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Science Fiction titles from Banned Books Week Spotlight List: The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood
(literature.cafe)
cross-posted from: https://literature.cafe/post/2164461
I have been keeping an eye on this series over in !BannedBooks@literature.cafe and was intending to link the discussions for SF titles that I saw. The Handmaid's Tale is definitely an SF title that has seen it's share of fans and detractors. It has been banned or attempted to be banned in many jurisdictions including Western ones.
What is the communities thoughts on this book, does it unfairly extend Christian philosophy into questionable territory or does it not go far enough? Is it pornography, and if so, why? Let's hear your thoughts.
Bonus video: Margaret Atwood using a flamethrower on the unburnable edition of the book.
US conservatives hate this book, as it spoilers their plans for the future.
Do you actually believe this? I know a lot of conservatives, some more extreme than others, but none of them envision this kind of world, not even the ones that wanted to be at the Capitol on Jan 6. It's contrary to virtually all Christian, conservative values. The whole premise of this story wouldn't even hold up unless there were an extreme event causing a massive shortage of fertile women. In that case, there is no telling what kind of dystopia would emerge. Frank Herbert wrote "The White plague" in 1982 (a couple years before the handmaid's tale), where women were nearly wiped out altogether, and it plays out similar in some respects, wildly different in others. In any event, it's not a "goal" of any sane person, and certainly not the goal of half of the country.