V for Vendetta themes
The
major themes in V for Vendetta are the role of vigilantes, government,
dictators, murder, and discusses the role of rebellion, vigilantes, and
government.
Revolution requires almost insanity to achieve, and that
it also requires strong actions and followers as V’s training of Evey illustrate Evey must be at the
point of desiring death over imprisonment. She must be willing to do
what it takes to break the grip of oppression.
V for Vendetta simulates
complete dictatorship, with leaders that control their people with
strict laws and fear. The film constantly draws parallels between being
imprisoned and the society that they live in - such as the oppression of the CCTV camera
system and the constant police force.
V’s origin is believed to
have originated from a Jewish concentration camp-like facility. He is
believed to have experienced some of the worst of the government’s
experiments. He believes that only an "insane" people can see the
atrocities occurring in England. That through "insanity", people are freed
from the confines that society places on them. V for Vendetta was most
successful at highlighting the essentials of rebellion and change.
Murder was doubtfully an issue for V for maintaining
justification for his actions. If V continues to use murder and terrorism to
achieve his goals, then the fundamentals of the society that he wants
to create will be built upon murder, terrorism, and having the means
justify the ends. His society would likely be worse than the current
one.
Wikipedia:Themes
[edit]Sources
V for Vendetta sets the Gunpowder Plot as V's historical inspiration, contributing to his choice of timing, language and appearance.[4] For example, the names Rokewood, Percy and Keyes are used in the film, which are also the names of three of the Gunpowder conspirators. The film creates parallels to Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo, by drawing direct comparisons between V and Edmond Dantès. (In both stories, the hero escapes an unjust and traumatic imprisonment and spends decades preparing to take vengeance on his oppressors under a new persona.)[13][14][15] The film is also explicit in portraying V as the embodiment of an idea rather than an individual through V's dialogue and by depicting him without a past, identity or face. According to the Official website, "V's use of the Guy Fawkes mask and persona functions as both practical and symbolic elements of the story. He wears the mask to hide his physical scars, and in obscuring his identity – he becomes the idea itself."[4]
As noted by several critics and commentators, the film's story and style mirrors elements from Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera.[16][17] V and the Phantom both wear masks to hide their disfigurements, control others through the leverage of their imaginations, have tragic pasts, and are motivated by revenge. V and Evey's relationship also parallels many of the romantic elements of the Phantom of the Opera, where the masked Phantom takes Christine Daaé to his subterranean lair to reeducate her.[16][17][18]
As a film about the struggle between freedom and the state, V for Vendetta takes imagery from many classic totalitarian icons both real and fictional, including the Third Reich and George Orwell's 1984.[4][8] For example, Adam Sutler[8]primarily appears on large video screens and on portraits in people's homes, reminiscent of Big Brother. In another reference to Orwell's novel, the slogan "Strength through Unity. Unity through Faith" is displayed prominently across London, similar in cadence to "War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength" in Orwell's book. This connection between the two can also be seen when Evey is being tortured and finds the rat in her room, akin to that being the protagonist's worst fear in 1984.[19] There is also the state's use of mass surveillance, such as closed-circuit television, on its citizens. Valerie was sent to a detention facility for being a lesbian and then had medical experiments performed on her, reminiscent of persecution of gays and Jews in Nazi Germany (see Persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust).[17] The name of Adam Sutler is inspired by the name of Adolf Hitler. Sutler's hysterical speech is also inspired from Hitler's style of speech although his targets for persecution now include Muslims rather than Jews. Indeed, Deitrich is executed once it is found he had possession of a Quran. Norsefire has replaced St George's Cross with a national symbol similar to the modern Cross of Lorraine (both crossbars near the top). This was a symbol used by Free French Forces during World War II, as it was a traditional symbol of French patriotism that could be used as an answer to the Nazis' Swastika. (The modern Lorraine Cross is also used by the American Lung Association as its symbol for the fight against tuberculosis). The symbol is, literally, a "double-cross" which ties in with the films' theme of corrupt government, and V's anti-authority position. A symbol called the double cross was also used as the flag of the totalitarian ruling party in Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator. In that film, it was meant to be a parody of the Swastika.The media are also portrayed as highly subservient to government propaganda, a characteristic of totalitarian regimes in general.
