There is a side to The Handmaid’s Tale that I think is often overlooked. At the end is the epilogue with a bunch of academics who are discussing the story but who clearly are lost in their own limited world and who don’t seem to be getting the book’s message. This is pretty much the way many academics actually are.
During my study of psychology, I have come to understand just how fear has been used in the past, and in reflection I can see it in the present day. When people are scared they are likely to act without thinking things through or taking the time to make sure they have a full understanding; they go off of an already formed neural pathway of thought even if it is not what they believe.
Very true. Humans, like most animals, tend to be herd creatures. They tend to follow the herd and not even stop to think why the herd is doing what it's doing.
Thank you for a wonderful review of The Handmaid’s Tale. I read this book as a young woman and a lot of it resonates today. The thing that really stuck with me is that part of the changes in societal rules was that cosmetics and beauty products were outlawed including lotion. Offred speaks of her dry hands and stealing pats of butter from the kitchen to moisturize them. As much as the big changes were devastating for women in so many enormous ways, there were so many small things too. Every time I put lotion on my hands lately I think of Offed stealing of butter from the kitchen.
Thank you, on multiple levels. I'm happy you enjoyed my analysis. It's a great book. And thank you for being the first to comment on any of my videos since I revived this channel about a month ago. Merry Christmas!
It's coming. The Heritage Foundation is the one to usher in these changes. I'm secretly terrified of the next four years. Hopefully it won't be too late.
I understand your fears. However, I think that if you look at how his last 4 years went, I don't think the future will be as dark as the media portrays it will be. Either way, we need to stay vigilant, stay active, and stay informed.
@@Book.Summaries Trump is old and might not be president for the full 4 years. Vance is very tied to the heritage foundation and project 2025. So if he becomes president then a lot of human rights will be taken away.
A brilliant analysis. This book is sone of my favorite (and to me, by far the most terrifying) dystopian novels - right beside 1984, Fahrenheit 451 and Brave New World.
What bothers me is not this book itself, which is literature, but that it has so many women absolutely, irrationally terrified that this dystopia would necessarily be the product of right-wing MAGA Christians in the US. I almost feel that this book and the series was purposefully pushed to the forefront to encourage voting a certain way in the recent election. As a 54-year-old woman who has lived through the terms of different presidents of both parties (and who remember the rumors that Obama was going to put Christians in Walmarts-turned-concentration-camps) what frightens and baffles me is how melt-down-terrified some women became after the election. It's like some honestly feared that there was a group of men (MAGA Christians) out there who were going to FORCE them to get pregnant. Huh? Step back and think rationally. THAT'S NUTS. Most conservative Christian men would be more likely to tell women to either be faithfully married OR stay celibate and maybe even take holy vows. Conservative men would NOT force all women en mass to be their baby-mamas. And, sorry, most conservative Christian men aren't going to even forcibly marry some random, vocal young woman who's probably tatted-up and pierced. (That's just the honest truth.) What I'm saying is that women who seem the most terrified by The Handmaid's Tale are probably NOT the ones who would be most in danger of being seized by an ultra-conservative man of any religion. I don't mean to dismiss the rise of a theocracy entirely. It's true that the right combination of events can cause dramatic political/social change. We saw that in the Communist revolutions in certain countries in the early 20th century. And, yes, an ultra-right-wing shift in society is possible. Christian Dominionism IS a real thing, although accurate statistics of it are hard to find, and even Christians who give lip-service to Dominionism as a theory might not agree to sweeping social changes, nor would they engage in a real coup. It could even be argued that the "religion" in The Handmaid's Tale isn't even orthodox Christianity, but a counterfeit created expressly to serve the needs of the State. However, I think the recent publicity around The Handmaid's Tale has been extremely useful as propaganda to play on some women's deepest fears, no matter how statistically improbable. I think the tale was also a smokescreen to deflect how the left had ALSO very much used fear, censorship, and even the force of government to manipulate and intimidate its citizens. Then there's the fact that the very women who are so terrified of some type of conservative Christian theocracy sometimes give a pass to cultures that here-and-now DO oppress women...but it's not politically correct to talk about that. Again, The Handmaid's Tale is a cautionary tale, but it's literature not prophecy. Even if it triggers one's deepest fears, one has to step back emotionally and look with a critical eye and as factual statistics as possible to evaluate the statistical probability of something that extreme taking place and be honest about from whence that danger might really come.
I don't think that the story was written to push one political ideology over another. The religion in the book, in my opinion, is a amalgamation of many religions and militant regimes. It's easy to associate the book with the, what is now called, the far right, even though 30-40 years ago it would have been considered moderate at best. But if you look at things like Sharia Law, "Comfort Women" used by the Japanese, or even as far back as the Crusades, or Atilla the Hun, forcibly spreading their seed far and wide, then you can catch that the book is a dystopian catch-all for bad actors. Will anything in the book come to pass under MAGA rule? Not in my opinion. But, the media, on both sides loves to push fear because fear sells. Back before the 70's there was a law called the Fairness Doctrine. It forced media companies to display opposing views on stories or risk losing their broadcast license. Ever since that went away, mainstream media has become a political tool to whip fear into both sides.
There is a side to The Handmaid’s Tale that I think is often overlooked. At the end is the epilogue with a bunch of academics who are discussing the story but who clearly are lost in their own limited world and who don’t seem to be getting the book’s message. This is pretty much the way many academics actually are.
