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The Handmaid’s Tale 1.2: I only had their words for it… a la Shmoop.

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Words matter. They can be used to incite rebellion, control populations, uplift and tear down. [Picture of Hitler surrounded by soldiers]

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They can also be used to tell really lame knock knock jokes. [Two girls laughing]

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We'll spare you…this time. In The Handmaid’s Tale, you might see crazy-sounding

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words like Salvagings, Prayvaganzas and Particicutions. [Words appearing on a piece of paper]

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They’re all propaganda, or “newspeak” for executions and ceremonies.

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Why not call them what they are?

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Please…when are evil people ever straightforward? A totalitarian government would laugh at the [Mom lying to son about where she is taking their old cat]

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notion of telling the truth.

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Propaganda controls its population with several tactics, all of which are prevalent in The [Soldier spinning the 'Wheel of Misfortune']

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Handmaid’s Tale, including abuse of words. [The wheel stops on terror]

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And not in a harmless, Twitter kind of way. Calling homosexuality “Gender Treachery” [Two guys sat next to each other with love hearts appearing]

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justifies persecution and execution, whereas calling it “Gay” makes it a little more [They look terrified]

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like, “Hey, where’s the party?”

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It’s a lot easier to kill a traitor than it is to kill a really happy person. [Guy smiling in an execution chair]

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A deformed or sick baby is still a baby. But calling it an Unbaby strips the child of its humanity. [Unbaby sign appears pointing to the child]

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Same goes for Unwomen. Seriously, it it unuseful? Unwanted? Unhuman? [Woman sat on the side of the road]

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Well, then, you can just get rid of it. And perhaps the ultimate unpersoning of a [A giant shoe steps on her]

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woman is erasing her name. A Handmaid is no longer June, she’s “Of Fred” or “Of Warren”. [Hypnotized looking women]

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Nameless, she becomes just property.

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Does this dehumanization stuff sound familiar? We’ll give you a hint – it starts with [Soldiers on the battlefield]

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“World” and ends with “War II.”

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Yeah, sorry to break it to you, but this isn’t just the stuff of fiction.

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Today, in the real USA, a form of this women’s identity theft still exists. [Someone stealing June's purse at gunpoint]

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Before the feminist movement of the 1960s and 70s when the term “Ms.” was introduced… [Picture of Ms. Magazine]

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…married women not only lost their last names, but also their first names.

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Jane Doe became Mrs. John Smithson. [Couple being married and the woman is asked to relinquish her name]

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Her formal identity was completely absorbed into her husband’s name.

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This might not happen so much today, but the pesky idea behind it is still breathing down [A couple sat on a bench]

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our necks. When Shakespeare asks in Romeo and Juliet,

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“What’s in a name?”…

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…we know the answer is power. Power to keep lovers apart. Power to establish or erase [The joker erases a woman's face]

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identities. Power to control.

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And that’s even more powerful than… well, the power that keeps your lights on and your Netflix going. [Woman watching TV]

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