![]() At the point where the fictional metaphor matters more than the current reality, something’s gone terribly wrong. Because fictional tyrannical dystopias are primarily envisioned as affecting white people, it can be harder to see negative policies that oppress others. Trump’s policies have traction precisely because they’re seen as primarily affecting those people, over there. ![]() But the current presidency isn’t just predicated on sexism, it’s built around demonization of Mexicans, Muslims, black people, and the generalized specter of non-white immigrants. Many people have argued that The Handmaid’s Tale is particularly timely now. From Orwell to The Hunger Games to Harry Potter and back to War of the Worlds, we constantly imagine tyranny as something that is inflicted on white people. ![]() Damon Winter/The New York Times (2009) Why interesting and important Because women are interesting. This creates a situation where even anti-racist stories are unable to represent or sympathize with the suffering or struggles of non-white people. Margaret Atwood has a cameo in the new television production of The Handmaid’s Tale. If creators are concerned about the horror of violence against people of color, why not center stories on them? The answer is that (generally white) creators believe that the imagined (mostly white) audience will be better able to empathize with a white protagonist. ![]()
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