My Review of
Paperclip & The Handmaid’s Tale
Paperclip
I think it
was only a month or so ago that I mentioned I liked to be surprised. You know,
it’s like those occasions you sit down to watch a film or read a book and it
ends up taking you unexpected places that please you no end?
Well, in
“Paperclip” I experienced another one of those out-of-the-blue- moments that I
thoroughly enjoyed. (Who would have thought?)
Carlie and
Mickey are different from other children. They know things. Things they
shouldn’t. A bit of a pain when they can’t exactly broadcast the fact without
being thought of as weird or one sandwich short of a full picnic. Each tries to
cope in their own way. Alas, people “like them” appear to act as a lodestone to
others who are different. And that’s not always a good thing.
Based on a
real life project, Paperclip is a clever paranormal psychological thriller,
involving government conspiracies; national security at the highest level; Nazi
scientists living under false identities; and killer stalkers with a penchant
for being it the right place at the wrong time.
I thoroughly
enjoyed it. The story is well constructed, engages you from the beginning, and
adopts a pace that allows you to become involved in Carlie and Mickey’s lives
as they try to make sense of why things keep happening to them.
Oh, and
who’s the mysterious cowboy with a brute of a dog?
Make the
effort to find out, you’ll be glad you did.
The Handmaid’s Tale (Seasons 1 &
2)
This TV
series based on the 1985 Margaret Attwood novel of the same name is bound to
divide opinion. Set in a dystopian near future, the world is suffering.
Fertility rates among humans have dropped dramatically due to sexually
transmitted disease and environmental pollution. Events are set in motion that
lead to a second American civil war, resulting in the emergence of “Gilead”, a
totalitarian theonomic government hungry for power and influence. Gilead’s
society is hierarchical, aggressive and wholly militarized, and under the umbrella
of resetting a proper balance, forces a new regime upon its citizens.
In a
nutshell, only men retain any degree of autonomy, albeit controlled by the
state. And women? They lose all their rights as individuals and are not allowed
to read or write, open their own bank accounts, drive a car, etc. Nor can they
hold position like doctors, scientists, or police officers. Basically, they
become nothing more than property divided into various social classes: Wives – (the
infertile spouse of a commander) is the highest status a woman can have, and
they are expected to run households under the strict guidance of their
husbands; Marthas are infertile housekeepers and cooks; Aunts (also infertile –
you get the gist?) train and oversee the handmaidens; Econowives are
lower-class fertile women who have a degree of freedom the Marthas and Aunts,
etc, don’t have. In the series, they live under constant fear and are totally
subservient to all the rules and regulations. And well they should be. At the
drop of a hat, they can be forced into servitude as a handmaiden, and their
spouses disposed of. And if they have children? Well, they are farmed out to
“families” of commanders.
You’re
starting to see how things are now, eh?
If anyone
breaks the law? Men are executed, or, if powerful and influential enough,
expected to submit to the biblical precept of “an eye for an eye”. In a woman’s
case, if they aren’t executed outright, they’re sent to the colonies, where
they’re worked to death clearing toxic waste.
With me so
far?
Now we come
to the handmaids. Distinguished by their red robes, the handmaids are
supposedly afforded a place of great honor in Gilead, as they’re the only women
who are fertile. Yeah right! (Strange how the econowives are overlooked?)
Basically,
all they are there for is to produce children to repopulate Gilead asap. And
how – pray tell – is this wonderful idea applied? I’ll tell you. They are raped
on a regular basis by their male masters, who, if they are married, expect
their wives to take part! (Oh yes). Even more infuriating, they try to
ritualize the whole sordid affair by making out it is a solemn and sacred duty
for everyone taking part.
Having
grasped the basic concept of the way things are, we come to the actual series.
The story
follows the life of June Osborne (Elizabeth Moss) who, before the world turns
upside down, lives a happy life with her husband and child. In a series of
flashback, we see the events that led to the rise of Gilead: Behind the scenes
maneuvering to get the “right” men into positions of power; unrest; rioting;
the implementation of martial law; an act of terrorism that eradicates the
government . . . Ta-dah . . .Hello Gilead!
Unfortunately
for June, neither she nor her husband pay attention to how serious things are
getting and they leave it far too late to try and flee the former United States
to Canada. They are caught, her husband is shot, her child is taken into care
(for adoption to a commander’s family) and when it’s discovered she is fertile
. . . THAT’s when her nightmare really begins.
She
undergoes a brutal form of conditioning in an attempt to make her become
subservient and compliant enough “to serve” her state. She is now property, and
is no longer known by her given name. What she did before doesn’t matter. Her
qualifications are irrelevant. She becomes Offred (literally, Of Fred) the name
of her assigned commander (Fred Waterford) and his wife Serena Joy. If she
steps out of line or says the wrong thing, she can expect to be beaten,
tortured . . . or worse. And it really does get worse for those who retain the
spark of defiance.
As you watch
this series, you really feel for June’s plight, and that of a society so easily
manipulated into giving up their rights to a bunch of egotistical, power-hungry
autocrats whose only agenda is to look out for themselves. Nowhere is this
displayed more poignantly, than when a handmaid gives birth. (I won’t explain
here, you’ll see for yourself if you watch the series – but if you do, rest
assured, it will enrage you).
It’s
shocking, repulsive, heartrending, alarming. And so thoroughly mesmerizing, you
can’t help but get sucked into the mire that is her life. I can honestly say,
I’ve never wanted to reach into a screen and throttle the *******s on the other
side so much as when I was watching this. My poor wife who suggested we watch
this together needed to apply ice-packs to my brow on a regular basis to cool me
down. (And a gag. I do admit, I cussed . . . a lot!)
Powerful
stuff. And kudos to the team who dared to make it.
(For a more in depth review, see my January article for Amazing Stories)