[edit]The letter V and the number 5
Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of fate. This visage – no mere veneer of vanity – is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition! The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one-day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honour to meet you and you may call me V.— V's alliterative introductory monologue upon meeting Evey
Similarly to the graphic novel, there is repeated reference to the letter "V" and the number five throughout the film (note "V" is the Roman numeral five).[20] For example, V's introduction to Evey is a monologue containing 48 words beginning with the letter "V", and containing a total of 52 letter "V"s. When Evey tells V her name he repeats it slowly as "E... V". In Evey's name, the letter "E" is the fifth letter of the alphabet, "V" is the fifth letter from the end of the alphabet and is the roman numeral for five, and the letter Y is the 25th letter of the alphabet; 25 being 5 squared. In Latin, Evey's phonetic name means "exit V"; the character V acknowledges this, knowing that this event has begun the chain-reaction of events which will end in his demise. During his imprisonment at Larkhill, V was held in cell "V", as is Evey during her fake imprisonment. V's Zorro-like signature is also the letter "V". In the explosion involving the Old Bailey, the fireworks form a red V configuration, completed by a circular firework, thus resembling not only V but the V for Vendetta logo. It is revealed that V's favorite phrase is "By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe", which according to the film translates into the 5 "V"ed Latin phrase: "Vi Veri Vniversum Vivus Vici". ("Vniversum" is actually written with a U, but in old Latin, the letter "U" was written as a "V.") In a dance with Evey, the song V chooses is number five on his jukebox. In fact, all the songs are song number five. When V confronts Creedy in his greenhouse, he plays Beethoven's "Fifth" Symphony, whose opening notes have a rhythmic pattern that resembles the letter "V" in Morse code (•••–).[21][22]The film's title itself is a reference to "V for Victory".[23] As V waits for night to fall, he arranges a complex domino pattern in black and red which forms the V logo. In the short sequence overlooking the traincars, the railroad tracks form the letter V. In a flyover shot of London towards the end of the film, Big Ben is shown, with its hour hand pointing at 11 and the minute hand at 1, forming a V shape. When the time is read, it shows 11:05, another reference 11–5, or November 5. In the battle with Creedy and his men at Victoria station, he uses five of his six daggers and forms a "V" with his daggers just before he throws them. As V throws two of his daggers at the men on either side of Creedy, the daggers form a "V" shape five times while spinning through the air. After V kills Creedy's men, Creedy fires five shots at V. After the battle, when V is mortally wounded, he leaves a "V" signature in his own blood. The destruction of Parliament results in a display of fireworks which form the letter "V", which is also an inverted Circle-A, a symbol commonly used by anarchists.[24]
[edit]Modern fears of totalitarianism
"We felt the novel was very prescient to how the political climate is at the moment. It really showed what can happen when society is ruled by government, rather than the government being run as a voice of the people. I don't think it's such a big leap to say that things like that can happen when leaders stop listening to the people."
—James McTeigue, Director[4]
With the intention of modernizing the film, the filmmakers added topical references relevant to a modern 2006 audience. According to the Los Angeles Times, "With a wealth of new, real-life parallels to draw from in the areas of government surveillance, torture, fear mongering and media manipulation, not to mention corporate corruption and religious hypocrisy, you can't really blame the filmmakers for having a field day referencing current events." There are also references to an avian flu pandemic, as well as pervasive use of biometric identification and signal-intelligence gathering and analysis by the regime.[19]
Many film critics, political commentators and other members of the media have also noted the numerous references in the film to events surrounding the then-current George W. Bush administration in the United States. These include the "black bags" worn by the prisoners in Larkhill that have been seen as a reference to the black bags worn by prisoners at Abu Ghraib in Iraq and in U.S.-administered Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, though the pre-Matrix draft of the screenplay also contains this reference to black bags.[25][26] Also London is under a yellow-coded curfew alert, similar to the US Government's color-coded Homeland Security Advisory System.[27] One of the forbidden items in Gordon's secret basement is a protest poster with a mixed U.S.–UK flag with a swastika and the title "Coalition of the Willing, To Power" which combines the "Coalition of the Willing" with Friedrich Nietzsche's concept of Will to Power.[28] As well, there is use of the term "rendition" in the film, in reference to the way the regime removes undesirables from society.[29] There is even a brief scene (during the Valerie flashback) that contains real-life footage of an anti-Iraq war demonstration, with mention of President George W. Bush. Finally, the film contains references to "America's war" and "the war America started" as well as real footage from the Iraq War. The film also makes a brief reference to wars in Kurdistan, Syria, and Sudan.
Despite the America-specific references, the filmmakers have always referred to the film as adding dialogue to a set of issues much broader than the U.S. administration.[8] When James McTeigue was asked whether or not BTN was based on Fox News McTeigue replied, "Yes. But not just Fox. Everyone is complicit in this kind of stuff. It could just as well been the Britain's Sky News Channel, also a part of News Corp."[8]
Political
V for Vendetta deals with issues of homosexuality, criticism of religion, totalitarianism, Islamophobia and terrorism. Its controversial story line and themes have been the target of both criticism and praise from sociopolitical groups.
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