The handmaid's' tale

[bimble]

In the book, all the "children of ham" have been banished by the Gilead regime, which is a white supremacist world informed by American history, making the dystopia believable.
Casting black people as handmaids is a sort of erasure of the whole issue which I find glib and think is a mistake.

 

[spanglechick]

In the book, all the "children of ham" have been banished by the Gilead regime, which is a white supremacist world informed by American history, making the dystopia believable.
Casting black people as handmaids is a sort of erasure of the whole issue which I find glib and think is a mistake.

Ahh, gotcha - like i say i's been a very long time since i read the book...

 

[Orang Utan]

In the book, all the "children of ham" have been banished by the Gilead regime, which is a white supremacist world informed by American history, making the dystopia believable.
Casting black people as handmaids is a sort of erasure of the whole issue which I find glib and think is a mistake.

I think it would have had problems with an all white cast, and a smaller audience.

 

[Santino]

What do you think about the way in which, in this TV series, the crypto-fascist Christian regime is apparently completely race-blind. I find that cowardly and a missed opportunity.

They did think hard about it. I agree with their decision: Handmaid's Tale Series EP Explains Removal of White Supremacy Element

 

[bimble]

That's interesting, how he says this particular thing was '“a huge discussion with Margaret Atwood". Personally i disagree with the choice they made. i don't see any evidence of them thinking hard about it tbh either, seems they just decided it would look better if they made the Gilead regime a sort of post-racial fascism. (?)

 

[Orang Utan]

That's interesting, how he says this particular thing was '“a huge discussion with Margaret Atwood". Personally i disagree with the choice they made.

I think it's a good decision. If you're going to present a nightmarish dystopian vision on television in America (and it's very clearly a critique of Trump's America), it needs to be a nightmare for everyone - ie all of its viewers, so you need to have a diverse cast.

 

[bimble]

I think it's a good decision. If you're going to present a nightmarish dystopian vision on television in America (and it's very clearly a critique of Trump's America), it needs to be a nightmare for everyone - ie all of its viewers, so you need to have a diverse cast.

I think that's nonsense. Like your previous comment, you're basically saying, there has to be black skinned handmaids else black people wouldn't watch the show or wouldn't feel it relevant to them. That's just silly, isn't it, especially as the way they made it, race is nothing at all apart from the skin colour of a couple of the actors.
If you think its a critique of Trumps America, even more reason to not ignore race.

 

[Orang Utan]

I think that's nonsense. Like your previous comment, you're basically saying, there has to be black skinned handmaids else black people wouldn't watch the show or wouldn't feel it relevant to them. That's just silly, isn't it, especially as the way they made it, race is nothing at all apart from the skin colour of a couple of the actors.

I don't think it's silly at all, it's a very sensible thing to do.

 

[spanglechick]

Is it to make it more strongly about the gender fascism?

 

[Santino]

You need a very good reason to actively decide to make a programme in which no significant characters can be played by non-white actors.

 

[DotCommunist]

I can buy the 'fertility trumps everything' logic but the add on line 'evanglists more mixed now' doesn'tchime with what a fella from church told me, and this was noo yoik he had been to visit, he said there still seemed to be self-segregating churches. Anecdote is not fatcz I know but as a reason for the change its certainly not going to be your A game argument.

 

[Santino]

The main reason is not to discriminate against black actors working now. Everything else is rationalisation.

 

[Espresso]

I haven't read the book and I am watching it on the ordinary telly, so I have only seen the first one.
The Aunt Lydia article said on her presentation to the women that the plague of infertility was a judgement from God on the heinous sluttery of the women, with thier wicked contraceptives and morning after pill and abortion, so why was this affliction visited on the wife of the head honcho dudes?
Seems they are held in high regard, while that handmaids are little more than incubators on legs with no standing.

 

[spanglechick]

I haven't read the book and I am watching it on the ordinary telly, so I have only seen the first one.
The Aunt Lydia article said on her presentation to the women that the plague of infertility was a judgement from God on the heinous sluttery of the women, with thier wicked contraceptives and morning after pill and abortion, so why was this affliction visited on the wife of the head honcho dudes?
Seems they are held in high regard, while that handmaids are little more than incubators on legs with no standing.

