When i see the behavior I'd the extremist right wing ( MAGA) and i hear their ignorant, close minded views using God to justify denying truth about everything. Things like facts and evidence are lies and conspiracy theories the truth. I'm it you find politicians, law enforcement officers, and people from all walks of life falling for these lies without question. I can see militias secretly preparing with the help of republican extremist.
The abrahamic belief systems are the Supreme Expression of Patriarchy. My Ancestors did not come from Jerusalem or surrounding lands There god is not my god & thank the Goddess for that!!
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.
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.
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.
15:03 I disagree completely. Women who get education have less children if any than women with little to no education. This is a measured causation. There is no way of tackling a birth crisis (that we don't have, and Gilead also doesn't. They are lacking cannon fodder) without taking away women's rights and education. Gilead is a prima example of dumbed down cattle women like Serena who embrace this 'stay at home mom'-mentality that leaves women dependant and dumb. Educated women will probably not have children because they learned they are more than a walking womb and their raison d'etre isn't others, a child, society, or a husband.
@@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.
This video sounds like it's trying to persuade an imagined audience of staunch gilead regime ideologues, that it's probably not the best direction to head in.
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
@@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?
All good but sanctions do nothing but hurt the people even more. You'd think the sanction would help but all it does is make it easy for those in power in the oppressive regime to villify those countries that snactioned you. You're killing and hurting people more by sanctions. In iran, north korea, and many other sanctioned countries access to some medecines has become impossible because of the sanctions. Do you genuinely think the sanctions the US and other countries are doing rn have any positive effect what so ever for those who are in the oppressed regime? No, not only there's no benefit to those sanctions for the oppressed people, the sanctions actually make it easier for countries such as the US to just bully their way into being an economic power.
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?
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.
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.
@@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.
Gilead is yet another way elitist psychopaths gain control / loosh / energy for their personality disorder. Made possible yet again for the majority being tricked by whatever chosen narrative. The commanders dont care about religion or oppressing women - they cannot be picky as to how they can harvest human energy ( by causing suffering to any human being ). Whatever they can make sound a plausible reason.
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.
Ive had a theory for a while that inside the Feminist peanut butter we are being fed by the Federal Government in Canada there is a pill intended to kill Civic Society across the entire Country. Am I crazy?
This it not just a movie. This is real .This is a violation of human rights and marginalization of women and misogyny. Patriarchy is oppressive and misogynistic . We will not allow women to be oppressed and treated as objects. All this hate and humiliation, inhumanity, and discrimination must end .We need to stop that. Patriarchy strips women of their freedom, their mind and intelligence, and their humanity. A woman's place is not in the home, it limit and restricts women, witch is wrong. A woman has a mind and intelligence. She must learn sciences, arts, sports, and be free, not restricted and marginalized.
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.
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 🤷♀️
A lot of people Collaborated with the high up government like in nazi Germany like Vidkun Quisling in occupied France,, that name is now synonymous with Collaborators. Also the Aunts in the handmaid's tale were allowed to read and write,
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.
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
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.
I think he explores the idea of bottling up our emotions in the final scene, I think this could mean that camus is suggesting an outlet for emotions and effort, I think he's similar to voltaire in that way
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.
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".
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.
