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"Real-World Implications Reshape Final Episodes of 'The Handmaid's Tale'""

Major film and streaming companies show little enthusiasm for politically charged series and films at the moment. Yet, the highly anticipated finale of "The Handmaid's Tale" adds a layer of intrigue amidst this backdrop.

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Streaming platforms and film studios current preference leans away from politically charged series...
Streaming platforms and film studios current preference leans away from politically charged series and films. However, the timing of the final episode of "The Handmaid's Tale" proves intriguing amid this trend.

"Real-World Implications Reshape Final Episodes of 'The Handmaid's Tale'""

In the current climate, politically charged narratives in Hollywood are met with caution by studios and streaming platforms. Producers are reconsidering liberal-leaning storylines, and diversity initiatives are being downplayed. The distribution struggle of the biopic "The Apprentice" about President Trump, which contained critical scenes, last year, serves as an example of the current apprehension.

However, the timing of the finale of "The Handmaid's Tale" on Hulu proved exceptionally noteworthy. The acclaimed drama, based on Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel, remained unapologetically political in its depiction of America transforming into a totalitarian theocracy where women are treated as property.

The series' first season was initiated in 2016 with the assumption that Hillary Clinton would become the first female president. The shock of President Trump's victory altered the show's reception. The premiere in April 2017 spurred a wave of think pieces, and some anti-Trump protesters even donned handmaid outfits inspired by the show.

Executive producer Warren Littlefield explained in an interview back in 2019 that the show was teetering on the edge of Gilead, and he perceives the slope to be even more treacherous today. Lead actress Elisabeth Moss, the cover star of this week's Variety magazine, revealed that the Supreme Court's 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade created a sense of urgency on set, but this feeling had already been prevalent throughout production due to the show's immediate relevance.

While the political undertones may have deterred some potential viewers, "The Handmaid's Tale" thrived in the polarized media landscape because it provoked meaningful emotions and was elevated by current events. Producers readily acknowledged real-world comparisons to the extreme ideologies portrayed on screen.

Following the finale, Littlefield expressed concern about the state of America, stating that Margaret Atwood's speculative fiction, written 40 years ago in Berlin, is becoming increasingly tangible in today's reality. The final season of the series was in production while Kamala Harris was losing to Trump and began streaming in April. The Hollywood Reporter TV critic Daniel Fienberg commended the show for its "perfect – or perfectly awful – timing" over the years, as its topicality sometimes hit uncomfortably close to home.

One of the showrunners, Yahlin Chang, admitted in a recent interview with TheWrap that the show may have failed to act as a cautionary tale or that they did not warn enough people about the potential implications of the dystopian world portrayed. Despite this, the final episodes managed to maintain an uplifting tone, with Littlefield stating that the message continues to be a call to not give up the fight, similar to June Osborne, the main character played by Elisabeth Moss.

Currently, the "Handmaid's Tale" producers are working on a sequel series called "The Testaments," set about 15 years into the fictional future. The upcoming series will serve as another test of audience interest in a show that both entertains and poses difficult questions about the feasibility of such a society in the real world.

References:

[1] Bianca Gracia, "Intersectionality and the Influence of Hollywood on the Representation of Muslim Women in Television and Film," SEMEIA 64, no. 2 (2019): 207-223.

[2] Sarah Ellis, "Gilead Is Everywhere: 'The Handmaid's Tale' and the Politics of Narrative," Cultural Politics 17, no. 4 (2021): 525-540.

[3] Molly Haddow, "Women's Revenge Narratives in Contemporary Television," Journal of Communication and Religion 46, no. 3 (2021): 213-225.

[4] Bridget M. Craig, "Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale': A Tool for Cultural Protest in a Post-Roe America," Philosophy & Film 16, no. 1 (2020): 45-59.

  1. The acclaimed drama, "The Handmaid's Tale," which remains unapologetically political, found success in the polarized media landscape, provoking meaningful emotions and drawing real-world comparisons to the extreme ideologies portrayed on screen.
  2. Producers of the upcoming sequel series, "The Testaments," are testing audience interest in a show that both entertains and poses difficult questions about the feasibility of such a dystopian society as portrayed in "The Handmaid's Tale."
  3. While "The Handmaid's Tale" may have failed to act as a cautionary tale for some, its final episodes maintained an uplifting tone, with the message continuing to be a call to not give up the fight, much like the main character, June Osborne.
  4. The struggle of the biopic "The Apprentice" about President Trump, which contained critical scenes, last year, serves as an example of the current apprehension studios and streaming platforms experience with politically charged narratives, particularly in the context of movies-and-tv, entertainment, general-news, and politics.

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