I’ve been watching “The Handmaid’s Tale” TV series… and it’s fucking terrifying!
Based on the book by Margaret Atwood, published in 1985, it showcases the extreme consequences that can happen if people allow themselves to be complacent…and complicit.
When people are stripped away of their ability to use language, they’re robbed of living a real life.
The result is a bullshit, totalitarian society… in which fertile women are enslaved and forced to repopulate the society via “normalized” rape.
Margaret Atwood was my favorite writer in high school… and now I remember why. She examines the dark side of humanity.
In watching “The Handmaid’s Tale,” I’m reminded more and more of how important language is in our ability to be FREE!
Can people be trapped by ideas and limited language?
Yes.
That’s why I’m for the full expression of words.
…Using words in new and unique ways.
Pairing words together that have never been paired before.
The language is what cracks open someone’s mind, exposing them to new possibilities… whether positive or negative.
If new possibilities are born… then new actions can be taken.
Anti-marketing is about using the fullest expression of language possible… not being “trapped” by marketing buzz words!
The handmaids’ ability to speak, write, and even think gets lost… courtesy of a corrupt system that takes it away.
(Or tries to take it away.)
Many succumb.
A few plot their escape, and are caught and killed…
In modern day society, you see FREE people trapped by ideas!
We live in the richest, freest country on earth… and many people act like they’re a slave to certain ideas:
“I have to go to work.” — No you don’t. You’re choosing to. You can fucking quit if you don’t like your job.
“I have to get this surgery.” — No you don’t. You’re not sick. You’re trapped by the idea that you’re sick.
“I can’t do it.” — Yes you can. You’re choosing not to do it. If you weren’t capable of doing it, you wouldn’t even HAVE the idea to do it in the first place.
The anti-marketer dares use to the words and LANGUAGE that break someone out of their limited thinking.
Language is powerful… but only if you use it.
There is so much power in your ability to write, speak, and express ideas!
The handmaids aren’t allowed to read… if they’re caught reading, they get a finger cut off.
If you don’t use the precious gift of language to the fullest extent… you’re no better off than the enslaved women who accept the fate that others forced upon them.
You’re no better off than those who “allowed” the corruption to take place… those who said nothing and did nothing to stop it.
Or those who said, “I have no choice…” “What choice do I have?”
Michelle
Writer, Editor, Copywriter
Founder, The Anti-Marketing Manifesto
www.TheAntiMarketingManifesto.com
Michelle Lopez Boggs is a copywriter, copywriting mentor, and author of "The Anti-Marketing Manifesto: How to Sell Without Being a Sellout." She's helped her clients sell millions of dollars' worth of products and services online by using the MEI(S) principle — motivate, educate, and inspire, and sell. 