In case your TV exploded this week, The Handmaid’s Tale is the show literally everyone is watching right now.
A blood curdling adaption of the 1985 Margaret Atwood novel telling the story of a dystopian society where all women’s rights have been stripped away, Mamamia Entertainment Editor, Laura Brodnik has named it ‘the most important show of 2017’.
But the thing is, I can’t bring myself to watch it for a reason that’s out of my control.
One by one, my colleagues recount how ‘they can’t sleep because of it’ and how watching more than a couple episodes in a row is ‘just too depressing and soul destroying’. All while I nod along in complete ignorance.
Not because I don’t want to watch it. And not because I think a show depicting vile, dehumanising acts against women – ones that aren’t entirely unimaginable – isn’t important viewing.
The truth is, I’m scared.
Even in full daylight with all the doors locked, there’s literally no way I could watch something so terrifying.
The Handmaid's Tale isn't the first groundbreaking show I've had to miss out on because of it.
Stranger Things. Black Mirror. The Fall. True Detective. The Walking Dead. The Bridge. Twin Peaks... the list goes on and on.
For context, I'm the kind of person who watches Riverdale with their eyes half closed.
I've mastered the perfect protection technique for getting through the blood and gore of Game of Thrones - thumbs in ears and fingers interlaced over eyes.
I'm that person writhing and jumping out of their seat at the movies on account of there being LOUD NOISES I wasn't aware were coming. And anything labelled 'suspenseful' or 'thriller' is just asking for a week's worth of nightmares.
