The Handmaid's Tale

powerpuffgrl1969

Active member
I watched the first three episodes of The Handmaid's Tale this week on Hulu. I have read the novel By Margaret Atwood several times over the years, starting as a teenager. I feel that the TV show is both staying true to the book, and expanding on it in important ways.

The interesting part to me is that I have no interest in watching it with my husband. I don't know if I am just very aware of what he does or doesn't like (he generally doesn't like what I call "message" programs); I don't feel like waiting for him to be here in order to watch it (we are only together for 3 evenings a week and are usually watching/doing other things); or I am afraid that he won't "get it." He is in his 50's, but he has shown that he believes in equal rights for women and is also very racially and religiously tolerant (equal pay, reproductive rights, etc.)

I feel like I'm not giving him enough credit by not inviting him to watch it with me, or I just don't want to feel let down if he chooses not to as it REALLY isn't the type of thing he usually watches. I'm sure many men DO get this message of the show, but I have read some pretty negative reviews from male critics. I'm sure, though, these reviews were "cherry-picked" by editors who were trying to make a point that men don't see the value in this show.

Anyway, I think this is a very well-acted, well-written program and was wondering if anyone would care to discuss it? It is also scary to watch as I can actually envision how this could happen in our society.

Also, am I being sexist towards my husband?
 
He is in his 50's, but he has shown that he believes in equal rights for women and is also very racially and religiously tolerant (equal pay, reproductive rights, etc.)
.....Also, am I being sexist towards my husband?

If he is in his 50s then he came up during the time when these concepts were fresh in the very air we all breathed, having come to the fore of the Western Culture consciousness in the late 1950s and all of the 1960s. I wouldn't say you're being sexist so much as you might not understand what life was like for many teenagers in the 70s. Perhaps he grew up in an especially conservative area, which would influence his formative thinking on inclusion, but as a whole, teenagers of the 1970s were inculcated with these values. I'm just noticing that you say, "He's in his 50's, but...."
 
If he is in his 50s then he came up during the time when these concepts were fresh in the very air we all breathed, having come to the fore of the Western Culture consciousness in the late 1950s and all of the 1960s. I wouldn't say you're being sexist so much as you might not understand what life was like for many teenagers in the 70s. Perhaps he grew up in an especially conservative area, which would influence his formative thinking on inclusion, but as a whole, teenagers of the 1970s were inculcated with these values. I'm just noticing that you say, "He's in his 50's, but...."

I'm 54 and I agree. Even though I was raised in a traditional household, I was definitely exposed to tolerance in the late 60's and the 70's. I find myself to be much more "tolerant" than people 10 or more years older than me...yet considered a total sexist and racist by millennials...go figure.

I saw a preview of the show and I will definitely get around to watching it. What I saw made me think of Pence and his ilk steadily gaining power.
 
Yes, and if people watch this show and think, "Oh that could NEVER happen," they need to take a look at what is happening around them NOW.

I did describe the show to my husband a bit, and he said he might try to watch it, but I don't think it will happen. It just really isn't his cup of tea, I don't believe. Everybody has their preferences. He works 4 overnights a week, Tuesday through Friday, so that is being added to my solo television watching roster!
 
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