Believing that “The Handmaid’s Tale” is a timely and relevant “cautionary tale” is the Left’s version of “Obama is coming for your guns.”
Both ideas subsist on hyper-partisan fear-mongering. Both ideas are believed sincerely by their respective audiences. Both ideas are also great for political fundraising.
The biggest difference here is this: Former President Barack Obama supported gun control, whereas I’m not sure there’s anything indicating President Trump favors establishing a theocratic regime in which women are reduced to serving as brood bitches.
But hey, it could happen. Maybe. Tune in tonight and find out!
Bruce Miller, who produces “The Handmaid’s Tale,” appeared this weekend on CNN’s “The Trump Show: TV’s New Reality” to brag that his show, which began production before the 2016 election, is extra meaningful in the Trump era.
“We don’t do anything on the show that hasn’t happened, isn’t happening to women somewhere in the world,” he boasted. “The first time I got chills was when I was watching the Women’s March on TV and the Women’s March on our show and it looked exactly the same.”
Miller added, “I would be very happy if my show became irrelevant as quickly as possible.”
Is that so?
The Trump presidency is the best thing that has happened to his show, which has benefited enormously from the fact that this White House inspires the most absurd doomsday rhetoric in its critics. “The Handmaid’s Tale” is popular precisely because the press advertises it as a necessary and relevant program in today’s political environment. The anti-Trump resistance types can’t get enough of it.
Media expert Bill Carter claims the program wouldn’t “have the resonance it has now” had Hillary Clinton won the election.
“It couldn’t. it just couldn’t. … it’s really disturbing and the show is hitting that nerve,” he told CNN. “I think viewers can’t miss the connection, that’s why I think they’re very disturbed by it.”
t’s difficult to imagine Miller doesn’t know this is how his show is being praised, so you’ll pardon me if I question whether he’s being genuine when he says he wishes his Emmy-winning television show would suddenly become irrelevant, and therefore less likely to attract an audience large enough to keep it in production.
It’s possible Miller is just a liar, and he doesn’t really wish irrelevancy for his show.
Then again, it’s possible Miller actually believes his show is a frightening reflection of our possible future reality. He certainly wouldn’t be alone in thinking this.
“It feels like a cautionary tale more than ever” showrunner Ilene Chaiken told CNN. “It has far more meaning and urgency as we see women’s rights (particularly women’s reproductive rights) under attack yet again.”
Stelter himself praised the “chilling show” for capturing “the lightning of the current political environment.” Hell, even Rotten Tomatoes’ synopsis for the show’s second seasons calls it, “Beautifully shot but dishearteningly relevant.”
This really does feel like an alternate universe version of the “Obama is going to take your guns” routine. Instead of a low-level direct mail scam, it’s a slick television show.
Like the “guns” bit, this “Handmaid’s” nonsense is a deeply rooted in a fear that is almost entirely divorced from reality. And like the “guns” claim, the “Handmaid’s” shtick is being exploited by the more cynical among us for personal gain. The question here is: Is Miller the exploiter or the exploited? I honestly can’t tell.
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Full disclosure: This author is a paid contributor with CNN/HLN.
