D is for Dedicated

“People shouldn’t be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.”

In the movie, we see the actions of V and how it impacts the world around him. One thing that separates his actions from the rest, however is his dedication to the cause. From the very beginning of the movie, the audience can easily see that in everything he does, he is dedicated and committed to the cause. When we meet Evie, we can immediately see that she becomes a priority to V and that from then on, his dedication becomes not only for his cause but also now for his new love interest Evie.

One of the most compelling scenes in the movie was when Evie was in a sort of jail cell because she had been captured by the government. they wanted information from here about the where abouts of V. Little did she know, however, that all the torture, starving and hardships that she endured were done by none other than V himself. He wanted to see if Evie was committed to the cause and to him just as much as he was. V went to extreme lengths to make sure that everything went the way he wanted. This dedication is just one of the many ways we see V take advantage of the situation to make sure that it goes the way that he wants them. The images and the sounds are even more compelling because the set the tone for the entire movie. During that same scene, Evie is subject to losing her hair upon entering the “prison”. V wanted to make it as realistic as possible for Evie while she was in the jail to make it more believable as well making sure that her heart and mind were in the right place. The image of Evie in the “prison” with her hair shaved and in that orange jump suit, made the audience truly believe that she was actually captured. But the one thing that I struggled to understand was that Evie was dedicated to V even before V had done anything significant for her except save her from getting arrested for being out after curfew. In my opinion, dedication is a common theme in this movie because its not only present in V’s action for his cause but also for his love interest, Evie.

R for Ruthless

For me, “ruthless” is a great way to describe this film. V is extremely ruthless throughout the movie, and in the end, right before he is about to die, he puts the choice to send the train in the hands of Evey. Because she realizes the corruption of the Norsefire group, she decides to send it, and while it’s because of the government, it’s a very ruthless action.

“It means that I, like God, do not play with dice and do not believe in coincidence.”

Images and sounds throughout the film showed me how ruthless it was. While it was with fairly valid reason (corrupt government), the actions still were merciless and elaborate in order to send a message. V was obviously the first person that you think of for this (killing throughout the movie, forcing Evey and others to suffer, etc.), but eventually Evey, as well as the people of the city at the end of the film, start to realize the government’s flaws and become ruthless as well.

The photo above, for me, while being very simple, still paints the overall picture of the story. The Guy Fawkes mask is made with a smile, but it’s more of a smirk than a smile. Throughout the film, whenever someone died or something bad would happen, I would think of V’s mask and the smile he had on it. I thought the fireworks were also a strong visual and audial symbol that represented the ruthlessness. It’s one thing to take strong actions such as blowing up buildings, but to add fire to it almost makes it somewhat satirical.

M is for Mask.

“You wear a mask for so long, you forget who you were beneath it.” – Deitrich

Deitrich was gay but had to hide it because of the strictness of the world he lived. This quote also applied to V because he actually wore a mask that hid what was left of his face. The world all the characters lived in caused them to have to hide their true selves in order to submit to what was socially required.

All the characters in the movie are some how oppressed by the strict rules of the chancellor. They were all forced to wear masks to survive. Deitrich says this quote in the part of the movie when he reveals his secret room to Evey. Evey then realizes that her friend is not who he has appeared to be but that he is not afraid to hold onto the other side of him. I think at this moment Evey understands that she must stand against the chancellor to stand up for what she believes. In the past she has been too afraid to do anything about the unfortunate fate her parents suffered. But because V forced her to become fearless she now had the strength to stand up and help avenge her parents. Flashbacks are used to show us Evey and V’s pasts. When Evey is finally freed from her fear we finally see that her and V have the same motivation and objectives. The only difference is V kills the people responsible for what happened to him. Overall the scene when all the people of England wear masks and come to support V’s movement brings everything into focus. It shows that the people are tired of the oppression and corruption and are ready for a change.

F is for Freedom

F is for Freedom because the movie V for Vendetta is all about people breaking free from the government oppression even though not everyone realizes how corrupt and manipulative the government has gotten. The main character V is on a quest to get people to recognize that the government is dictating their lives. For instance, the government has a strict curfew and there are harsh punishments for people who violate this curfew.

“If I am sure of anything, Inspector, it is that this government will not survive if it is to be subject to your feelings!”

