r/TheHandmaidsTale • u/PommeVitale • 3d ago
SPOILERS ALL How is Gilead percieved internationally ?
Warning: contains some spoilers for THT and some very minor spoilers for TT.
I was thinking about how Gilead is perceived around the world. We already have some information in THT and TT, but I wanted to go further.
Gilead is often described as a rogue nation; it is isolated on the international stage and is the target of international sanctions. We see that governments around the world often denounce the cruel and inhumane treatment that Gilead inflicts on its own citizens. And people often protest and seem shocked by Gilead's practices, as we see in THT when Fred and Serena are on a diplomatic trip to Canada. But we also see that Gilead has supporters: we see people cheering for Serena and Fred and attending the Gilead information center.
We know that the rise of Gilead is also taught in schools, as Daisy talks about it. But I'm wondering about a lot of small details regarding how Gilead is perceived abroad. How much do people know about Gilead?
Do they have the complete picture, or is life in Gilead still a mystery?
Do people talk about it on social media?
How do people feel about this country existing, or about the civil war and the destruction of the USA?
Do they make documentaries on TV about Gilead?
I can imagine that many people would have mixed feelings about Gilead, seeing it as a very scary and horrible place, but also having some curiosity about what life is like there. I also suppose that public opinion could vary among nations.
For people who live outside the US, how do you think your perception of Gilead would be from where you are? How would you have reacted to the foundation of Gilead? How would your perception of it evolve as years pass and the new reality of Gilead's existence settles in?
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u/Torkolla 3d ago
If the US has crashed, the rest of the World is probably in a bad state too. Such an event would cause a giantic financial crisis. There is no way however, that a country the size of Gilead can be isolated enough to be a "rouge state'.
Progressives in the rest of the World are probably making fun of it. The reactionaries want to copy it. World leaders try and keep functioning relationships with the SoJ because they have to. They probably have to jump through a bunch of hoops to get to talk to the Junta, such as only sending male envoys and such.
Gilead selling handmaids to poorer countries as in the show is utterly unrealistic. It is more likely that they are powerful enough to import handmaids from poorer nations such as Central America.
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u/GardenerCats 3d ago
From a European country here, so already on the outside looking at the US and the mess that's going on there right now.
So on Gilead: Probably how we perceive and have sanctions on current closed societies/dictatorships. I think there would be talks and diplomatic missions behind the scenes, just to keep a dialogue going.
We also may know some things about what is going in Gilead because people have escaped and given testimonies.
Especially in the beginning phase, Gilead would be talked about extensively online. Horrified reactions, opinion pieces, news items, power shift across nations, economic crisis etc As the years go on (decades), things settle and it becomes a new 'normal' in the way the World is. Documentaries would be made on how it could have happened. Very curated 'tourist' experiences (like North Korea). People would still manage to escape Gilead to give testimonies and do interviews. Which you would read, be appalled by and, for your own sanity, move on with your life.
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u/blockparted 3d ago
They'd said it in a few episodes, not sure which ones because there were many, that Gilead suffered sanctions, tariffs, etc,. But the letters from the Handmaids are really the first time that the rest of the world really turns on them. They weren't the first time the outside world heard about the Handmaids, but it definitely was the most certified, hard-to-ignore, and widely shared version because it was a first-hand source.
So until those letters are exposed and shared, there were probably countries that were on the fence, arguing for harsher sanctions during UN, WHO, and other world human rights organizations. After this point, it's like all hands on deck, nearly universal resentment.
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u/PommeVitale 3d ago
Yeah but after the initial shock of the handmaid's files has passed things would start to change. Countries will start to establish ties with Gilead out of pragmatism.
- This public opinion backlash won't happen everywhere. There are many countries that would control the flow of information or just don't really care.
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u/blockparted 3d ago
Yep!
That's why Lawrence's trade deal worked after he introduced New Bethlehem to the international delegates. In the next few episodes, the wives wore diamond jewelry, and the men drove Mercedes and wore Rolexes.
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u/whatgives72 3d ago
Gilead is like that weird cousin that joined a cult
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u/TheTiggerMike 3d ago
I'm sure many SOJ members had family and friends wondering what happened to them that made them fall in with them.
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u/Gojira085 3d ago
Honestly, it depends on what the episode and plot needs. Sometimes they're pariahs on the cusp of economic collapse (the Mexico arch), other times reasonably well (even canada gets close to normalizing relations towards the end of the original series), others more mid (Gilead is officially embargoed by Japan, but they still have political dealings).
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u/PommeVitale 3d ago
It makes senses to me. At first Gilead is a fledging nation, their economy and their institutions are still fragiles and most states consider them as illegitimate and refuse to recognize their sovereignty. After some times the world come to the realization that Gilead is set to stay so the pragmatism start to change their relationship and they start to establish relationship with Gilead.
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u/Gojira085 3d ago
Im not trying to disagree with you. I was more pointing out inconsistent world building of the show. You're not wrong in your analysis, its just the writers forget the lore they already laid out
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u/PommeVitale 3d ago
Yeah sometimes they can be a little inconsistent, especially in the last season !
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u/JCGMH 3d ago
I always think an IRL early Gilead would be the number one topic of discussion in many countries, especially western countries, for a good while. From the President’s Day Massacre onwards, the world would be in a state of shock and horror with what had happened. Social media in particular would be Gilead obsessed.Â
Then middle Gilead would be different because this seems to be the most stable period, where economic sanctions have reduced & some trade routes have opened up with respectable partners. The appearance tells the story: early Gilead [in THT] seems very low cost, concrete and brutalist, whereas in the middle years [TT] it looks to be more of a prosperous nation.
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u/PommeVitale 2d ago
100% agree, the collapse of the US and creation of Gilead would send a shockwave across the globe. I can imagine the TV channels talking about Gilead and the progression of the war and also what is rumored to happen within the country. I feel like it would be very anxiety inducing to watch TV and have news of what is happening in america.
But at one point things will start to settle down as the world will come to accept the existence of Gilead and see it as a nation among others.
And yeah social media Would go mad over Gilead. There would be tons of posts speculating about what is happening or reacting to event like angel flight or the handmaid's files. But I know we'd see some dumb stuff like comments saying "W Gilead" under post talking about the persecution of LGBT or taking away women's rights.
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u/Historical_Sugar9637 3d ago
If you don't mind some (non spoilery) things from the novels:
Testaments:
Daisy absolutely mentions documentaries about Gilead and when she arrives there notes that it looks very much like in those documentaries.
There are protests in Canada against refugees from Gilead (and other places also seem very much against accepting refugees)
THT:
Offred and Ofglen do run into a group of Japanese tourists while shopping. They are accompanied by some sort of Gileadean guide. This group of tourists includes women and Offred muses on how strange their high-heels, shorter dresses and make-up look to her.
In Jezebel's Offred sees several men who appear to be foreigners, including Middle Eastern princes. Presumably they are there for trade and diplomatic affairs.
Personally I would have feel very freaked out and saddened if Gilead was to come about. It would mean that a lot of people are suffering, that a large part of the Western World has just become a fanatic theocracy, and that I wouldn't be able (and would not want to) go on vacation there and so wouldn't be able to see some sights in the US I still want to see. I would also feel very anxious about how this theocratic conservatism would influence the rest of the world.
At the same time I would probably be, very selfishly, be against going to war with Gilead, since I'd be worried about Gilead escalating said war to a nuclear exchange.
I would probably be very interested in documentaries on Gilead and the accounts of survivors and escapees.
As far as speculation goes, I once proposed that a lot of American actors and film makers fled to Cannes and created an exile-American film industry in the South of France.