V for Vendetta
Summary
V for Vendetta is a film based in an alternate Britain, an authoritarian state that discriminates against the people. The film is adapted from the book Fandango by Alan Moore, and it is set in the year 2020, a time when the United States is weakened by civil wars and Europe is going through turmoil, underpinned by disease and instability. The totalitarian government uses concentration camps to silence critics of government and minority groups, like homosexuals, Muslims, foreigners and leftist politicians. A television personality, Evey, is held by the state forces for her stand against the government, and she is rescued by a tough leftist man called V, who bombs the Old Barley. Investigations into the activities of V come to a surprise landing when V, himself, interrupts broadcast to take responsibility for the attack and urged the people to turn against the government and restore democracy and accountability. Evey escaped in the pretext of helping V, and she goes to the house of her boss Gordon Deitrich, where she is arrested again and forced to reveal the whereabouts of V. Later, it emerges that it was V who had organized the torturing of Evey, and even though she is mad at him, she is toughened.
V for Vendetta is a futuristic film similar to the book 1984 by George Orwell, with events taking place in a future Britain that is governed by a dictator and oppressive government. The period of the film setting is patterned by excessive policing that segregates against Muslims and politically enlightened people. The setting in 2020 succeeds in baffling the audience, given the clear difference from the current moment when Britain is a perfect democracy with high levels of human rights consideration. The person watching the film if forced to imagine a future that is so much like the past, and the big play is that the director emulated the past instead of predicting the future. Comparing it with other futuristic productions, like the Continuum series, V for Vendetta fails to spur emotions and aspirations that would make the audience look forward to that future. The use of familiar images (like the terror attacks by the Al Qaeda and, most recently, the IS), puts the film into the present more than the future it portends to represent.
After the 9/11 attacks, the question of religion and terror has donned debates across the globe, with the politically right faction arguing that Islam is not a violent religion, while conservatives and right wing politicians argue that terrorism is part and parcel of Islam. It has been very hard to get a consensus, and the film upholds the far right ideas of terror as a concept of Islam, and Muslims in Britain are tortured in concentration camps. Government critics face the same wrath, and journalists are forced to report news in a way that promotes a positive image of the government. Evey is arrested for her political stand, and she is rescued by V, a modern day activist who is keen to return democracy to the people.
The film cuts fiction and non-fiction at the center, depicting scenes of 21st-century leadership in a futuristic manner. The characters play a vital role is promoting the agenda and the main themes that include feudalism and authoritarianism. Comparing it with modern day politics in America and the UK, the film presents a perfect premonition of the actions of the terrorists and politicians like Donald Trump, who are very much opposed to left-wing issues like homosexuality and Islam. However, the film fails in creating a tapestry for the series of events, by mixing up modern day skyscrapers with dilapidated scenes.
Some of the symbols employed in the film include the V, a personality that represents a bottom-top revolution that looks to right the wrongs of authoritarianism. Concentration camps and prisons represent the past that had people like Adolf Hitler, who profiled prisoners and people of different ethnicities. Propaganda machines are constant in government-revolution films, representing the design of people opinions by the government. The use of the word V is a symbol of extremes, like victims and victory, Vendetta and Voila. Lastly, the setting of the film in the future is a symbol for unpredictable political occurrences and instability of government systems.
Particularly, the use of a common citizen as the main character in the film had the effect of creating a sense of belonging to the common man, indicating that it is possible to influence the actions of government from the bottom. It also represents the increasing influence of such groups like Al Qaeda; groups made up of normal citizens who are critical of government activities. Prisons represent the inability of individuals to gain freedom because their thoughts are mainly influenced by the mainstream media and government agencies. Therefore, incarceration does not just come out in the physical form, especially in the future period of the film, rather, it comes from self-affliction and calculated actions of the government.
Character names
I do not think that the names of the characters had in impact in the movie. That is because the thematic issues were deeper than name choices, and the film achieved its objectives from the series of events that led to the revolution attempts. Though one can argue that the letter V helped in creating a relatable feeling for the film, it does not entirely strike an extraordinary memory, compared to if another name was used in place.
