Everyone is always looking for a hot new show to binge, whether it is the new season of "13 Reasons Why" or "Stranger Things." A lot of the time when we watch these shows, we become addicted, unable to press pause or stop until we finish the whole season or series. Sometimes we may miss the important messages these shows are trying to show us.
For example, my new obsession: the Hulu Original, "The Handmaid's Tale." A series based on the book with the same title by Margaret Atwood. It centers around a dystopian world that isn't so far away. Taking place in 2018, this show brings to light a terrifying possibility of a new kind of society, where a woman's only purpose is to bear children for the families in power. The idea that fertility is a woman's only purpose stems from the society's strong religious beliefs in a group called The Sons of Jacob. Although this society is fictional, it seems a little too real in all the issues that it touches on.
In "The Handmaid's Tale," the only way this new way of life was made possible was through the suspension of the United States Constitution under Marshal Law following terrorist attacks on Washington D.C., completely destroying the government. From there, The Sons of Jacob took over. The rules established in this new order are ones that are extraordinarily hard to process. Such as the concept of "The Ceremony." A monthly ritual in which the head of the household, or the commander, rapes the handmaid, while his wife holds down her wrists in an attempt to get the handmaid pregnant. This act attempts to normalize rape in the most terrifying of ways.
I find this to be an extremely important message in this show. It analyzes the way we think about rape. These women did not agree to become handmaids, they were captured and forced into it. Just because it is a monthly ritual, that does not mean there is consent. The conversation of consent is one that we must continue to address because not everyone truly understands what that means. With risings like the "Me Too Movement," we have to look at messages such as these and emphasize that this is not and never will be okay. Of course, the ceremony is just a part of the series, but it's meaning is so much more than fiction.
Another big issue with the show is that it seems as though the women are all pitted against one another. This society wasn't created solely at the hands of the men. Women in power who believed that women have the "biological destiny" of bearing children allowed for this to happen. The vast differences in the classes of these women show that they are not in this together, that it is woman versus woman, while the men sit back and watch, controlling the expansion of this new normal across the country.
No man in this society is oppressed in any way, while handmaids are beaten, raped, and reprimanded on a constant basis. Even the women of a slightly higher class, the Marthas, are treated as servants. The most prominent struggle, however, is that between commander's wife and handmaid. It makes sense. How could you possibly be expected to get along with the woman who holds you down while her husband rapes you? This message shows that women have to fight together. If women are divided against one another, there is no possible way of fighting back against sexism. If other women, oppress other women, it creates nothing but resentfulness and strain on the fight for equality.
Shows like this have the capability to spark conversation, bring issues to light, and make people really think about what is going on in the world. While the events in this show are fictional that does not mean there aren't similar things happening in other places around the world. "The Handmaid's Tale" draws the timeline to show how this could be very real. I find this show to be incredibly stimulating. There are more conversations to be had, more things that we can do and shows like this one can help us to get there. This is way more than your everyday entertainment, this is a conversation starter; one that is much needed.
