The 20th century saw the rise and fall of various totalitarian regimes. Their geography stretched from Nazi Germany in the West to Khmer Rouge Cambodia in the East, from USSR in the North to the Argentinian military junta in the South. The crimes against humanity committed by totalitarian states were numerous and atrocious. The political orientation of particular totalitarian regimes barely affected their brutality and disregard for human rights and life. Hitler’s far-right Nazis were as merciless as Pol Pot’s radical Communists; pro-Soviet and pro-U.S. puppet regimes of the Cold War era were equally ruthless and relentless in terrorizing the population.
In this regard, one might wonder how people aware of the deeply inhumane nature of totalitarianism can conform to totalitarian regimes. The Handmaid’s Tale, a dystopian TV series set in Gilead, the former United States overtaken by religious fundamentalists, offers several insights into this question. Firstly, Margaret Atwood, the author of the original novel, mentions aggressive brainwashing in her article in The New York Times. Secondly, in her article “The Handmaid’s Tale as Ustopian Allegory: “Stars and Stripes Forever, Baby,” Heather Hendershot covers the tactics of mistrust spreading and collectivization deployed by the totalitarian government of Gilead. In addition, Hendershot uses the “ustopia” neologism, a combination of the words “utopia” and “dystopia” that means peoples’ willingness to respect even the most oppressive regimes if they improve their existence. After exploring these two articles, it appears that people may conform to totalitarianism either forcibly, through physical and psychological violence, or willingly if they somehow benefit from totalitarian policies.
In her essay, Margaret Atwood admitted that the image of Gilead is based on the symbols and practices utilized by oppressive governments throughout the history of humanity. For example, many totalitarian states used color and clothing to identify people and divide them into categories. Such symbols as yellow Jewish stars in Nazi Germany or Roman purple in the Roman Empire were used as a means of control (Atwood). A symbol replaced an individual’s original identity, making it possible to transform their mind and show the enemies to society. In The Handmaid’s Tale, the Handmaids, the women turned by the government into the disenfranchised walking wombs, wear distinctive red robes and white bonnets. The newly-conscripted Handmaids are forced to abandon their personalities, even their names. Handmaids are getting brainwashed into their new social role — they are taught to know their place and duties and accept that they have no real rights (Atwood). However, Gilead promises them safety in exchange for conforming to the new status. The Taser-equipped Aunts, the more privileged women in the overseer rank, coerce the Handmaids into making a “right” choice.
In this example, one can see how totalitarianism ensures conformity through the deprivation of human dignity. Only a few mentally strong individuals can resist the pressure and retain their true personalities. The others become broken by the oppressive machine and prefer the illusion of safety and stability that comes at the price of conforming to the regime. In the TV series, the Handmaids are deliberately taught to think poorly of themselves, which makes the majority of them unable to even think about disobedience (Atwood). Likewise, the real-life totalitarian regimes demonstrated to people their insignificance and helplessness. Consequently, the citizens of totalitarian states saw the hopelessness of their position. In the end, conforming to the government in order to avoid punishment became their habitual lifestyle.
Heather Hendershot’s “The Handmaid’s Tale as Ustopian Allegory: “Stars and Stripes Forever, Baby” explains the power of totalitarianism through mutual mistrust, forced collectivization, and “ustopian” appeal. One might think that mutual mistrust and collective effort are incompatible. However, this would be the case only if collectivism stems from the people. Like many totalitarian states in real life, Gilead successfully replaced real, grassroots collectivism with its government-led semblance. The Aunts keep the Handmaids in groups and sometimes use them as the lynch mobs. For example, Offred, the main character of the TV series, is forced to participate in a group murder of a man, identified by Aunt Lydia as an alleged rapist (Hendershot 14). In this regard, totalitarianism ensures conforming through the forcefully imposed collective identity. Moreover, this identity can be reinforced via state-led acts of collective violence. An individual becomes tainted by the totalitarian state since they participate in its crimes. As a result, conforming to the regime becomes the only viable option.
In addition, mutual mistrust facilitates the spread of conforming attitudes to totalitarianism. In The Handmaid’s Tale setting, Handmaids are grouped in order to enhance surveillance and make women fear other women (Hendershot 14). As a consequence, Handmaids become afraid of talking to each other frankly since a companion might turn out to be a spy for the government. In such circumstances, many people would prefer conforming to a totalitarian regime in order to avoid severe punishment.
Finally, Hendershot introduces the idea of “ustopia” — a possibility that an individual may sincerely support totalitarianism due to its beneficial impact on their life. For instance, one of the Handmaids, who used to be a drug-addicted prostitute in the “normal” life before the fundamentalist revolution, is quite pleased with the current situation in Gilead (Hendershot 20). The totalitarian government gave her a relatively easy and safe life. Instead of having sex with many partners to make money for drugs, this Handmaid got food and shelter at the “meager” cost of one monthly rape by one of the Commanders.
Likewise, supporters of totalitarianism may conform to the regime if it somewhat compensates for the failures of pre-totalitarian government. For example, Hitler’s rise to power was followed by the economic recovery from the staggering collapse. In addition, Nazi-ruled Germany took revenge on its World War I enemies by defeating France and conquering a significant part of Europe. Consequently, many Germans conformed with the Nazi regime, despite the quickly increasing number of the alarming signs.
Overall, these two articles demonstrate that totalitarianism combines coercion and false “ustopian” appeal in order to secure the population’s conformity. People conform to totalitarian regimes not because they are malicious psychopaths but due to the impact of prolonged state-organized violence or frustration with their lives. Both Atwood and Hendershot provide examples of techniques used by totalitarian governments for turning people into conforming subjects, incapable of organized resistance and critical thinking. However, Hendershot’s take feels more compelling since it explains the danger of totalitarianism capitalizing on the democratic governments’ failures. In this regard, totalitarianism should be considered a terminal symptom of systemic diseases affecting the state. If the government and nation ignore social problems or slip into the witch hunt to solve them, totalitarianism will return to life regardless of the historical era and horrifying experience of the past.
Works Cited
Atwood, Margaret. “Margaret Atwood on What ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Means in the Age of Trump.” The New York Times, 2017. NYTimes.com.
Hendershot, Heather. “The Handmaid’s Tale as Ustopian Allegory: ‘Stars and Stripes Forever, Baby.’” Film Quarterly, vol. 72, no. 1, 2018, pp. 13–25.