The Power Showrunner Raelle Tucker Welcomes People Getting Mad At The Show
The feminist allegory at the heart of Amazon's "The Power" is clear from the beginning. The series follows a group of young women who develop the ability to electrocute people via a new organ in their bodies, and these young women have the power to instill this power into older women. Naturally, this upsets the patriarchal order of the world as men now have even more reason to fear women, much like how women have had to go about their lives in fear of men.
It's a story very much intended to make viewers consider how they view people of the opposite gender in the world and what would happen if a patriarchal society suddenly became matriarchal. These themes were on full display for showrunner Raelle Tucker developing the show for television, and when speaking with TV Line, the subject of anger came up. The interviewer mentioned getting angry watching the show, and Tucker found that to be liberating, stating, "I'm so grateful that the show makes you angry. Like, that's a gift to me. I think that we need that level of awareness and intensity of feeling. How else are we ever going to shift or change anything unless we collectively hold hands and get pissed about it?" There's still much work to be done, but waking some people up is only the beginning of the battle.
There's a lot of reality in this science-fiction series
In just the first few episodes of "The Power," viewers watch the world discover how young girls are developing new powers. They react in fear, separating girls with powers from those without and putting gloves on them to try to control them. It's akin to watching a modern-day witch hunt where men are afraid of women taking greater control of their agency. Raelle Tucker is more than happy to admit there are plenty of good men out there, but that doesn't change the fact the world we live in is fundamentally dangerous for women of all walks of life, saying, "There are amazing human beings in the world who are men. It doesn't change the reality that we're still talking about women having ownership over their own bodies and not being able to walk through the world and feel safe. These are just facts."
Numerous real-world events have led to this moment, not the least of which is the #MeToo movement, which shined a greater light on the atrocities committed by men in power. And while steps have been made, it still feels like predators are able to walk freely, get work, and garner support from their allies, as becomes abundantly more clear with each news cycle.
However, Tucker is an optimist and believes "The Power" is a step in the right direction: "It's an indication of progress, and I'm going to hold onto that and believe that we are very incrementally moving forward. We just have to hold hands and drag each other along the way." Viewers can reexamine their own perspectives and biases as "The Power" continues releasing new episodes of Amazon Prime Video, with the finale of Season 1 airing May 12.