U2's "Acrobat" and The Handmaid's Tale

The content in this U2 song, "Acrobat", and video are similar to The Handmaid’s Tale for obvious reasons. The video shows U2 drinking with scantily dressed women, and performing in different clips; actions that would not take place in the Republic of Gilead. The lyrics show emotions that are very similar to those that Offred is feeling. For instance, “You can feel the enemy,” Offred feels trapped, as if someone is watching her every move; the windows in the bedroom are just slits, and the picture frames have no glass. The lines, “No, nothing makes sense/ Nothing seems to fit,” relate to how Offred remembers pieces of her former life such as her child and Luke, and she tries to piece together what happened in her mind. These are some of the more obvious similarities between this song and The Handmaid’s Tale, but the similarities go beyond this.

The tone of the lyrics is very similar to the tone Offred’s mother uses. The language is not very proper, and there is cursing incorporated. For instance the lyrics read, “And you can swallow/ Or you can spit/ you can throw it up/ Or choke on it,” this language has an angry, aggressive undertone; similar to when Offred’s mother says, “Fuck that shit, I told them, I’ve started this and I’m going to finish it,” (Atwood 120). Both of these examples show that the person saying them is not going to be easily influenced by someone else’s opinion; they are going to live by their own motives. The lyrics and quote show a fiery attitude that is being suppressed in Gilead.
When the lyrics state, “To take a cup/ to fill it up/ to drink it slow,” it is very similar to how Offred’s mother appears to drink away her sorrows; as Offred describes, “A drink in front of her on the kitchen table … she liked to come over to my house and have a drink while Luke and I cooked dinner and tell us what was wrong with her life,” (120). She uses the alcohol as a suppressor for her pain. The pain in Offred’s mother’s life comes from unfair treatment and objectification because she is a woman; while Offred’s problems come from similar causes, and the lyrics describe a girl who has lost her fire and feels suppressed.

Despite the problems of the girl that "Acrobat" is written about, the last two lines read, “And I know that the tide is turning ‘round/ So don’t let the bastards grind you down,” the same phrase used many times throughout The Handmaid’s Tale by Moira, Offred’s mother, the Commander, and others. In the novel, the phrase is written in Latin and translated to have the same meaning, “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum,” (186). Moira, who has a rebellious personality, says this to Offred to cheer her up, as does Offred’s mother. The Commander also says this to Offred, similar to how U2 is saying this to the girl that is the subject of their song. The Commander tells Offred the meaning of this in a way that makes the phrase seem childish, as it was something he used to write as a schoolboy, but he shows Offred that he has problems similar to hers; he has felt confused, and like everyone is the enemy.

The surface features of the lyrics of this song, just the basic meanings of the words, have similarity to The Handmaid’s Tale, but what is written between the lines, as well as tone are similar as well.