FILM 2251 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Margaret Atwood, Handmaiden
9 Feb 2020
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
In the opening of the handmaid"s tale novel, margaret atwood described how the handmaids slept in a communal gymnasium on army cots. In the 1990 film adaptation of the handmaid"s tale, Schl ndorff does a proficient job of translating this opening scene from telling to showing. In the film adaptation, schl ndorff shows a large gymnasium with all the handmaids sleeping in identical cots and identical gowns. This successfully captures the loss of identity that comes with being a handmaid in. The handmaids ultimately lose their individuality, and their sole purpose will become child bearing. The loss of identity is a crucial theme to capture from the handmaid"s tale, and. Schl ndorff is able to demonstrate it in the opening scene. In addition, schl ndorff successfully captures the intimidating presence of the aunts by dressing them in brown and giving them batons. This immediately shows the handmaids and the audience the potential consequences of disobeying the aunt"s commands.