During my study of psychology, I have come to understand just how fear has been used in the past, and in reflection I can see it in the present day. When people are scared they are likely to act without thinking things through or taking the time to make sure they have a full understanding; they go off of an already formed neural pathway of thought even if it is not what they believe.
Very true. Humans, like most animals, tend to be herd creatures. They tend to follow the herd and not even stop to think why the herd is doing what it's doing.
Thank you for a wonderful review of The Handmaid’s Tale. I read this book as a young woman and a lot of it resonates today. The thing that really stuck with me is that part of the changes in societal rules was that cosmetics and beauty products were outlawed including lotion. Offred speaks of her dry hands and stealing pats of butter from the kitchen to moisturize them. As much as the big changes were devastating for women in so many enormous ways, there were so many small things too. Every time I put lotion on my hands lately I think of Offed stealing of butter from the kitchen.
Love this video. Great little analysis and informative
Thank you, on multiple levels. I'm happy you enjoyed my analysis. It's a great book. And thank you for being the first to comment on any of my videos since I revived this channel about a month ago. Merry Christmas!
It's coming. The Heritage Foundation is the one to usher in these changes. I'm secretly terrified of the next four years. Hopefully it won't be too late.
I understand your fears. However, I think that if you look at how his last 4 years went, I don't think the future will be as dark as the media portrays it will be. Either way, we need to stay vigilant, stay active, and stay informed.
@@Book.Summaries Trump is old and might not be president for the full 4 years. Vance is very tied to the heritage foundation and project 2025. So if he becomes president then a lot of human rights will be taken away.
A brilliant analysis.
This book is sone of my favorite (and to me, by far the most terrifying) dystopian novels - right beside 1984, Fahrenheit 451 and Brave New World.
Thank you. I agree with your choices. So far, on this channel I have done 4 books. And they are all the ones you listed.
I advise just listening to the text and not watching.
I became fixated by his right hand!
Hahaha. It's an old man thing.
What bothers me is not this book itself, which is literature, but that it has so many women absolutely, irrationally terrified that this dystopia would necessarily be the product of right-wing MAGA Christians in the US. I almost feel that this book and the series was purposefully pushed to the forefront to encourage voting a certain way in the recent election. As a 54-year-old woman who has lived through the terms of different presidents of both parties (and who remember the rumors that Obama was going to put Christians in Walmarts-turned-concentration-camps) what frightens and baffles me is how melt-down-terrified some women became after the election. It's like some honestly feared that there was a group of men (MAGA Christians) out there who were going to FORCE them to get pregnant. Huh? Step back and think rationally. THAT'S NUTS. Most conservative Christian men would be more likely to tell women to either be faithfully married OR stay celibate and maybe even take holy vows. Conservative men would NOT force all women en mass to be their baby-mamas. And, sorry, most conservative Christian men aren't going to even forcibly marry some random, vocal young woman who's probably tatted-up and pierced. (That's just the honest truth.) What I'm saying is that women who seem the most terrified by The Handmaid's Tale are probably NOT the ones who would be most in danger of being seized by an ultra-conservative man of any religion. I don't mean to dismiss the rise of a theocracy entirely. It's true that the right combination of events can cause dramatic political/social change. We saw that in the Communist revolutions in certain countries in the early 20th century. And, yes, an ultra-right-wing shift in society is possible. Christian Dominionism IS a real thing, although accurate statistics of it are hard to find, and even Christians who give lip-service to Dominionism as a theory might not agree to sweeping social changes, nor would they engage in a real coup. It could even be argued that the "religion" in The Handmaid's Tale isn't even orthodox Christianity, but a counterfeit created expressly to serve the needs of the State. However, I think the recent publicity around The Handmaid's Tale has been extremely useful as propaganda to play on some women's deepest fears, no matter how statistically improbable. I think the tale was also a smokescreen to deflect how the left had ALSO very much used fear, censorship, and even the force of government to manipulate and intimidate its citizens. Then there's the fact that the very women who are so terrified of some type of conservative Christian theocracy sometimes give a pass to cultures that here-and-now DO oppress women...but it's not politically correct to talk about that. Again, The Handmaid's Tale is a cautionary tale, but it's literature not prophecy. Even if it triggers one's deepest fears, one has to step back emotionally and look with a critical eye and as factual statistics as possible to evaluate the statistical probability of something that extreme taking place and be honest about from whence that danger might really come.
I don't think that the story was written to push one political ideology over another. The religion in the book, in my opinion, is a amalgamation of many religions and militant regimes. It's easy to associate the book with the, what is now called, the far right, even though 30-40 years ago it would have been considered moderate at best. But if you look at things like Sharia Law, "Comfort Women" used by the Japanese, or even as far back as the Crusades, or Atilla the Hun, forcibly spreading their seed far and wide, then you can catch that the book is a dystopian catch-all for bad actors.
Will anything in the book come to pass under MAGA rule? Not in my opinion. But, the media, on both sides loves to push fear because fear sells. Back before the 70's there was a law called the Fairness Doctrine. It forced media companies to display opposing views on stories or risk losing their broadcast license. Ever since that went away, mainstream media has become a political tool to whip fear into both sides.