Just when you thought prestige television couldn't get any darker, the folks over at Funny or Die bring you a story of harrowing fragility. It is a toxic tale of oppression, one where everyone has a seat at the table. It is a story of masculinity. It is The Handman's Tale, the parody version not only of Hulu's wildly successful adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel, The Handmaid's Tale, but also of the all too real men's rights movement, which had, heretofore, been so absurd that it seemingly defied parody.
In this dystopian society, blockbuster movies are made by and star women; classics like Ghostbusters are remade with all-female casts; male-dominated boardrooms are disrupted with female executives and the derogatory catcalls men believe to be compliments have no place in the workforce—nor anywhere else for the matter. Centered around Manfred, The Handman's Tale follows a burgeoning male-only resistance focused on reclaiming the lifestyle it once celebrated over a couple cold ones with the boys. Those lifestyles have been cut down by the shattered glass ceiling, and resistance leaders, like username Lenadunhamhater69, are fighting back on the dark corners of the internet, like 4chan and Reddit. All these Handmen want to do is "get wasted and eat tacos," while "saying whatever [they] want about women's tits" without consequence. You know, just guy things?
Man, if only these Handmen weren't so dense. These feminist leaders aren't trying to subjugate anyone; they are simply creating a society built on equality and respect. Inspiring. A show for men! Finally!
