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".

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.

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.

The music is too loud, it drowns out your voice at times. Apart from that this is a good analysis 😊

It is an interesting analysis, especially since you talked about the political side of the novel. Your analysis helped me understand several points. Well done.

@mcgregorhumanities

5 ай бұрын

thank you :) glad you liked it

how do you not have more subscribers??? this is incredible

@mcgregorhumanities

Жыл бұрын

thanks so much, really appreciate that :)

this had been incredibly helpful since I'm currently working on an essay surrounding the topic! thank you so much!

@mcgregorhumanities

Жыл бұрын

Glad to hear that!

thank youu sm for the analysis!💗💗💗i wonder why there are so few views…

I feel like you should’ve included the eyes in the hierarchy triangle

Loved this! Ignore those other weird comments, you’re doing great!!

@mcgregorhumanities

5 ай бұрын

thanks so much, I appreciate 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.

@mcgregorhumanities

11 күн бұрын

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.

@RachealPrince

11 күн бұрын

@@mcgregorhumanities Thank you so so much for your response! It is definitely very insightful and helpful to me studying the Handmaid’s Tale ❤

@Carol120454

11 күн бұрын

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.

Small correction: Gilead oppresses _everyone._

@mcgregorhumanities

10 ай бұрын

I do mention the intersectionality of the oppression in Gilead. Some are oppressed to a greater extent than others, while some may be oppressed, but also play a role in oppressing others. It's not equally oppressive by any means.

@RideAcrossTheRiver

10 ай бұрын

​@@mcgregorhumanities As I said, Gilead oppresses _everyone._ In the book, blacks and Jews simply were dumped in the Atlantic, whereas handmaids got three hots and a cot, so you're right about the lack of fairness when Gilead doles out the ol' oppression.

@crochetomania

4 ай бұрын

@@RideAcrossTheRiverin the film there are plenty of references to people who would rather die. Or to people whose skin colour, religion and sexual orientation did not matter as long as they had functioning ovaries.

@RideAcrossTheRiver

4 ай бұрын

@@crochetomania The 1989 film is a faithful adaptation of the book. The recent 2010s streaming-service series is a drastically hipster-bowdlerized version of the book. In the book and film, whole demographics are simply dumped in the ocean.

@suckme7

3 ай бұрын

@@RideAcrossTheRiverhandmaids were used to repopulate gilead but were otherwise considered useless ... not really that much better, theyre only being fed and being given beds to maximize chances of reproduction

History repeating history, repeating history, repeating history!!

they massively dropped the ball in season for with the whole "yea but have you considered forgiving the nazis?" crap.

I think trump got a bit inspired by this show and the book and created his own hmmm whats it called? "Project 2025"

An insightful essay … except when they speak their names instead of their new assigned names … they haven’t been assigned to Commanders yet.

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.

@joanna4289

2 ай бұрын

The world needs More of you!!!😊

@celestialspartan1176

2 ай бұрын

@@joanna4289 Trust me, it really does.

@isadora6092

Ай бұрын

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

@lolly8219

Ай бұрын

Please read the book

@Carol120454

11 күн бұрын

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.

Can you please please do Stoker next

@mcgregorhumanities

Жыл бұрын

Sure!

Very useful cheers

I wish Kevin Samuels could do a breakdown of this movie.

You should have given responsibly to those in how are being oppressed but them selves are not oppressors to do what they can to help end oppression.

Are you on TikTok & can I repost?

@mcgregorhumanities

3 ай бұрын

I am, my username is @mcgregorism on tiktok and @mcgregorist on instagram :) and yes you can repost

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?

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 🤷‍♀️

DONT SAY HANDMAIDS ARE OPPRESSED AND OPPRESSORS IN AN EXAM!!! I just did that for my oral exam in my finals and they didn't like it haahaj

@mcgregorhumanities

17 күн бұрын

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

@matteogreco9443

17 күн бұрын

@@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?

@elephantaw6219

9 күн бұрын

@@matteogreco9443 they meant aunts and maybe wives

This reminds me of the oppression of men who are used as cannon meat by the draft but at least this just a book not a reality 😂

@mcgregorhumanities

15 күн бұрын

It absolutely is a reality for many women around the world. Everything in this book has happened in some form.

@The_D_Man

15 күн бұрын

@@mcgregorhumanities I can see it being a reality in the middle east for sure.

@mcgregorhumanities

15 күн бұрын

@@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.

@l.a.promotions5179

7 күн бұрын

Yeah it’s not totally fiction just some of it is exaggerated or dramatized

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.

Great video! Subscribed!

Damned over loud, unnecessary annoying "background" music that overwhelms the monotonous narrative. Otherwise enlightening and pertinent.

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.

@mcgregorhumanities

17 күн бұрын

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.

@kwiiin_

13 күн бұрын

A man speaks! Every women drop what you're doing and listen to this blessing!

@grasonicus

13 күн бұрын

@@kwiiin_ No, they'd rather go shopping.

@kwiiin_

13 күн бұрын

@@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.

@elvisalanbay7443

18 сағат бұрын

Denigrating religion is the mandatory thing to do when the religion denigrates women

anyone want to be my handsmaid tale?

@abigailpmm1182

4 ай бұрын

No.

@osborn.illustration

3 ай бұрын

Big time cuckkk energy.

@anteater-muravyed

3 ай бұрын

Hell no!

womEn, the plural of woman is womEn. Check your pronunciation

@mcgregorhumanities

9 ай бұрын

okay...

@osborn.illustration

3 ай бұрын

Wow really coming at her with the hard hitting issues huh 🤣 ... Typical tactic (to belittle a woman) if you're not articulate enough to address the true substance of her argument.

I would totally make you my handmaid

@mcgregorhumanities

11 ай бұрын

Would you like to take a minute to think about what you just said?

@abigailpmm1182

4 ай бұрын

I don't believe that he can.

@osborn.illustration

3 ай бұрын

Only high ranking men are issued women by the government. Right wing men miss this fact in their Handmaid fetish. Most men are completely left out. Working class men do NOT get issued a woman from the government. They are executed if they try to seek out a woman. Working class men are forced to be celibate, working class men (the majority of men) have zero access to women. Working class men wash the higher ranking men's cars & run errands for them & have eternal blue balls. There is a strict hierarchy - both the men and the women are cogs in that caste system. Right wing men jerk themselves off over this, expecting that only the women are oppressed and all the men are treated like kings. It sucks for 99% of the men as well. I would not expect a right wing man to actually read an entire book, so it's no surprise when right wing men don't know this shit. If they did read, they wouldn't be so stupid and thusly they wouldn't be right wingers any more.