Introduction
The Handmaid’s Tale episode titled “Breaking Stereotypes” from that popular streaming service is the media text under analysis in this essay. In a dystopian future, this episode examines issues of gender, power, and communication (Boech, 2022). The drama, which takes place in a totalitarian state named Gilead, centers on Offred, a handmaid tasked with bearing children for a prominent couple. In the series, “Breaking Stereotypes” is a defining episode since it features considerable character growth and questions accepted gender roles. The analysis will concentrate on the language and nonverbal clues present in the episode and investigate how they affect both the text’s audience and the text itself.
Three Uses of Gendered Language and Nonverbal Messages
Verbal Communication – Submissive Language
The vocabulary used by the female characters in “The Handmaid’s Tale,” particularly the handmaids, throughout the episode “Breaking Stereotypes,” symbolizes their submissive position within the oppressive Gilead society (Boech, 2022). Their verbal communication is firmly ingrained in a society that prioritizes male authority over female subordination and emphasizes hierarchy and control. They emphasize their subservient roles and reinforce the power relations in Gilead by addressing the Commanders’ spouses and male authority with formal titles like “Sir” and “Ma’am.” For instance, the main character and handmaid, Offred, use submissive language throughout the show. She routinely addresses her Commander’s wife, Serena Joy, as “Ma’am,” a title that implies deference and submission to the more senior woman. Serena Joy’s control over Offred is furthered by her choice of address, which also acts as a continual reminder of their contrasting social statuses.
Additionally, handmaids are expected to employ particular words and expressions in their conversations to demonstrate their submission to Gilead’s philosophy and obedience (Boech, 2022). The handmaids frequently greet one another and express obedience with words like “Blessed be the fruit” and “May the Lord open.” These expressions have overtly religious connotations, emphasizing how Gilead uses religion to justify its harsh methods and keep the handmaids under control. Using such rhetoric, the handmaids reaffirm their adherence to the system and support the widely held view that women should be subservient to men.
Nonverbal Communication – Red Dresses
The clothing worn by the handmaids in “The Handmaid’s Tale” conveys much symbolic information nonverbally. Their distinctive red costumes and white bonnets easily recognize the show’s handmaids, which serve as a potent nonverbal statement (Boech, 2022). The women are reminded of their paramount duty in Gilead, to bear children for wealthy couples, whereby the red color stands for fertility. Thus, the uniform underlines how their identity is diminished to serve as reproductive tools merely and serves as a visual depiction of their role as such.
Furthermore, the handmaids’ lack of personality and personal autonomy results from their uniform dress. Each handmaid blends in with the others, highlighting how dehumanized and powerless they are in Gilead (Boech, 2022). Their prescribed tasks in society serve as their only source of identity, a message reinforced by the uniform. This visual signal minimizes the handmaids’ values as people, which normalizes Gilead’s oppressive system.
Verbal and Nonverbal Communication – Serena Joy’s Actions
In “Breaking Stereotypes,” Serena Joy, the Commander’s wife, is a nuanced figure that questions accepted gender roles (Boech, 2022). She frequently communicates her disgust and displeasure with the repressive system she helped build verbally and nonverbally. The paradoxes and conflicts in Gilead’s patriarchal society are reflected in her persona.
Serena Joy occasionally indicates her yearning for more agency and independence in vocal communication, particularly in her private interactions with the Commander (Boech, 2022). She struggles with her place in Gilead, illustrating the tension between the advantages she enjoys as a strong woman and the limitations placed on her because of her gender. Her sly language choices reveal her desire for autonomy and control and her internal struggle to fit in with the society she helped create.
Serena Joy also conveys her inner anguish anddisappointments through nonverbal indicators like body language and facial expressions (Boech, 2022). The conflict between her public persona as a devoted wife and her secret desire for a different life may be seen in the microexpressions on her face, which frequently reveal her genuine emotions. These nonverbal signals help to humanize her persona and give Gilead’s depiction of women’s circumstances more nuance.
Impact on the Audience
Gendered language and nonverbal cues in “The Handmaid’s Tale” have an effect that goes much beyond plain entertainment. Viewers are forced to face painful truths about the pervasive gender inequality and constrictive social conventions that still exist in the real world as they immerse themselves in the dystopian setting of Gilead (Armstrong, 2018). The handmaids’ use of submissive language firmly moves the audience, which arouses pity and sympathy for their position. Viewers are made aware of the stark truth of how language may be used to maintain power disparities and control through the characters’ speech and interactions.
The handmaids’ use of submissive language is a terrifying reminder of historical and modern instances in which women have been silenced and ostracized, in addition to supporting Gilead’s oppressive nature (Armstrong, 2018). The challenges of the handmaids force the spectator to consider the role of language in establishing social norms and views. Critical conversations regarding how language reinforces, or challenges gender hierarchies in the real world might result from this reflection.
