The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu

[MargaretElliott]

So Hulu will be producing a TV series based off the 1985 novel The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood. There was a movie made in 1990 that was kind of a flop and deviated pretty far from the plot, and oddly enough, a Danish minimalist opera in the early 2000s. Considering the nature of this site, I figured that a lot of people would be interested, because it handles Christian fundamentalism pretty literally. The whole women's subjugation theme is especially pertinent to American women, considering our new overlord- I mean demagogue- I mean president    It will premiere April 26, 2017. There's a short preview out already, and I am wicked excited, because it is my all-time favorite book. It looks a lot better than the 1990 movie. I can already see a few differences.

Hopefully someone out there is just as excited for this show as I am!

Edited January 16, 2017 by MargaretElliott

[DancingPhalanges]

I've just re-read the book and I'm counting down the days! 

[FakePigtails]

I haven't read the book for years but I can't wait for Wednesday to watch this! I'm starting a Hulu subscription just for it. DH asked if maybe I should wait until it's all out to save money (I have been extra frugal lately so I understood the suggestion) and I was like NOOOO!!!!! And I'm going to make him watch too because it's such an important work. I'm seeing more and more reviews of this adaptation and they've all been excellent so far.

[lawlifelgbt]

Just sneak-watched the first three episodes on Hulu with the captions instead of sound, at work.

 

So I can't speak to the sound work, but the rest? Visually amazing and well-scripted. Also, the idea of homosexuality (they call them "gender traitors") has had a lot more mention and importance to the story on screen than in the book. So as a queer person (I am a bio female and a lesbian, but ID as nonbinary), it had a very real horror-film feel and connection to current events and my life. Although I guess the whole thing with having children and the fertility crisis and pregnancy obsession then doesn't hit me in the same way. I'll never be pregnant but my wife will.

 

Just, omg. They made a side character be a lesbian and a subplot is her letting it slip and her punishment- all for mentioning she had a wife, before. That reminds me so much of being in unknown or hostile places, and choosing or not to mention my wife in passing like that.

[DancingPhalanges]

I sneak watched too! It was beautifully filmed, austere and visually stunning at the same time. 

I'm a little speechless to be honest. I knew it would be good but it was better than I imagined. It was horrifying and fascinating at the same time. 

Love the cast, they are superb. 

[lawlifelgbt]

3 minutes ago, DancingPhalanges said:

I sneak watched too! It was beautifully filmed, austere and visually stunning at the same time. 

I'm a little speechless to be honest. I knew it would be good but it was better than I imagined. It was horrifying and fascinating at the same time. 

Love the cast, they are superb. 

If I ever go to a protest (mostly I avoid due to risk of arrest, since I'm a lawyer, and to avoid coming into contact with tear gas or pepper spray- I have severe asthma and it will kill me), my sign will now read "gender traitor!"

[DancingPhalanges]

1 hour ago, lawlifelgbt said:

If I ever go to a protest (mostly I avoid due to risk of arrest, since I'm a lawyer, and to avoid coming into contact with tear gas or pepper spray- I have severe asthma and it will kill me), my sign will now read "gender traitor!"

OMG I loved Offred's response to Aunt Lydia when she said, "gender traitor" and being brave enough to say "she was my friend". If you ever go to a protest and do that I would stand right next to you with a sign, "I'm with her".

Seriously, I just had my family watch, "He Named Me Malala", it made me cry, and so did the 3rd episode of Handmaid's Tale. I know some haven't watched yet so I'll keep details to myself but I now want to watch all three again. 

[hollywood]

It amazes me how easily we could become this book/show.

[FakePigtails]

I just finished watching the first 3 episodes and damn that was intense and frightening. I'm not sure on the spoiler policy in this section for discussions but it's so fresh for me right now that I couldn't pick out a particular point or points to discuss anyway.

[SoybeanQueen]

I watched all 3 last night even though I really needed to work or sleep. I was crying hard before the end of the first 15 minutes, and just kept crying for most of it. The first episodes are definitely well-done, considering that I felt helpless and horrified throughout, right along with the characters.

[lawlifelgbt]

I can't believe what they did to the original Ofglen...

[Destiny]

I'm watching right now. It's been many many years since I have read the book, but holy crap, it's more horrifying than I remember. 

Edit: the chanting in the birth scene is making me nuts and I'm not in labour. Also, it's creepy.

[Destiny]

Well, FUCK, that is NOT how I remember Ofglen ending. At all. Send help and wine. 

[CrazyLurkerLady]

1 hour ago, Destiny said:

Well, FUCK, that is NOT how I remember Ofglen ending. At all. Send help and wine. 

IIRC, in the book she was caught and committed suicide rather than risk giving up information under torture. 

I finished tonight and it was SO GOOD. Like, literally made me speechless kind of good. Especially the last scene of the 3rd episode. OMG. I love the flashback scenes they've added. Things that were just mentioned in passing now have full stories and details. I am on the edge of my seat waiting for Samira Wiley to return and to see the "party" the commander takes Offred to.

