This week I read and started watching season 1 of The Handmaid's Tale. Although there are now 4 seasons, season 1 is the only one that is applicable to the book itself. The other series continue the story the way the director believe it could go. There are 10 episodes in the first series, which consists of over just over 10 hours of screen time.
Handmaid's Tale Trailer Series 1
My Opinion
The Handmaid's Tale is a serious book which covers issues surrounding women's right, reproduction and the overwhelming power of the fictional state called Gilead. It warns of societal problems that could possibly arise in the future, setting them out in a clear way to steer society away from regressing into a dystopian land. I think the series is an excellent representation of the book because it adds further detail but also highlights all the crucial issues written about by Margaret Atwood.
How accurate are the actors to the characters?
Offred
The protagonist of the novel is called Offred, a name given to handmaids by prefixing the name of their commander and placing 'of' before it. However, it is implied that she was previously called June before the Gilead regime came into force. June is a handmaid whose story we follow throughout the novel and the series. Since handmaids are purely used for reproductive purposes, we are not told much about Offred's appearance or character. Therefore, it is difficult to evaluate how accurate the casting of Elisabeth Moss was as Offred surrounding the appearance of the original character since Atwood rarely commented on it. The only aspects we know as a reader is that Offred should have 'brown hair', stand about 'five foot seven' and look thirty three years old. Elisabeth Moss is a blonde haired actress who is five foot two and thirty five years old at the time of filming. Although the accuracies are not perfect, the main plot of The Handmaids Tale is that appearance is irrelevant and women are only needed for their bodies and fertility. The casting choice of Elisabeth Moss was clearly focussed on her acting skills and ability to portray a variety of emotions that Offred feels throughout the novel.
Commander
The Commander is a character of high social standing through both class and gender. He is played by English actor Joseph Fiennes who, although plays the often confusing role of the commander excellently on screen, does not have direct connection in appearance or personality to the original written character. In the books, he is frequently referred to as an older man with 'silver hair', 'stooped' shoulders who looks like 'a midwestern bank president'. Meanwhile, in the series, Commander Waterford is someone of perfect stance, dark features and in his 40s. It is often easier to disguise a villain by making them more attractive to the audience, so perhaps the intention was to make the viewers delve deeper in the Commander's character, along with Serena Joy's rather than completely dismissing them as old fashioned and passed their best from the start. It also ignites the competition between the women as it is less likely for them to want to fight over the attentions of an aging man compared to someone who is still in their prime.
Commander's Wife (Serena Joy)
The Commander's Wife is often referred to through this marital title, but her real name is Serena Joy in the novel, and Serena Waterford in the TV show. Whilst portrayed as past child-bearing age in the novel, her character's age is substantially lowered in the series. The writer and producer of the series, Bruce Miller, said in an interview that he lowered Serena's age to make more competition and tension between herself and Offred. "Serena feels something she should rightfully be doing right now is being done by someone else." Since Serena's actress, Yvonne Stahovski, was also around thirty five at the time of filming, it suggests that her character should still be of age to have a child. However, due to the lack of fertility within Gilead, many women were unsuccessful. This is a change that did add an extra layer of drama to the series and presented social class as more of a dividing factor over age. Along with her reduced age, Serena Joy is much more attractive on camera than in the novel. Whilst Stahovski does possess the original blonde hair, blue eye appearance, she certainly doesn't exhibit a 'large' face or disproportional features. Her improved presentation could also be Miller's way of invoking competition between the wives and handmaids, relating their situation to modern day battles for approval.
Nick
Nick is a chauffeur for the Commander and he is played by Max Minghella. He is described by Offred as having, 'a French face, lean, whimsical, all planes and angles, with creases around the mouth where he smiles.' She finds him an attractive character, although quite mysterious, and Minghella is able to bring that same frightening mystery to the screen.
Moira
In the series, the rebellious character of Moira is played by Samira Wiley who is an African-American actress. Within the novel, there is no mention of Moira's race, but it is implied that all people not of Caucasian heritage were sent away elsewhere since the Republic of Gilead was predominantly built on white, male supremacy.
Positive Differences
One big difference between the novel and the series is that the series is based in modern day. When flashbacks occur to the time before Gilead, Offred is using a smartphone and mentions Ubers which were not around when Atwood originally wrote the book in 1985. By portraying the Republic of Gilead as being in modern day, it acts as a more severe warning that Atwood originally wanted to give to show how quickly society could change into a dystopia if we continue to enforce laws on women's bodies.