Additionally, the symbolism of the red robes and white bonnets adds a potent visual storytelling dimension that strengthens the audience’s reaction. The handmaids’ restrictive and demeaning surroundingssharply contrasto the beautiful red color, which symbolizes fertility (Armstrong, 2018). Viewers experience intense emotions, such as rage and feelings of unfairness, upon seeing the visual image of their identities reduced to little more than reproductive tubes. This stirring visual is a wake-up call, challenging the audience to address how women are devalued and objectified in society.
Serena Joy’s persona plays a crucial role in defying preconceived stereotypes of female villainy, and the audience is firmly moved by her inner battle (Armstrong, 2018). The show challenges viewers to consider the complexities of power dynamics and gender roles by presenting a strong woman who is both implicated in and conflicted by the repressive system she assisted in creating. This representation promotes critical discussions regarding the ways in which patriarchal systems can trap and restrain women, which eventually prompts reflection on how women can support or oppose such systems.
The audience is made aware of the value of personal agency and the negative effects of adhering to social conventions as they watch Serena Joy struggle inside. This story makes viewers think about their own contributions to the perpetuation of gender stereotypes and the value of overcoming social restrictions. A deeper knowledge of how patriarchal structures affect women’s lives is fostered through challenging viewers’ own views and behaviors through the character’s journey.
Application of Course Concepts
The application of course concepts, notably those from Judith Butler on gender performativity and R.W. Connell on hegemonic masculinity and complicit femininity, sheds light on the underlying forces that uphold the repressive society that is portrayed in “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
According to Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity, gender is a socially created performance rather than an innate characteristic. In “The Handmaid’s Tale,” the language and attire of the handmaids serve as crucial weapons for reiterating and enforcing Gilead’s social norms. The handmaids actively participate in the performance of their gender identities as obedient and subordinate women by adhering to the expectations through their submissive language (Armstrong, 2018). Their use of language, like addressing the spouses of the Commanders as “Ma’am” and reciting particular greetings to one another, turns into a ritualized execution of their responsibilities as handmaids, supporting Gilead’s power structure and hierarchy.
The clothes worn by the handmaids also represent gender performativity visually. Their distinguishing white bonnets and red dresses serve as symbolic indicators of their status as handmaids. The handmaids adhere to the gender standards of their society by dressing in a way that clearly embodies their function as reproductive vessels. Their performance as handmaids becomes dependent on their ability to dress in the required uniform, and by doing so, they support Gilead’s restrictive gender norms.
Furthermore, the Commander and Serena Joy’s acts serve as examples of R.W. Connell’s theory of hegemonic masculinity and complicit femininity (Armstrong, 2018). The Commander represents hegemonic masculinity because he has dominion over the handmaids and Gilead culture as a whole. He maintains his influence by enforcing rigid gender stereotypes that place women in inferior roles and further his control over them.
Serena Joy, on the other hand, stands for complicit femininity. She voluntarily adopts the required role of a devoted wife despite her intellectual prowess and part in creating Gilead’s totalitarian system (Armstrong, 2018). Despite her internal conflicts and yearning for more agency, Serena Joy’s acceptance of her role as a Commander’s wife shows her cooperation in maintaining the patriarchal system. Her adherence to the rules promotes the subordination of other women, particularly the handmaids, and also reinforces the Commander’s hegemonic masculinity.
The relationship between gender performativity and hegemonic masculinity/complicit femininity in “The Handmaid’s Tale” illuminates the nuanced processes through which power and gender are created and upheld in Gilead culture (Armstrong, 2018). These ideas offer a framework for comprehending how language, dress, and conduct are employed as instruments to perpetuate repressive regimes and impose social standards. Viewers learn about the complex nature of gender relations and the ways that people both uphold and challenge gender norms in the setting of a dystopian society by applying these theoretical frameworks to the show.
Conclusion
In “Breaking Stereotypes,” the television program “The Handmaid’s Tale” skillfully depicts the harsh existence of Gilead and its effect on the characters and the audience through gendered language and nonverbal cues. The program questions prevailing gender stereotypes and makes viewers consider their own contributions to maintaining them. The research offers a broader understanding of how communication, gender, and culture connect in media texts by including the concepts of gender performativity and hegemonic masculinity.
References
Boech, A. (2022, June 28). The Handmaid’s Tale: Transmedia Storytelling and Activism. Digital Magazine. https://www.diggitmagazine.com/articles/handmaids-tale-transmedia-storytelling-and-activism
Armstrong, J. K. (2018, April 25). Why The Handmaid’s Tale is so relevant today. Www.bbc.com. https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20180425-why-the-handmaids-tale-is-so-relevant-today
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