At the end of my recent review of C.J. Carey's new novel, "Queen High," I mused:
I think that -- properly done -- "Widowland" and "Queen High" would make a great TV series, a la "The Handmaid's Tale." :)
And I still think it would. :) The visuals alone would be amazing, I think...! There are important messages in these books that deserve a broader audience.
But (as we all know, all too well!) "deserving" doesn't always mean getting, unfortunately. Part of me wonders -- what studio/producer these days would touch this material? And what sort of an audience would it have?
Yes, there's Rose to focus on as the main heroine -- young, pretty, in love. But beyond Rose, I would argue that the central heroines of the book are the Friedas of the Widowlands -- the elderly (which, in this book, is defined as 50+!), the widows, the childless -- precisely the segments that our very pronatalist society (and television, and movies) is generally the most uncomfortable with and most apt to ignore. (Nevermind the political messaging of the book, which contains some uncomfortable parallels to current-day events & players...!)
While "The Handmaid's Tale" does celebrate women's right to decide their own futures and control their own bodies, it is also a celebration of motherhood and the unbreakable bond between a mother and her child(ren). The television series in particular has focused on and expanded on this angle (far beyond the material in Margaret Atwood's original book), and never more so than the last few episodes I've seen this season, with Serena subjecting herself to Handmaid-like conditions in order to be close to her infant son, and June once more willing to risk her freedom in order to be reunited with Hannah. Hollywood -- and society generally -- loves to celebrate youth and fertility, yummy mummies and adorable babies -- not old, childless women in black living in poverty, however literate and brave and resourceful they might be.
"Old infertile women are the opposite of everything this country stands for," an Alliance official says in "Queen High." "We have a fertility crisis. The nation's crying out for new children. Londinium needs more citizens, not swarms of aged women who live outside society. They serve no purpose. They exist purely for themselves." Dare I suggest this quote would not sound out of place in some present-day conservative quarters (and not just in the U.S.)?
Thoughts? Would you watch?
If you read this blog, I know you probably would -- but do you think such subject matter would fly with a broader television audience?
The irony of course is that society would not function without the "swarms of aged women who live outside society." Argh! I might have to read this book, then I think I could say. Sadly, I think society is very restricted in what it accepts. But even more restricted are the television makers - the ones who make the decisions - who rarely take risks to see if the subject matter of older women might appeal to an audience. Grrrr.
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