Similarly, in the novel, there is very little diversity. We are told that black people are known as 'Children of Ham' and have been relocated to a place in the Midwest. They were removed from the Republic of Gilead to create a society that tried to prove white supremacy. However, in the series, a lot of the characters are of a different race such as Moira or Luke. Also, there are different ethnicities in every level of the Gilead hierarchy, including Handmaids, Marthas and Guardians. Hiring actors of colour to be in the television show makes the viewers focus less on racial discrimination and more about the suppression of women.
In an interview with Time magazine, producer and writer, Bruce Miller, said that:
“What’s the difference between making a TV show about racists and making a racist TV show where you don’t hire any actors of color?”
Actress, Elisabeth Moss also commented on the diversity,
"We wanted the show to be very relatable. We wanted people to see themselves in it. If you’re going to do that, you have to show all types of people. You have to reflect current society."
The introduction of a more diverse population in Gilead on screen is an improvement because it is easier for everyone to relate and put themselves in the situation of the characters, rather than being pushed out due to their race.
Another difference is that we see more of Offred's background in the series, compared to the very limited knowledge we are given in the book. We see:
- Slut shaming in the society before Gilead
- A woman trying to steal June's baby
- June and Luke trying to escape the regime
- June and Luke's affair
These things delve into the issues of:
- Struggling fertility and miscarriage rates
- Growing prejudice against women
- Reduced rights for women
- Power of the state, and potential dictatorship
In the novel, the only way we can learn about Offred's husband Luke is through her own memories of her. Whereas, in the series we watch him go about his life and escape the Gilead regime through an unbiased perspective.
Negative Differences:
Offred's mother is not in the first series. In the novel, she is a character of resistance who took part in pro-choice marches in the 1960s. She could have acted as another symbol for the time before Gilead, giving Offred more of a passion to escape the regime. However, Miller said he thought the debate on whether Offred's generation took the previous generation's sacrifices for granted surrounding feminism was outdated and wouldn't have fit as well in the modern day era.
Another negative difference is that Offred reveals her real name. In the book, it is only hinted that her birth name could have been 'June', whereas in the series she explicitly uses it multiple times. I feel this is a negative change as the handmaids were supposed to be completely dehumanised and have all aspects of their old identities eliminated. A person's name is a huge part of their individuality, so allowing Offred to reclaim it in the series lessens the control the state had over its citizens. Nonetheless, it does give an aspect of hope that if society ever led to a situation as dire as Gilead, there is a way for people to regain their identity and return to a somewhat normal life.
Atwood herself even said that revealing Offred's real name as June was never her intention at first. The list of names, 'Alma. Janine. Dolores. Moira. June.' insinuates that Offred's name would be June as all the other names are mentioned regarding other individuals. Atwood said in an interview with time that,
“That was not my original thought but it fits, so readers are welcome to it if they wish.”.
Critical Reviews:
The book review website of Goodreads has 1.65 million ratings on The Handmaid's Tale novel. On average, the rating is 4.12 stars out of five and 42% of the reviews gave a solid 5/5 stars. This proves that the book has an excellent rating and a good reputation in the literature community.
Charlotte Newman, writing a review on behalf of the Guardian said, "Fiercely political and bleak, yet witty and wise, the novel won the inaugural Arthur C Clarke award in 1987."
The Arthur C Clarke award is an annual award given to the best written science fiction novel in the UK from the previous year. The award only started in 1987, making Atwood the first official winner. Regardless of receiving this award, she maintains that The Handmaid's Tale isn't a 'classifiable science fiction.'
The review on The Handmaid's Tale series comes from Rotten Tomatoes which is the world's most trusted recommendations account. The general rating from the top professional media critics was 84% and 83% from the ordinary critics. This is still a good review as anything over 60% is seen as a good film or TV show. These reviews were based over all four series of The Handmaids Tale. The average score from audiences was 77% which is slightly lower than the general rating of the book.
However, the Rotten Tomatoes ratings for season 1 alone was substantially higher. From 3801 audience reviews, the average rating was 91% and from 127 professional critics, it received a 94% average. The first series alone is comparable to the book in terms of excellent ratings, however the rest of the series seem to regress in quality and entertainment functions.
One review from Mediaversity by Michelle Tinker rated The Handmaid's Tale using different criteria. It received a 5/5 on technicality and gender, even successfully passing the Bechdel Test. Whilst she gave it a 2.5/5 on race and 3/5 for LGBTQ, she still gave an overall rating of 3.88/5. By giving in depth ratings on each topic, Tinker was able to evaluate the positive and negative aspects of the tv show, and making it easily comparable to the book.
