A political analysis of The Handmaid's Tale

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  • Опубліковано 17 бер 2023
  • The Handmaid's Tale is one of my favourite pieces of literature. In today's current political climate, it seemed only fitting to analyse the novel and series using a feminist political lens. I hope you enjoy :)
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 127

  • @izziemustdie8862
    @izziemustdie8862 5 місяців тому +53

    i feel like this novel is especially pertinent now considering the horrors taking place in Gaza at the moment. it's vital that we don't turn a blind eye to what is happening - atwood has warned us of what can happen when we do.

    • @christianmiller9934
      @christianmiller9934 20 днів тому +1

      Yup one of the biggest lessons of the novel was the danger of complacency

    • @thalesanastacio760
      @thalesanastacio760 9 днів тому +1

      I don't think the Gaza conflict has nothing to do with the dystopia of the handmaid's tale. There are examples far closer to Gilead way before the current Gaza war, things that we already have turned the blind eye: the rise of the Taliban in a position of government in Afghanistan and his second rise with the withdrawal of american troops; and the Iranian Revolution come to mind, as events that stripped away rights of women.

    • @izziemustdie8862
      @izziemustdie8862 9 днів тому

      @@thalesanastacio760 the handmaid's tale is about far more than the stripping of rights of women and i think it's dangerous to simplify it so much. the novel touches on real life historical events and the fragility of women's rights, yes, but also the dangers of complacency, propaganda and the manipulation of religious ideology - all of which are still relevant to the current genocide

    • @thalesanastacio760
      @thalesanastacio760 9 днів тому

      @@izziemustdie8862 Yeah, it is about far more than stripping of rights of women, but i don't think it branches on the territory covered by the gaza situation at all. The story as i see it is about the dangers of ideology - especially religious fundamentalism and about the dehumanization of minorities, with clear parallels to the african slavery. The situation in Gaza is not about complacency, is not like that region wasn't in conflict since its inception.

    • @izziemustdie8862
      @izziemustdie8862 9 днів тому

      @@thalesanastacio760 the novel can relate to more than one situation - that's the gift of nuance. i don't see how the use of religious precedent to justify the killing and mistreatment of individuals *doesn't* link to current events

  • @calinasagilitypartner4444
    @calinasagilitypartner4444 5 місяців тому +66

    I think the aunts are higher than the wives. They have A LOT of power. They can read! The aunts are like the government for the women's sphere. But this is more discussed in "The Testaments" which is written by Margaret Atwood and set 15 years after "The Handmaid's Tale".

  • @nicolasdelaforge7420
    @nicolasdelaforge7420 2 місяці тому +17

    I once knew a preacher- writer who renamed himself "Gilead" after the novel was written. He had similar values as explained here. Many women who met him fell in love with him, as "God had miraculously brought him into their lives". One day, his actual wife of many years packed her bags and disappeared! He came home from his office to an empty house. Then two more wives in this group escaped their husbands. When Harisson Butker told the girls that the highest identity in humanity is to be a "homemaker" I remembered my old "freind" "Gilead".
    He would not have allowed this novel to be written.

  • @sleepyazazel
    @sleepyazazel 3 місяці тому +26

    Iran, is probably the best example of Gilead by far. also the idea of them waking up seems unrealistic if you want change to happen you have to strike at the stability of the avg persons standard of living their every day needs, Take Saudi Arabia as a example, by all means it is a Theocratic Monarchy that does the same thing Gilead does and no one fights it because there standard of living is so high. No avg citizen in Gilead is gonna care about rights or freedoms when they live a comfortable day to day, they are going to treat the resistance as a threat to them and there way of life because it isn't there problem they aren't the ones struggling.

    • @kajwanmohamadi5446
      @kajwanmohamadi5446 3 дні тому

      We are fucking fully up. We have fucking resisted and we have fucking lost thousands of people because of that. Don't you dare talk about us without knowing our suffering. Fuck you.

  • @wissamboudraf4067
    @wissamboudraf4067 9 місяців тому +15

    It is an interesting analysis, especially since you talked about the political side of the novel. Your analysis helped me understand several points. Well done.

  • @carterjames3894
    @carterjames3894 Рік тому +22

    how do you not have more subscribers??? this is incredible

    • @mcgregorhumanities
      @mcgregorhumanities  Рік тому +2

      thanks so much, really appreciate that :)

    • @MJEmjay
      @MJEmjay 28 днів тому +2

      It's called algorithm. I tried posting it on FB and they have it pending, telling me already that they will not approve it.

