Remember that overrated 1980s feminist dystopian novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, that you were supposed to think was a profound critique of the patriarchy and a “chilling” vision of a not-so-alternative reality? Well, it’s back as a television series that the Left is hyping as a “timely” vision in the era of Ultra-MisogynistBigotedHitlerianXenophobe Donald Trump. But one person who is clearly not a huge fan of Margaret Atwood’s book is the inimitable Norm MacDonald, who weighed in on the novel on Twitter in a way that only he can do.
In response to an interview with Atwood about her resurrected novel, in which the interviewer and author tried to tie it to the era of Trump, MacDonald offered up some thoughts on the “sub-par piece of science-fi trash” in a series of tweets.
Rather than Atwood celebrating her “cheap, dystopian” book as “timely,” said MacDonald, the author should be “apologizing for her execrable prose.” As for the supposed relevance of the “deeply paranoid feminist vision,” the comedian dismissed the claim as just a “cynical cash-grab.”
Here’s what he wrote, in paragraph form (tweets below):
I’ve just read an incredible article where “The Handmaid’s Tale”, a sub-par piece of science-fi trash, is defended by its author. The author, who rightly should be apologizing for her execrable prose, not only defends it but calls it “timely”. The book has been made in to some sort of cable mini-series. I’m Canadian, so had to suffer through this book as a young person. It’s one of those cheap, dystopian tracts. The difference with this one is it has a deeply paranoid feminist look into the future. The story is as impossible as most of these ” frightening looks into the future”. But to call it timely, when the possibility of this fiction ever becoming fact even more of a joke, is just a cynical cash-grab.
In an interview with The Daily Beast published on Wednesday, Atwood indeed goes to great lengths to talk about just how relevant her utterly unbelievable dystopian vision is now that Trump’s in charge. Under Trump, she says, “this might actually happen.” A few excerpts will give you the flavor of the exchange.
Atwood on how Trump “might well” roll back women’s rights (interviewer’s questions in bold):
The Hulu adaptation was obviously in the works long before anyone thought Trump would be president, but how do you think that fact will change how it is received?
Well I think it’s already changed it. The cast woke up on November the 9th and thought, this just took on a different meaning. And that is true. So I think had Hillary been elected, you would have had a reaction to it more like, look at an alternative reality that might have happened. Whereas now you’re getting: this might actually happen. Not in quite the same way, not with the same outfits, and probably they will not be able to shut down women reading. But the rollback of rights might well happen.
On the importance of keeping up the anti-Trump protest “momentum” :
In the book, the narrator talks about the early protests being “smaller than you might have thought.” I know you attended one of the women’s marches in January. Were you heartened by the size of those demonstrations?
Yeah, they were bigger than everybody thought. So that was a pleasant surprise in the other direction. But what people are wondering now, of course, is can people keep up the momentum? But you also have to add into that mix: not all forms of protest are getting out onto the street. There’s other things that people can do that may not be as immediately visible, but that are nevertheless forms of protest.
Once again, Norm MacDonald nails it.