In general, the consensus was that the book will always be better than the film as it was such a shocking and unique storyline that makes for an uncomfortable but perspective changing read. The series is almost too uncomfortable to watch, such as bringing the reproductive ceremony to the screen along with the hung bodies on the wall and extinction of rights for many groups. It is easier to read the story and picture it in your own imagination than be made to directly face the brutality on screen.
Impacts on society
The Handmaid's Tale has to been used to inspire social change in modern day. These changes have been inspired more by the series than the book itself. Whether this is due to it being a more recent release and igniting a spark to fight against societal issues, or the series showing a live action experience of the regime that makes it easier to spot similarities with reality; it has been instrumental in many protests, especially in America.
July 2018 - Women in Philadelphia dressed up in the handmaid's cloak in opposition to the visit from former vice-president Mike Pence. They did this to protest against the aims of Trump's government to strip women of basic rights surrounding abortion and reproduction. Women from all different backgrounds and life experiences united to show their support, using the symbol of the handmaids to show how the USA was being forced to regress due to Trump's unfavourable views on women. They believed that the book and the tv show was telling people to act before it was too late, so with that inspiration, they took to the streets to protest against Pence's visit.
September 2017 - Women in Ireland gathered in handmaids outfits outside government buildings to protest against abortion laws. They were a pro-choice group who wanted pro-choice, proper legislation which would align with the human rights laws that many other countries already have. Following campaigns such as these, the Health Act 2018 was introduced which made abortion legal in certain circumstances, proving that protests can lead to social change.
July 2018 - Women in Argentina marched for abortion rights wearing red cloaks and white bonnets - dressed as handmaids. One of the women read a letter from writer Margaret Atwood herself who said,
"Nobody likes abortion, even when safe and legal. It’s not what any woman would choose for a happy time on Saturday night. But nobody likes women bleeding to death on the bathroom floor from illegal abortions, either. What to do?"
Atwood's words prove that for many women, abortion is a necessary option and should be readily available rather than women killing themselves when resorting to dangerous and extreme alternatives.
Unfortunately for those who protesting in Argentina, the bill to legalise abortion in the early terms of pregnancy was voted against, meaning that the legislation continues to limit the rights of women.
BBC News released an article in 2018 about how the handmaid has been an international protest symbol. The series first aired in April 2017, leading to dozens of protests across the world full of women adorned in the familiar red cloaks and white wings. Although the origin of rebellion was created in the 1985 book, it was actually the 2017 series that was evoked the most social change.
Amazon has said that The Handmaid's Tale was the most read novel in 2017 which topped the charts on Kindle and Audible in 48 out of 50 states. There could be two explanations for this phenomenon:
- The release of the series in April 2017 which inspired people to go and read the novel. This would suggest that when taken to the screen, the original novel can benefit since people feel inspired to read up on the thing they have watched. It creates publicity and generates an audience that the book may bot originally have gained.
- The inauguration of Donald Trump in January 2017. The promises and ideals of his government were against the interests of women. The inappropriate remarks against women and hints of banning abortion and other female centred rights were in the air. This could have led to a spike in readers because they wanted to spot the similarities between Trump's world and the Gilead regime in a hope to prevent such an unbelievable structure in society from emerging in real life.
However, the emergence on the series has also led to some misinterpretation of the purpose of the novel, none more prevalent than that from Kylie Jenner. In June 2019, Kylie Jenner held a Handmaid's Tale themed birthday party for her friend where many of the guests dressed up in handmaids outfits. She posted all over social media, using phrases from the book and welcoming people to Gilead, all whilst confirming that The Handmaid's Tale is her favourite TV show.
She received a huge amount of backlash, many calling it distasteful and saying she was very wrong to be celebrating something that represents the slavery of women. Although it was most likely not her purpose to come across in such a crude way, it does beg the question whether bringing important, influential novels to the screen can result in the messages being lost or used purely for entertainment purposes.
In conclusion, using all the resources and external information, I would say that the series was beneficial to the original novel as it publicised its messages and supported modern day social protests. It also resulted in a wider audience going back to read The Handmaid's Tale novel, allowing Atwood to address lots of different groups within society. Although it may not have had a better storyline and certain changes were made to the series, its impact on the world clearly proves that literature can be brought to the screen without being ruined or to deliver a new wave of influence on certain topics.
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