Religion is big on cursing innocents, especially women. Children are brought forth in women's pain - punishment for the crimes of eve in Eden.

 

[Orang Utan]

Why did June spit out the 'cookie'? (though it looked more like a macaron to me)

 

[mrsfran]

Why did June spit out the 'cookie'? (though it looked more like a macaron to me)

She was rejecting the power the cookie represented. She is not a dog to be given treats by her masters.

 

[Pickman's model]

Why did June spit out the 'cookie'? (though it looked more like a macaron to me)

I thought she spat it out cos it wasn't nice, that tho the green women had the upper hand they were enjoying stuff that was shit and they were too stupid to know

 

[JuanTwoThree]

I found Ep2 compelling and at the end I realised that next to nothing had really happened, except character development and a sense of the society and dozens of other things of course. I liked that.

Of course, one person's 'stately, lyrical and paced' might be another's 'slow-moving, turgid and boring'.

 

[Orang Utan]

I found Ep2 compelling and at the end I realised that next to nothing had really happened, except character development and a sense of the society and dozens of other things of course. I liked that.

Of course, one person's 'stately, lyrical and paced' might be another's 'slow-moving, turgid and boring'.

Quite a lot of stuff happened though

 

[DotCommunist]

I thought she spat it out cos it wasn't nice, that tho the green women had the upper hand they were enjoying stuff that was shit and they were too stupid to know

the attitude with which it was handed to ofred was done in a calculatedly demeaning manner- as spangles said. As soon as her backs turned they start not-quietly talking about what sluts the handmaidens are etc. All deliberate

 

[Pickman's model]

the attitude with which it was handed to ofred was done in a calculatedly demeaning manner- as spangles said. As soon as her backs turned they start not-quietly talking about what sluts the handmaidens are etc. All deliberate

Yeh, I got that, how well behaved she is and that. But while I saw the possibility she spat it out cos not a dog etc seemed to me more likely it was unpleasant as I've said, fake biscuits to go with fake sex and fake birth.

 

[JuanTwoThree]

Quite a lot of stuff happened though

Well of course. But can you see what I mean? She made some kind of contact with the underground, and lost it. Nothing dire happened when she was alone with the bloke. What did happen was very interesting. But no zombies.

It's surprisingly subtle. I suppose I've got used to plenty of gun-play and so on; I have just binge-watched all of "Colony" and finished "The 100" so the pace is somewhat different!

 

[Orang Utan]

Well of course. But can you see what I mean? She made some kind of contact with the underground, and lost it. Nothing dire happened when she was alone with the bloke. What did happen was very interesting. But no zombies.

It's surprisingly subtle. I suppose I've got used to plenty of gun-play and so on; I have just binge-watched all of "Colony" and finished "The 100" so the pace is somewhat different!

No zombies or gun fights doesn't mean nothing happens. In fact you can have a show where there's loads of that yet nothing happens ie the plot doesn't move on or no one's character is further developed.

 

[JuanTwoThree]

Don't make the mistake of thinking I'm disagreeing with you:

I found Ep2 compelling and at the end I realised that next to nothing had really happened, except character development and a sense of the society and dozens of other things of course. I liked that.

 

[trashpony]

I found ep 2 less gruelling but more chilling. I didn't have nightmares after watching it which I did after ep 1

 

[InfoBurner]

Got to episode seven and had to stop. I was finding the desire for someone to tear that green gowned horror's face off, overwhelming any engagement with the plot, characters and nuances. ( Which were all very good)

 

[Orang Utan]

Don't make the mistake of thinking I'm disagreeing with you:

sure, it was more of a general gripe when people criticise tv shows/films as being slow or for nothing happening, when there is plenty going on. There was a thread on here moaning about the film Arrival, which is full of big ideas, but people moaned that it was slow cos the aliens didn't blow up any national monuments.

 

[spanglechick]

Oh I think it is really tightly paced!

 

[D'wards]

I'm enjoying this, and great swearing at end of ep 2

 

[Pickman's model]

I think it's a good decision. If you're going to present a nightmarish dystopian vision on television in America (and it's very clearly a critique of Trump's America), it needs to be a nightmare for everyone - ie all of its viewers, so you need to have a diverse cast.

Yeh. Not sure about critique of Trump's America as series announced April last year and I expect much of it finished before 20/11/16.