A recently married couple and their photographers had social media up in arms with their wedding picture that include figures from the popular series The Handmaid’s Tale.
The picture, featuring the couple Kendra Munro and Torsten Mueller surrounded by hooded figures dressed like characters form the show, was taken in front of the “Hanging Wall” which is used as part of the set on the show. The wall is at Cambridge Mill, a restaurant and wedding venue in Ontario, Canada.
The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood released in 1985 and later made into the television series. The story depicts a future in which fertile women, called handmaids, are forced into surrogacy to bear children for the rich. “The hanging wall” is specifically sombre because it is where those who refuse the tradition are hanged in the series.
The “handmaids” were digitally inserted by the photographers, Van Daele & Russell Photography. Response to the now infamous picture included commentary on the nature of the series and argues that “human subjugation” is not a suitable “theme” for a wedding. Others were outright furious and posted that “This is in such bad taste, is so f***ing incredibly tone-deaf, and ain’t how you honour this literary work [sic],” according to The Independent.
The photographers have since responded by telling PetaPixel that the couple as well as themselves are big fans of the show and that they decided to do it in the hopes that it would start a difficult conversation. “I joked about adding in some handmaids (since it seemed the natural thing to do since we were there … I’m certain any ‘creative’ or photographer would have the exact same thoughts)”, says Shawn van Daele.
“We didn’t expect the photo to go viral, but we are SOOO HAPPY IT HAS because hopefully it will wake people up to how they too contribute to the oppression and hatred that they’re rightfully worked up over.” In the end, Van Daele wants to remind people that this wasn’t “a ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ themed wedding,” it was their wedding day. One photo in a series of thousands from their wedding day that was intended mostly as a keepsake for them.
The picture has since been removed from the photographer’s website, reportedly on request of the couple.
Picture: Twitter/Van Daele & Russel
