The Power: Explaining The Show’s Connection To The Handmaid’s Tale

If children outgrow their parents — do protégés outgrow their mentors?

TRANSlating Everything is a newsletter by me, Stephenie Magister ✨ (and occasional guests), covering the “invisible” trans representation in all forms of media throughout history.

The Power recap series covers each upcoming episode of the series from my perspective as a transgender 40 Under 40 Nominee, a media critic pushing the limits of gender representation, and an editor for best-selling and award-winning authors.

Just as Eve passed the apple to Adam

The Handmaid’s Tale is a (still?!) best-selling novel, a sort-of forgotten standalone 90s movie, and now an acclaimed series starring Elizabeth Moss nearing it’s final season. The show illustrates the deadly modern parallels of right-wing politics, just how quickly the real world could get that bad, and all that is necessary in the pursuit of liberation and empowerment for all from the patriarchy.

Do you know what’s going to be bigger than The Handmaid’s Tale?

It’s a story like no other. Imagine if at the exact moment Offred was about to be sexually violated — she manifested the ability to defend herself with a bolt of lightning.

When children outgrow their parents

Though it doesn’t always happen, I believe all children are destined to outgrow their parents. Just so that after helping Hulu adapt her groundbreaking novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood mentored an author who promised to be the voice of the next generation: Naomi Alderman.

The product of that collaboration is the NYT best-selling novel The Power, now turned into an Amazon Original series.

President Obama named The Power as one of his favorite books of the year.

The story presents a sudden shift in the gender-based power dynamic across the world. The catalyst? The sudden global manifestation of women who can now generate and manipulate electricity.

The book describes that just as Eve passed the apple to Adam, all women born from now on will have a “skein,” the source of that electric power. Even the eldest women in society can have that power activated with a simple shock from an awakened woman.

It is a baptism like no other. Lay your head into the water, feel the shift in power, and be reborn.

PS. Naomi Alderman is an ally for trans and gender non-conforming people

Dear Naomi,

I see now you are my ally and that of trans people and all gender non conforming people. More than this, I can say I am YOUR ally for this story.

If I can ever be of service in counter to unfair criticism toward you and your story regarding empowerment toward gender non conforming people, please let me offer my unique expertise on the personal, medical, and scientific research.

Sincerely,

Stephenie ❤

Hi! I’m Stephenie Magister ✨.

My work in research, publishing, and activism recently earned me the nomination as the second-only transgender nominee for 40 Under 40 from University of Georgia. With that attention comes it’s own kind of Power — and with great power comes great yadda yadda yadda…

So for the foreseeable future, I’ll be using my unique insight into the book and Amazon Studios show The Power to offer a recap series like no other.

If you like my work and want to support it, buy me a cup of coffee! For more of my content, subscribe to my newsletter: Translating Everything