The Power - Amazon TV series

some of you might know that I'm a big fan of The Power by Naomi Alderman

which is a realistic and somber story about women becoming the absolute dominating gender and reshaping society (by the brute force of a hidden and inherited superpower)

here is the old thread about the book
www.superwomenmania.com/index.php?option...&id=30382&Itemid=195

So, last February Amazon bought the rights for an adaptation
www.theverge.com/2019/2/13/18224127/amaz...n-greenlit-tv-series

The production has started last october, to be produced by the Handmaid's Tale director
www.slashfilm.com/the-power-tv-series-reed-morano/

and the first cast announcement is Leslie Mann as the maverick female politician --and Fascist-- Margot
deadline.com/2019/10/leslie-mann-star-th...man-book-1202773045/

I know that for most here, the book is too brutal to be enjoyed. I, for one, can't separate Power from its Corruption (The Boys is the only Superhero-genre series that I watch), and it is thrilling to see a realistic rendition of some femdom fantasies elevated to a nightmarish degree, and see its social implications and meaning

Indeed darling, the book was good and I liked it, albeit, one won't find super-strong women throwing around Cars or shooting lasers. None of that sort. Alderman keeps things within human possibilities. A lot of mind-playing and new-world order type plots.  

Haven't heard of a release date yet, but it would be interesting how they produce it in a time where there's a lot of attention on super-powered women and goddesses like me. 

First of all I'm happy they are actually doing this, because at some point I thought it had been botched (the rights were sold already back in 2016 but the holders -Sister Pictures- weren't making any move forward), and I guessed it was because of the really nasty scenes (rape/murders/violence/mutilations/gore etc.) in the book... if I remember well there are at least an hundred of them ^^;

I am not sure how they are planning to portray most of those, maybe they will turn them down a little bit, but then again also The Handmaid's Tale (same director) and The Boys and GOT and whatever recent tv-serie are full of those, so I guess it's not a problem anymore, since we're all used now (?).

lowerbase wrote: Leslie Mann as the maverick female politician --and Fascist-- Margot

Fascist ? IMHO you are wrong here... in the beginning of the book she is actually one of the most likable character displaying a lot of moral values and empathy toward the others (except for Daniel but he is admittedly a dickhead - always attempting to mock/undermine her and her work) BUT sure, as the time goes by she starts showing big signs of desensitization (except for her daughter/family in general) and a general power/money-hungry behaviour (like the typical male in that kind of political position, her character obviously also had that evolution since it's a book about a reversal of roles). But ... fascist ? Tell me where and how ?

By the way, Margot's daughter Jocelyn will be portrayed by actress Aulii Cravalho who was the voice for "Moana" (Disney cartoon) and starred in the "Little Mermaid" live shows as the lead. I fail to see the resemblance with her "mother" -she is hawaiian and Leslie Mann is a typical blonde american- plus she is already a little bit grown up now (if I'm not wrong Jocelyn is a 12-13 years old teenager at the beginning of the book), among the reasons they probably chose her for (acting skills etc.), I'm sure you guys will easily notice (2 big "reasons" I'd say) ^^;

But ... fascist ? Tell me where and how ?

spoilers... spoilers all around

To me, the book is more about fascism than feminism.

Fascism is an elusive term and has many degrees. a Swastika on a flag and public persecution is basically the highest degree on which fascism becomes obvious to anyone. But there are many shades before reaching Holocaust levels (which is what happens in the last third of the book in Moldova, a genocide from a female dictator --with Margot's American support)

Margot might be an 'accidental fascist', in the sense she honestly thought
that her debate fiasco would end her political career; but doing the 'wrong thing' did the opposite making her to win the election by a landslide. By then, she becomes the face of the new order in US, where women can punish men because they can, with the open blessing of the voters. Not that Margot chose to be this, but she was chosen for this part (not that different from Hitlers and Mussolini's rise to power, both becoming more extremists as they grew more popular)    

Many people point out Umberto Eco's 14 Common Features of Fascism to make this social phenomenon more clear, I define fascism as something more simple, I see it as a subversion of Democracy, when 'the will of the people' becomes 'the dictatorship of the majority'. A political majority that aims to oppress the rest of the population --based on either color, gender, origin, etc-- by removing their rights, removing their civil protections and turning the state against them. Any Democracy can fall into this trap. Maybe any ideology can fall into this trap. Even Feminism.
 

lowerbase wrote:
Many people point out Umberto Eco's 14 Common Features of Fascism to make this social phenomenon more clear, I define fascism as something more simple, I see it as a subversion of Democracy, when 'the will of the people' becomes 'the dictatorship of the majority'. A political majority that aims to oppress the rest of the population --based on either color, gender, origin, etc-- by removing their rights, removing their civil protections and turning the state against them. Any Democracy can fall into this trap. Maybe any ideology can fall into this trap. Even Feminism.
 

Well said. 

BIG SPOILERS AGAIN SO DON'T READ if you don't want any.

lowerbase wrote: To me, the book is more about fascism than feminism.