    • @zalphero618
      @zalphero618 14 днів тому

      I think one day, algorithim will recommend this video to everyone and there will be millions of views.

  • @celestialspartan1176
    @celestialspartan1176 4 місяці тому +19

    I tried to watch Handmaid’s Tale and I couldn’t watch past the 3rd episode. As a man, I believe that everyone, regardless of gender, has a right to choose their own life path and destiny. But, to see and hear about the possibility of people losing, and seeing them lose their autonomy is unbearable to see, because autonomy is what makes us sentient, human. To reduce people, especially women, to nothing but for instance, in the case of Handmaid’s Tale, breeding stock, is just inhuman and horrifying. It goes against nature, the human spirit. Knowing that there r people out in the world who want this kind of oppression to become a reality makes this even more horrific.

    • @joanna4289
      @joanna4289 4 місяці тому +4

      The world needs More of you!!!😊

    • @celestialspartan1176
      @celestialspartan1176 4 місяці тому

      @@joanna4289 Trust me, it really does.

    • @isadora6092
      @isadora6092 2 місяці тому +2

      whats more horrific if that, famously, margaret atwood hasnt written anything that hasnt happened to groups of people in the past. this kind of oppression exists right now, in different places, on the daily, far away from the eyes of people consuming the media about it

    • @lolly8219
      @lolly8219 2 місяці тому +1

      Please read the book

    • @Carol120454
      @Carol120454 Місяць тому

      Those sorts of people are going to wind up like Serina, who thought she'd be immune, then found out she wasn't. " It can't happen to me" Yes, it can, and it will. Ignore it at your peril.

  • @effiehavannguyen441
    @effiehavannguyen441 Рік тому +8

    this had been incredibly helpful since I'm currently working on an essay surrounding the topic! thank you so much!

  • @MemetDemirci-iw4bi
    @MemetDemirci-iw4bi 5 місяців тому +5

    I feel like you should’ve included the eyes in the hierarchy triangle

  • @joanna4289
    @joanna4289 3 місяці тому +9

    The music is too loud, it drowns out your voice at times. Apart from that this is a good analysis 😊

  • @user-ey1ur4ph3q
    @user-ey1ur4ph3q 8 місяців тому +8

    thank youu sm for the analysis!💗💗💗i wonder why there are so few views…

  • @laelae22
    @laelae22 6 місяців тому +8

    Loved this! Ignore those other weird comments, you’re doing great!!

  • @RideAcrossTheRiver
    @RideAcrossTheRiver 11 місяців тому +66

    Small correction: Gilead oppresses _everyone._

    • @mcgregorhumanities
      @mcgregorhumanities  11 місяців тому +44

      I do mention the intersectionality of the oppression in Gilead. Some are oppressed to a greater extent than others, while some may be oppressed, but also play a role in oppressing others. It's not equally oppressive by any means.

    • @RideAcrossTheRiver
      @RideAcrossTheRiver 11 місяців тому +6

      ​@@mcgregorhumanities As I said, Gilead oppresses _everyone._ In the book, blacks and Jews simply were dumped in the Atlantic, whereas handmaids got three hots and a cot, so you're right about the lack of fairness when Gilead doles out the ol' oppression.

    • @crochetomania
      @crochetomania 5 місяців тому +3

      @@RideAcrossTheRiverin the film there are plenty of references to people who would rather die. Or to people whose skin colour, religion and sexual orientation did not matter as long as they had functioning ovaries.

    • @RideAcrossTheRiver
      @RideAcrossTheRiver 5 місяців тому +6

      @@crochetomania The 1989 film is a faithful adaptation of the book. The recent 2010s streaming-service series is a drastically hipster-bowdlerized version of the book. In the book and film, whole demographics are simply dumped in the ocean.

    • @suckme7
      @suckme7 5 місяців тому

      @@RideAcrossTheRiverhandmaids were used to repopulate gilead but were otherwise considered useless ... not really that much better, theyre only being fed and being given beds to maximize chances of reproduction

  • @dakotamabry1645
    @dakotamabry1645 Місяць тому +1

    It was never about decline of birth rates its about control , book and movie , even real life explained it best . Its just a selling point

  • @jurgnobs1308
    @jurgnobs1308 5 місяців тому +2

    they massively dropped the ball in season for with the whole "yea but have you considered forgiving the nazis?" crap.