Has anyone listened to the audio drama the podcast Secrets, Crimes, and Audiotape did of The Handmaid's Tale earlier this year? I listened to it to tide me over until the series came out and it was RIVETING.

[Destiny]

I need to reread the book because a lot of the little things that made the book great are lost in the mists of time for me. Was the reason Ofglen was caught the same? I don't remember that being a part of her character at all. 

[MamaJunebug]

https://theestablishment.co/i-grew-up-in-a-fundamentalist-cult-the-handmaids-tale-was-my-reality-fae2f77263d9

Nothing we haven't heard before but so important.

[EmiGirl]

I'm 30 minutes into the first episode and I can honestly say that it's making me sick to my stomach. I'm nearly in tears and all my anxiety from the November election is coming back tenfold. 

I have no one to talk to about this because my mom and my husband would both tell me I'm insane and just being silly. Maybe I am overreacting, but I can see so many scenarios where thus could actually happen, or at least something close to it. 

[Destiny]

Like I told my BFF, watch, get angry, and DO something.

[EmiGirl]

On Thursday, April 27, 2017 at 0:38 PM, SoybeanQueen said:

I watched all 3 last night even though I really needed to work or sleep. I was crying hard before the end of the first 15 minutes, and just kept crying for most of it. The first episodes are definitely well-done, considering that I felt helpless and horrified throughout, right along with the characters.

This! This is exactly how I feel right now. I'm crying only 30 minutes in because the helplessness is just so incredibly overwhelming.

Eta: I've never been affected by anything like this. The book upset me when I read it years ago. I credit it to my becoming pro-choice. Even shows about suicide and self harm and abandonment stuff doesn't trigger me. I think it may be my fear of losing autonomy.

Edited April 30, 2017 by EmiGirl

[AmericanRose]

I finished the book last week, and watched the first 3 episodes last night. Since Margaret Atwood was a writer and producer for the series, I'm going to assume everything added was with her blessing. After all, the book was meant to be a narrative view from 'Offred', so it makes sense that she wouldn't know things that, with a TV series, a viewer would get to glimpse. The new 'Ofglen' in the book could have told her the previous one hanged herself to protect Offred from knowing the truth. Or perhaps that was what the new Ofglen had been told, and believed it to be true.

There might be spoilers in the long paragraph I'm about to indulge in, so... tags!

Spoiler

Anyway... the first 3 episodes really cleared some things up for me! Reading the book I was wondering how things could get that far, why no one did anything, but seeing flashbacks in the series... I was wondering why they didn't turn on a TV, or radio, or read a newspaper. But of course, if you take away freedom of the press, there would be no news to learn; you'd have to wait for word of mouth. If you suddenly lost access to your money and had to leave your job because you're a woman... that would make you angry. And as Americans, we would protest. Our protests are essentially sacrosanct; there are certain things that just don't happen at them because we're Americans. But if the rules suddenly changed and we were shot at / grenaded (not sure if that's a word, but)? Yeah... that would scare a lot of people into keeping their heads down and 'staying out of trouble'. And then the rules would get stricter and stricter, and people would be afraid to speak up for fear of death or torture.

So yeah, it's beautifully done! And it's terrifying.

Edited April 30, 2017 by AmericanRose

[ADoyle90815]

17 hours ago, MamaJunebug said:

https://theestablishment.co/i-grew-up-in-a-fundamentalist-cult-the-handmaids-tale-was-my-reality-fae2f77263d9

Nothing we haven't heard before but so important.

I was about to post this same article, as it showed up on my Facebook newsfeed. I thought the book was scary when I first read it in college, but it's even scarier now as we're heading in that direction. I haven't seen the new series as it's just too scary at this point.

Edited April 30, 2017 by ADoyle90815

[adidas]

18 hours ago, MamaJunebug said:

https://theestablishment.co/i-grew-up-in-a-fundamentalist-cult-the-handmaids-tale-was-my-reality-fae2f77263d9

Nothing we haven't heard before but so important.

I came here last night to post this comment but for some reason I couldn't post. Weird!

anyway, I've mentioned before that while I didn't grow up as deeply fundie as the author of this article, I grew up more than fundie lite. 

When I first read The Handmaid's Take I wondered if Margaret Atwood had grown up fundie (or in a cult). She has such an amazing understanding of the emotions involved in it.

[Markie]

I watched the first two episodes last night in Canada. So intense. Elizabeth Moss is excellent. I read the book and saw the earlier movie years ago. 

[AlysonRR]

I'm really enjoying this new adaptation. I love the flashbacks, which make the "how it happened" much clearer than the 1990 movie ever did. And so relevant for today. So far so good!

[December]

This is one of my favorite books and so far this adaptation isn't disappointing me. I think the changes they've made are well thought out and appropriate for the TV/miniseries format. 

I seriously think most everyone on FJ would find this series and the original book very compelling.