The Symbolism and Aesthetics of the Window as a Visual Motif in the TV Series “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Despite the fact that the TV series "The Handmaid’s Tale" has been widely researched, most studies have addressed aspects like narrative, feminism, violence against women or visual and compositional elements, such as the use of light and the symbolism of colour. However, there is still a d...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Bologna
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Series. International journal of tv serial narratives |
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| Online Access: | https://series.unibo.it/article/view/19492 |
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| author | Ángeles Martínez-García Mónica Barrientos-Bueno |
| author_facet | Ángeles Martínez-García Mónica Barrientos-Bueno |
| author_sort | Ángeles Martínez-García |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite the fact that the TV series "The Handmaid’s Tale" has been widely researched, most studies have addressed aspects like narrative, feminism, violence against women or visual and compositional elements, such as the use of light and the symbolism of colour. However, there is still a dearth of scholarly works focusing on the analysis of the series’ staging and art direction. Accordingly, a comprehensive enquiry is performed here into one such aspect, namely, the windows appearing in the first season of the series. The aim is to verify the aesthetic and staging resources used when windows appear on screen. Additionally, the intention is to determine the kind of windows that stand out because of their symbolism and which are also in keeping with the core concept of the first season of the series. A specially designed analytical tool is employed to examine three of the most relevant windows – those of June/Offred’s bedroom, Commander Fred’s study and Serena’s bedroom – arriving at the conclusion that they are interwoven in both the plot and the characters at a narrative and symbolic level. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e0b1000ad00f494982cc6f2c300f8ed3 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2421-454X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | University of Bologna |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Series. International journal of tv serial narratives |
| spelling | doaj-art-e0b1000ad00f494982cc6f2c300f8ed32025-01-31T10:11:18ZengUniversity of BolognaSeries. International journal of tv serial narratives2421-454X2025-01-0192051810.6092/issn.2421-454X/1949217857The Symbolism and Aesthetics of the Window as a Visual Motif in the TV Series “The Handmaid’s Tale”Ángeles Martínez-García0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9102-9583Mónica Barrientos-Bueno1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1839-0425University of SevilleUniversity of SevilleDespite the fact that the TV series "The Handmaid’s Tale" has been widely researched, most studies have addressed aspects like narrative, feminism, violence against women or visual and compositional elements, such as the use of light and the symbolism of colour. However, there is still a dearth of scholarly works focusing on the analysis of the series’ staging and art direction. Accordingly, a comprehensive enquiry is performed here into one such aspect, namely, the windows appearing in the first season of the series. The aim is to verify the aesthetic and staging resources used when windows appear on screen. Additionally, the intention is to determine the kind of windows that stand out because of their symbolism and which are also in keeping with the core concept of the first season of the series. A specially designed analytical tool is employed to examine three of the most relevant windows – those of June/Offred’s bedroom, Commander Fred’s study and Serena’s bedroom – arriving at the conclusion that they are interwoven in both the plot and the characters at a narrative and symbolic level.https://series.unibo.it/article/view/19492windowthe handmaid’s talesymbolismaestheticsstaging |
| spellingShingle | Ángeles Martínez-García Mónica Barrientos-Bueno The Symbolism and Aesthetics of the Window as a Visual Motif in the TV Series “The Handmaid’s Tale” Series. International journal of tv serial narratives window the handmaid’s tale symbolism aesthetics staging |
| title | The Symbolism and Aesthetics of the Window as a Visual Motif in the TV Series “The Handmaid’s Tale” |
| title_full | The Symbolism and Aesthetics of the Window as a Visual Motif in the TV Series “The Handmaid’s Tale” |
| title_fullStr | The Symbolism and Aesthetics of the Window as a Visual Motif in the TV Series “The Handmaid’s Tale” |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Symbolism and Aesthetics of the Window as a Visual Motif in the TV Series “The Handmaid’s Tale” |
| title_short | The Symbolism and Aesthetics of the Window as a Visual Motif in the TV Series “The Handmaid’s Tale” |
| title_sort | symbolism and aesthetics of the window as a visual motif in the tv series the handmaid s tale |
| topic | window the handmaid’s tale symbolism aesthetics staging |
| url | https://series.unibo.it/article/view/19492 |
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