  • @nsbd90now
    @nsbd90now 20 днів тому

    Having all the clips in monochrome is really powerful. However, you mix suddenly and slowly. In the series the protagonist says "It was America, until it wasn't."

  • @annanamous
    @annanamous 3 місяці тому +2

    History repeating history, repeating history, repeating history!!

  • @RachealPrince
    @RachealPrince Місяць тому +2

    Thank you 🩷great analysis. I just have two questions:
    1. Why do you consider the Aunts below the wives in Gilead’s hierarchy? I sort of think of them as having more power than the wives, especially since they have some freedoms wives do not like reading. On page 129 of THT it says they are the “exception to the rule” so they are allowed to read. (But I also know on page 90, they play tapes because they aren’t allowed to read which then contradicts page 129 🙈). Do you consider them below the wives simply because the wives are closer to the Commanders who have the most power? Really interested in your thoughts 💗
    2. Would you also consider region as inherently oppressive. I know you said you weren’t going to get into that too much but I would love your opinion on that?? Because I feel religion has so often been used as a tool to justify hurting others, especially women.

    • @mcgregorhumanities
      @mcgregorhumanities  Місяць тому +3

      Thank you so much for your questions!
      1. I don’t think there’s a strict way to calculate who has more power when it comes to the wives and the aunts, but my first instinct was to consider the wives higher than the aunts just simply because of their proximity to the commanders. I think the system of Gilead is designed in such a way that it gives preference to the wives, and the aunts are thus subjugated to the wives in some way. However, I definitely think the aunts could be considered to have more power in terms of their role in the system and, like you said, the way exceptions are made for them. It really depends on the angle you look at it I guess. I think perhaps it was a little too simplistic for me to put them into a linear hierarchy, because the system is far too complex and contingent than that.
      2. Honestly I think there can be religious people who don’t use religion as a means of oppression, or those who don’t use it to justify bigotry against women or, for example, homosexual people. But after truly carefully reading the things in the bible and the torah, (I can’t say much about the quaran since I haven’t read it thoroughly yet), I think it is safe to say that religion, or at least abrahamic religions, are inherently oppressive. That is not to say that, if there is a god, it is necessarily an oppressive figure by nature (I don’t know if we would ever be able to know that). I am just certain that man-written holy books contain oppressive scripture, and that many oppressive regimes of power have borrowed these ideas to dictate their oppression of others. I also fully believe that holy books are a product of their time, and they were written in a time where women were actively being oppressed, often more violently than now. And I suspect that holy books were strategically written to reinforce the narrative that women should be subordinate to men, etc. So I think, yes, religion (as created and organised by man) is inherently oppressive.

    • @RachealPrince
      @RachealPrince Місяць тому

      @@mcgregorhumanities Thank you so so much for your response! It is definitely very insightful and helpful to me studying the Handmaid’s Tale ❤

    • @Carol120454
      @Carol120454 Місяць тому +1

      They remind me of nuns, who years ago, were the only women allowed an education, or a career, but had to give up marriage and live a life of celibacy. In Italy, probably other places, the only other women allowed education were courtesans, high class prostitutes. Everyone else had to get married and have kids.

  • @leonora8998
    @leonora8998 10 днів тому

    Pressuring Gilead from the outside with sanctions and other political measures would only work if those countries (richest most influential ones) actually hold Human Rights themselves and find them important. But i think for us, the modern world, those values slowly disappear roughly everywhere.
    Also, we cab see now that in Russia sanctions etc do not work. It only works if it’s a country which needs the help of the other countries.
    Anyway just some thoughts..

  • @Linnocencedexister
    @Linnocencedexister 3 дні тому

    Gilead was created because Nations exist and the first capitalism is national before being individual (even if we only refer to individual capitalism in general). A Nation is in theory a society, that is to say an association between individuals, but this is not really the case, we are even currently (in the West), in reality, a kind of democratic kingdoms rather than associations. Nations should as a society have the goal of defending their associates only against Nature, but humans have created Nations that have seized the world by force, all habitable territories on Earth are occupied. Nations supposedly want to defend their associates but the capitalist Nationalization of the world has added problems between Nations to Nature's problems. Gilead was created because Nations are competitors of other Nations and for the Nation to be strong it needs children, labor. Labor makes the GDP and GDP makes the power of the Nation. Conclusion: no Nation, no Gilead.

  • @mistychenoweth9716
    @mistychenoweth9716 6 днів тому

    Scary as hell because it could happen.

