Critical response to Handmaid’s Tale

The movie the Handmaid’s Tale provides a clear perspective on gender roles, and what is expected of people of specific genders. Specifically, the movie takes a look at the role of females in terms of what is expected of them as wives, handmaids, or marthas. The language in the movie is used as a tool of power. The official vocabulary that is created by Gilead does not take into consideration the needs of the elite. The movie depicts the ideas in relation to women not being able to hold jobs There is a system of titles that is created, and the men are defined by the military rank. However, women are defined by the gender roles that they play as wives, handmaids, or marthas. They do not have individual names and they are stripped of their individuality. The feminists are treated much in the same way as deformed babies. People see them as being subhuman, and they are denoted as being “unbabies,” and “unwomen.” The wives are often called the handmaids sluts, and they feel the painful experience of the sanctioned adultery. It is interesting how the handmaids’ red garments are a symbol of the ambiguous sin that is the handmaids’ position in the Gilead. Similarly, Gilead is used in the definition of the feminist rhetoric of the female solidarity and the sisterhood to its advantage. This shows the similarity that there is a dark side of feminism. Even though Atwood has a gentle criticism of the feminist left, she is actually targeting her criticism towards the religious right.