“Better never means better for everyone… it always means worse, for some” Margret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, has presented the fate of the protagonists through lack of freedom, control of women, and control through fear. Although we may not particularly like Offred as a character, due to the fact we haven’t experienced anything as traumatic as her situation, we learn to emphasize with her and care about her fate. These are shown through the dystopian setting of Gilead and the totalitarian regime. Atwood has clearly shown throughout her novel the other side of what may seem right, and made the audience emotional towards the protagonist over heightening, traumatizing events throughout the novel.

underdog

What matters most to viewers is not what a text makes them think, but how it makes them feel.

“People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people” Mcteigue has woven the ideas of rebellion and control throughout the film, into our minds by making us feel strong emotions towards the characters and their situation within the tight grasp of control by the government. In our society rebellions against our society cause us to feel pain and anger, but we have never felt what it’s like to be trapped by something, a government, a dystopian setting to our lives today. When we view a film, especially one that could become a reality for us, it is quick for our initial reactions to follow what would we do?