  • @madalainewest-evans288
    @madalainewest-evans288 Місяць тому

    An insightful essay … except when they speak their names instead of their new assigned names … they haven’t been assigned to Commanders yet.

  • @r.1.336
    @r.1.336 2 місяці тому +1

    Very useful cheers

  • @Saveahorse82
    @Saveahorse82 Місяць тому

    I wish Kevin Samuels could do a breakdown of this movie.

  • @Apollos_Triumph
    @Apollos_Triumph 4 місяці тому

    You should have given responsibly to those in how are being oppressed but them selves are not oppressors to do what they can to help end oppression.

  • @josephabraham4058
    @josephabraham4058 Місяць тому

    I would be interested in your own political analysis in comparison to what the far right could be today. The government quietly usurps the freedoms of all, often under the guise of security, but in Gilead, the security of the populace to exist at all.
    What parallels could you draw today from Gilead and the U.S.? Anything beyond reproductive rights?

  • @helenluthuli5960
    @helenluthuli5960 Рік тому

    Can you please please do Stoker next

  • @sharrysparkz
    @sharrysparkz 4 місяці тому

    Are you on TikTok & can I repost?

    • @mcgregorhumanities
      @mcgregorhumanities  4 місяці тому +1

      I am, my username is @mcgregorism on tiktok and @mcgregorist on instagram :) and yes you can repost

  • @user-zu8ci5eh5x
    @user-zu8ci5eh5x 21 день тому

    I wanted to listen to you but the background music was so loud and distracting at times I couldn’t hear you

  • @elenabantista1920
    @elenabantista1920 2 дні тому

    'Christian values' create hierarchy

  • @TheBlackDahlea
    @TheBlackDahlea 3 місяці тому

    What about the working families dressed in grey? Also did they use the Curse of Ham to justify slavery in early America?? Pretty racially explicit to me 🤷‍♀️

  • @matteogreco9443
    @matteogreco9443 Місяць тому

    DONT SAY HANDMAIDS ARE OPPRESSED AND OPPRESSORS IN AN EXAM!!! I just did that for my oral exam in my finals and they didn't like it haahaj

    • @mcgregorhumanities
      @mcgregorhumanities  Місяць тому +1

      handmaids aren't an example of oppressors, they are right at the bottom of the hierarchical structure. they have the least power out of everyone in the system

    • @matteogreco9443
      @matteogreco9443 Місяць тому

      @@mcgregorhumanities hahaha well then I'm really dumb! What did you say tho about oppressors and oppressed? Did my mind really understand something you didn't even say?

    • @elephantaw6219
      @elephantaw6219 Місяць тому

      @@matteogreco9443 they meant aunts and maybe wives

  • @mypoeticdarling
    @mypoeticdarling 29 днів тому

    I appreciate you taking the time to make this video. I am here in July of 2024 after even more disturbing Supreme Court decisions. It is terrifying how I can actually see this happening.

  • @jurgnobs1308
    @jurgnobs1308 5 місяців тому +4

    sorry, but the ending is pretty weak. all the actions you propose other governments should take are already being taken in the story. Gilead is under massive trade sanctions and so on.

  • @sharonholdren7588
    @sharonholdren7588 Місяць тому

    Damned over loud, unnecessary annoying "background" music that overwhelms the monotonous narrative. Otherwise enlightening and pertinent.

  • @Bowtiethesilly2023
    @Bowtiethesilly2023 Місяць тому +5

    I think trump got a bit inspired by this show and the book and created his own hmmm whats it called?
    "Project 2025"

  • @The_D_Man
    @The_D_Man Місяць тому

    This reminds me of the oppression of men who are used as cannon meat by the draft but at least this just a book not a reality 😂

    • @mcgregorhumanities
      @mcgregorhumanities  Місяць тому +3

      It absolutely is a reality for many women around the world. Everything in this book has happened in some form.

    • @The_D_Man
      @The_D_Man Місяць тому

      @@mcgregorhumanities I can see it being a reality in the middle east for sure.

    • @mcgregorhumanities
      @mcgregorhumanities  Місяць тому +3

      @@The_D_Man Of course, that is where it is most explicit and overt, but there are traces of it everywhere. It is not limited to the middle east, or the south. It is a global phenomenon that is even present in the west, even though some people would like to think of the west as more progressive and forward than other regions.

    • @christianmiller9934
      @christianmiller9934 20 днів тому

      Everything in this book has happened in the west to at some point literally look up forced sterilization

    • @christianmiller9934
      @christianmiller9934 20 днів тому

      Awwwww whittle misogynist yapping nonsense

  • @osborn.illustration
    @osborn.illustration 4 місяці тому +4

    Great video! Subscribed!

