The Handmaid's Tale: Der Report der Magd

If I may start 'off-topic' for a moment. I am male, mid sixties, and have watched, like many others, all the great (and not-so-great) horror films. After watching the ten episodes of 'The Handmaid's Tale' I can safely say that THIS is a real horror story. It makes the entire horror genre seem like cotton candy. After each episode I find myself shaking, often with tears in my eyes. I'm not going to talk about the story. I am going to tell you that the acting is beyond reproach. In almost every movie, every TV series, there are at least one or two characters that don't fit or are poorly portrayed. Not so here. I simply cannot find fault with the performances of the entire cast. Stellar! The sets, the direction, the camera work, the intensity all fit together seamlessly. This is a story of a good world...gone very wrong. This is a story about faith, twisted by evil intent, then thrust upon the common people. For me it is truly horrifying. I'm sorry I can't find better words to describe how this show affects me. I will say this: My daughter is currently attending university in the U.S. and I can tell you I fear for her safety every hour of every day. Not because this story is happening now...but because it is so close.

I've just finished (binge) watching season 4. From the start, the story of a dystopian future in "North America", plagued by religious zealots with sadistic personality disorder is gut wrenchingly hard to watch, yet the viewer can't help but continue. The heroes (mostly females) refuse to be broken in spirit, forming alliances to fight the evil system, never abandoning hope for victory.

My reason for withholding the 10th star for a perfect rating is a clear contradiction no one seems to be addressing at all: The "necessity" for this whole "child bearing machine" is a declining birth rate, yet people are executed for the most ridiculous infractions. If children are scarce and precious things, why are adults so expendable? It seems that for each new child born, 10 adults are "hanged on the wall" like wet clothing on a line to dry. How (in God's Name) does THAT help stave off the fear of a shrinking population?

I jumped onto The Handmaids bandwagon pretty late; I started the series a couple of weeks ago & just finished with seasin 4. I chose to disregard the plethora of negative reviews about the last 2 seasons because I wanted to make my own conclusions about the show, as a whole. While many of the negative reviews do make valid points, such as some of the scenes being too slow & the (way) too many unnecessary close-ups of June, I thought the overall show was excellent!!

As an individual who: 1- raised in an extremely strict, religious setting 2- a victim of sexual abuse for many years 3- trapped in very tightly controlled & highly abusive relationships & 4-had a child ripped from my arm because I was deemed "unworthy" of being a mother simply because the grandparents were more financially stable at the time, this show truly resonated with SO MUCH of what I've gone & been through & what I've overcome & recovered from...hence the title of my review.

I understand that my review doesn't give much in reference to the show, itself, but it is a testament not only to those of us who've endured similar circumstances, but a testament to what strongly held beliefs, such as religion can do & the impact it can have on those who do not have those same beliefs.

It is OKAY to have differences of opinions. It is OKAY to have different beliefs. It is OKAY to be who we are, as individuals, but it is NOT okay to be persecuted for those differences. We do not all have to or need to agree with one another, but we all MUST learn to respect one another & accept people for who they are.

After 3 and half seasons of the same thing happening over and over, of characters acting irrationally against their own best interests, of June's very sophisticated facial expressions, of one cliff-hanger per episode to keep your curiosity up through the feet-dragging and fake depth... it's probably time to acknowledge that this lemon has already been squeezed dry and move on.

In a world that resembles "Children of Men", tormented with ecological disasters and a vision of human extinction - there is a country where citizens decided to take strong actions to prevent from the vision of the grim future. Men are put in charge and women are relieved from their constitution and freedom rights to serve for one purpose only - giving birth to children in a utopian society that follows the rules of Bible. But this show is not just about this - but most of all - it's a study of how a totalitarian regime is born. How a simple and dangerous idea is pushed from the deepest parts of frustrated minds to become a basis for a new society whose happiness is assured by rifles, severe punishments, eradication of basic education and fellings - a society free of any critic thinking, fully devoted to the state. Where fear is the main tool to keep the state united. But like any totalitarian regime - it also starts to eat it's own founders. It's a study of how ordinary people are being corrupted when given absolute power. And it's a study of people who can't stand up and agree to become victims of the cruel ideology. Sounds familiar? This is the show that will help just a little understand the history of the 20th century.