Ok, but the only real fascism acts from the lead characters come from Tatiana (please compare Margot with Tatiana and tell me they have exactly the same behaviour ! I mean, she had "hot" MALE slaves with whom to play as much as she wants ... a mockup of Berlusconi as Alderman stated herself).
And in the end, a bit of fascism surely comes from Eve, even Roxy realizes she is not entirely right with her mind (as she wants to 'restart' the world and Roxy is speechless to hear that) near the end of the book.

(which is what happens in the last third of the book in Moldova, a genocide from a female dictator --with Margot's American support)

So you have understood that Margot and Tatiana were "supporting" each other ? Really ? Aside from the fact they never even talked to each other...

Margot might be an 'accidental fascist', in the sense she honestly thought that her debate fiasco would end her political career; but doing the 'wrong thing' did the opposite making her to win the election by a landslide.

Tell me how "fascism" is defined by that scene ? It was a mockup of Trump by the way, clearly too.
You abuse your opponent (mentally or physically, doesn't matter, Alderman just making a point there), and most of the voters think you're badass and worthy to be voted 'cause that's how they think you will govern once you are elected.
It's not about Margot, it's about the voters, us... the large majority of people (little bit of subconscious is at play here) will profile the candidates based mostly on the perception of how strong they appear, and this applies to what happened in the last USA election too, again.

By then, she becomes the face of the new order in US, where women can punish men because they can, with the open blessing of the voters. Not that Margot chose to be this, but she was chosen for this part (not that different from Hitlers and Mussolini's rise to power, both becoming more extremists as they grew more popular)

Hitler was elected but Mussolini not, he forced the King to give him the power. And you are confusing again Tatiana for Margot (who never became the President of USA either), as Margot never supported to persecute men in any way. But she liked to have reached that political position (and the money that comes from that).

In the end the book gives the message (other than showing to men how it feels to be a woman nowadays, because every single thing depicted in the book is happening to a lot of women in the world, right now) that whoever holds the power will oppress the others/weakest, no matter the sex. 
Alderman also wants to state that she thinks women would not be better than men if they'd reach higher positions in politic, money, or just standard interactions in society, as they would probably like all that and start behaving exactly as selfish/power-hungry men.

Sincerely, Trump is on the spectrum (as much as Bolsonaro)

But I'll leave at there because I don't want to enter into american domestic politics

My point is that you don't need a Genocide to label a politician/personality as fascist. The dogwhistles are enough. You need to stop Hitler before he reaches to power, not just after. And -Spoilers- Margot was going on that direction by leading the weaponization of teenage girls (as in Hitler's youth?)

The book exposes what Margot thinks of the world, and yes, she becomes as fascist as the stalinist artdeco book cover makes it to be . Men would be second class citizens under her rule. But -Spoilers- the book (the world) ends before it happens. Hitler once said that was a Social Democrat before entering the NSDAP, and Mussolini was a Socialist writer in several leftist newspapers. Both were intelligent and sensible people, and yet were transformed into extremists as the people started hailing absurd ideologies     

--by the way, I'm most curious about Tatiana casting. If I remember exactly, she's an ex-Olympic athlete celebrity and trophy wife. 

Hitler has never been a 'good' man, decent artist (not in painting people, just ... things, like houses, etc.) but he has always hated everybody (his father was a very old & cold man who always beated him and his mother died by cancer).

Mussolini was once good (maybe ...) but they both were/became horrible people already BEFORE taking the power !
So you can compare them to Tatiana... surely not to Margot, as she never becomes an 'horrible' person but of course she changes something in her behaviour (less empathic and more aligned with the other politicians in the pursue of career and money) once she is elected. So you cannot compare her to those two imho - let's agree to disagree on this one, ok.
Tatiana will be portrayed by some russian looking actress with an unbearable fake accent, that's sure lol

A possible analog to a superpower is a cordless power tool with a large capacity lithium battery.     With an appropriate blade a cordless recriprocating saw can zip through boards, treebranches, etc at a rate that would turn most arms into jelllo.   Then you can continue by changing batteries or blades.   

More actors/actresses casted:

"During its Television Critics Association presentation today, Amazon unveiled the cast for its upcoming series adaptation of Naomi Alderman’s 2016 novel The Power. The 10-episode series will go into production in February, and when it does, it’ll star Heather Agyepong as Ndudi, Tunde’s close friend; Halle Bush as Allie, a girl who’s bounced between foster homes; Auli’i Cravalho (Moana) as Jos Cleary-Lopez, Margo’s daughter; Nico Hiraga (Booksmart) as Ryan a friend of Jos’s; Toheeb Jimoh (The Feed) as Tunde, a Nigerian journalist; John Leguizamo (Waco, Bloodlines) as Rob, Margo’s partner; Leslie Mann (Motherless Brooklyn) as Margo; Daniela Vega (Tales of the City), as Sister Maria; and Ria Zmitrowicz (Three Girls) as Roxy Monke, the daughter of a London crime boss."

We already knew about Auli'i and of course Leslie, new entry Ria Zmitrowicz looks good ! Well, in all fairness she was supposed to be ugly-ish and 'muscular' type of girl in the book (kind of a tomboy) but I won't complain much
Halle Bush got an important role but I can't seem to find anything online ^^;

Sister Maria and Ndudi are smaller characters in the book so maybe they will be more important in the tv-serie ... else why bother naming them in the announcement. And last but not least, they still missing an actress portraying Tatiana ?!