a feminist too iirc.

Oh yes, of course.

She burned her bras and all.
Completely forgot.

I don't have a problem with the bright supermarket - it would make sense to carry on using the places designed for food storage, even if not all the shelves were filled.

A smaller shop makes more sense in the context of spying on each other. It's easier to communicate in a bigger space with lots of nooks and crannies in the aisles.

That was the other thing in the series, they did a lot more talking than in the book. The handmaids, Offred and the driver.

The book was very claustrophobic and suffocating.

People who are watching the rest of the episodes, how are you doing it? Are you in the US or is there somewhere I can stream it from?

I didn't read the book at school, and only finished it a few months ago.

Watching the programme I did wonder why you'd allow the wives to remain wives if they were barren. Wouldn't it make more sense for the handmaids to replace them? Or is that where the young handmaid/older wives bit comes in?

I don't usually watch Channel 4 (or any channel with adverts) and found the constant breaks really frustrating. The worst thing was seeing the google ad 9 times, twice in a row in several breaks. I've set the series link now and will watch the rest of it with the ads fast forwarded.

A smaller shop makes more sense in the context of spying on each other. It's easier to communicate in a bigger space with lots of nooks and crannies in the aisles.

The book was written in 1985. Mobile voice and camera technology has changed massively since then, and I'm sure dodgy regimes will make the most of such tools. I'm not sure there are so many nooks and crannies in a large, wide-aisled, brightly lit store.

Watching the programme I did wonder why you'd allow the wives to remain wives if they were barren. Wouldn't it make more sense for the handmaids to replace them? Or is that where the young handmaid/older wives bit comes in?

Because marriage is sacred - it's a religious totalitarian regime. Offred's daughter is kidnapped because she and Luke weren't married in the eyes of the regime (Luke had been married before). There is no possibility of divorce and second marriage in this society.

The marriages of high-ranking officials must be maintained, and if the wives are barren (note no mention of the possibility of male infertility), they can be provided children by using unmarried (because they wouldn't recognise any partnership she had with Luke) fertile women.

I think in the first episode we are getting the lay of the land. So the salvaging we saw might not be the significant scene from the book.

We are on episode 6 and it gets better and better.

The most powerful drama I have seen on TV in a long time and I've seen a fair few!

All the actors are outstanding and I've cried at the plight of the women (and some men) in Gilead. It has so many parallels with the lot of so many women around the world today regarding freedoms that most of us take for granted.

In the book, there was a happy ending (though I did read it about 25 years ago, so I might have got,that wrong!)

I have a feeling that this version may be different.