  • @Txdj53d
    @Txdj53d 9 місяців тому

    anyone want to be my handsmaid tale?

  • @greyLeicester
    @greyLeicester 10 місяців тому

    womEn, the plural of woman is womEn. Check your pronunciation

    • @mcgregorhumanities
      @mcgregorhumanities  10 місяців тому +11

      okay...

    • @osborn.illustration
      @osborn.illustration 4 місяці тому +12

      Wow really coming at her with the hard hitting issues huh 🤣 ... Typical tactic (to belittle a woman) if you're not articulate enough to address the true substance of her argument.

  • @grasonicus
    @grasonicus Місяць тому

    My wife is a teacher, and this book is prescribed, so she wanted to watch it, and I watched the first few episodes with her. She told me it was woke and had won prizes. It was terrible. The main theme is denigrating religion and a close second is an agressive, feminist message and glorification of lesbianism. The prizes were for woke virtue signalling. Anything this woke will win prizes from the arts and humanities monkeys, the main supporters of woke in our sick society.
    Forcing wokeness on people like me turns us from disinterested bystanders to sworn enemies.

    • @mcgregorhumanities
      @mcgregorhumanities  Місяць тому +10

      1. A book/series detailing a fight against the systematic rape of women is not what I would generally term “woke”, I don’t think that does the story justice at all.
      2. The main theme is more about fighting against the use of religion to oppress women. There is no denying that Abrahamic religions contain elements of misogyny and calls for women to be subordinate to men. There is no question about that. In terms of the denigration of religion, Atwood’s intention is not to show that Christianity is “bad”, but rather to show how religion is a dangerous tool in the hands of power.
      3. Aggressive oppression against women requires very aggressive feminism in response. In my opinion, the aggression in the revolt of the handmaids was not even as intense as it could have been. You cannot expect their violent oppression and subjugation to be met with gentle acceptance.
      4. Simply showing a portrayal of a lesbian couple is not a glorification of lesbianism. And what if it was? Heterosexuality has been the norm for long enough.
      5. If watching or reading literature with these kinds of themes turns you into an enemy of female liberation and closer to the ideals promoted by people with the same mindset as those of Gilead, that’s your choice, but it is a scary one.

    • @kwiiin_
      @kwiiin_ Місяць тому +2

      A man speaks! Every women drop what you're doing and listen to this blessing!

    • @grasonicus
      @grasonicus Місяць тому

      @@kwiiin_ No, they'd rather go shopping.

    • @kwiiin_
      @kwiiin_ Місяць тому

      @@grasonicus Behold! He has spoken, and thus patriarchy, rape culture, sex based discrimination and more are BOOM gone! I hope us women will continue to work, leave women hating religions, preach lesbianism and childfreeness until the last man realizes we are not their property.
      You're not sane enough to vote buddy, get off the internet.

    • @elvisalanbay7443
      @elvisalanbay7443 Місяць тому +4

      Denigrating religion is the mandatory thing to do when the religion denigrates women

  • @CumtarLicky
    @CumtarLicky Рік тому +3

    I would totally make you my handmaid

    • @mcgregorhumanities
      @mcgregorhumanities  Рік тому +51

      Would you like to take a minute to think about what you just said?

    • @abigailpmm1182
      @abigailpmm1182 5 місяців тому +9

      I don't believe that he can.

    • @osborn.illustration
      @osborn.illustration 4 місяці тому

      Only high ranking men are issued women by the government. Right wing men miss this fact in their Handmaid fetish. Most men are completely left out. Working class men do NOT get issued a woman from the government. They are executed if they try to seek out a woman. Working class men are forced to be celibate, working class men (the majority of men) have zero access to women. Working class men wash the higher ranking men's cars & run errands for them & have eternal blue balls. There is a strict hierarchy - both the men and the women are cogs in that caste system. Right wing men jerk themselves off over this, expecting that only the women are oppressed and all the men are treated like kings. It sucks for 99% of the men as well. I would not expect a right wing man to actually read an entire book, so it's no surprise when right wing men don't know this shit. If they did read, they wouldn't be so stupid and thusly they wouldn't be right wingers any more.

    • @chakr.a
      @chakr.a 12 днів тому

      You're bald-headed, looking like you're about to clock into your late 30s, keep yourself occupied with a hobby or a constructive job🙂