– Chancellor Suttler (V for Vendetta)

Chancellor Suttler is the tyrant leader of this dictatorship. The quote above happens when the Inspector Finch is attempting to discover more about Larkhill through Dr. Delia Surridge’s diary. This quote highlights the government’s awareness to what they are doing and their knowledge that they cannot allow people to think for themselves or else people will see the flaws of the government. V is the one of the few characters who can see the government’s persona and understand what they are doing is violating the rights of the people. The only reason he sees this is because the government had tormented him and he is seeking vengeance. Thus in the movie every time there is celebratory/classical music on the cities speaker system, it is V brining hope and potentially freedom into the city because he is showing people that the government is not bulletproof and they can be stopped if everyone comes together. After these sounds come on the speakers, it usually means that V is blowing up a government building to attract attention. V even creates a firework display from the blow up of the buildings to entertain the people of the city, so there is also a repetition of the crackling and booming of fireworks in the movie. It symbolizes the celebration of the people winning back their freedom.

“The past can’t hurt you anymore. Not unless you let it. They made you into a victim, Evey. They made you into a statistic. But, that’s not the real you. That’s not who you are inside.”

“R” is for Revenge. The story is all based upon V seeking revenge for what was done to him in his past and how the oppressive and corrupt government ruined his past and made him be forced to wear the mask. V was an extraordinary being who survived a past full of hardships and has vowed with his physical and intellectual skills to destroy the government and gain a following from the masses. V publicly issues his plan when he hacks the television stations and encourages people to come out on November 5th when his plan will take action. V feels that his past has hurt him and the government is making people statistics and numbers as they continue to oppress everybody. The message is that you can sit around and continued to be pushed around, or you can seek revenge and become the aggressor and not let the past hurt you.

M is for Monster, the monstrous act of spreading disease among the city, the monster that the government has made V and the monstrous uprising from the city due to the government’s actions.

V: “What was done to me created me. It’s a basic principal of the universe that every action will create an equal and opposing reaction.”

In V for Vendetta, V explains to Evey that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. He says this to explain how terrible acts that the government has conducted as made him into the person he is today. What he has been put through by the government are the reasons for his good deeds as well as his flaws. His own tribulations cause him to be a hero to Evey and also put Evey through an inhumane and tortuous experience in his own home. I believe he does not see this as wrong because of his life experience as well as his longing to relieve her from fear.

I think the scene with all the dominoes falling also represents this quote. The intricate structure that V has created with the dominos represents the governments’ extraordinary rise to power and control thats shown in the movie. It precedes the cities masked revolt against the government. The falling of this structure represents the falling of the oppressive government. This structure could also be a symbol  of V’s development from a prisoner to a hero to his death at the end of the movie.

H is for hope.

“Because he was right. This country needs more than a building right now. It needs hope.”

Before Evey pulls the lever for what will eventually destroy Parliament and give the people hope, she has the following exchanges with Chief Inspector Finch:

Finch: Why are you doing this?

Evey Hammond: Because he was right.

Finch: About what?

Evey Hammond: That the world needs more than just a building right now. It needs hope.

I chose this quote and this scene because to me it defines the major idea of the move. To me this movie is about restoring hope to the local people regardless of the cost and deaths because it is hope and a new way of life that they deserve. In the end, true hope rested on Evey’s shoulders, even though V seemed to be seeking revenge and he had spent years planning this plot, he could not pull the final lever. This was left up to Evey and she decided to begin this revolution so that her people could chose the freedom and liberty that they deserved over the safety and tight regulation they had been experiencing. This idea of brining people hope by destroying an important building seems very dark, but it is what the building represents that was able to provide hope to the people. By destroying this building, the everyday people were shown that others were willing to fight for them and they can have a voice. Just this small glimmer of hope caused these people to dress in masks and stand up to their harsh government for what they deserved. Also, I think it is the sound of the music and the fireworks and the celebration that continues to fuel the hope inside the everyday people that will not be distinguished without much fight.

G is for Genocide, genocide that government caused on its own people in killing 100,000 citizens.

With so much chaos, somebody will do something stupid. And then things will turn nasty. And then, Sutler will be forced to do the only thing he knows how to do. At which point, all V needs to do is keep his word.

The idea of chaos we see in many super hero movies that were originally graphic novels/ comic books. Like in batman, we see the joker, realizing that one of the most dangerous tools is chaos among the citizens of a nation. V realizes understands that as well, and with his created chaos knows he is forcing Sutler’s hand. The government in V for Vendetta uses fear as tool to control the citizens. V figures out/ knows that the only way to over come that fear is be instilling hope. The original seed of hope was plant from V’s first explosion display. But after that he realizes that there is hope in and among the chaos. And like the quote said once the chaos is set in place “all V needs to do is keep his word.” Which usually means that who ever has set this chaos in place has to die or ends up dying again another similarity to the joker in the Dark Knight. Once chaos is created V knows that the citizens will do something stupid and which will force a government reaction and from there again the people will see the government in a poorer light. And then of course to cap it off the explosion of the oh so powerful government building. All V really did was create the opportunity for this chaos, he set it in motion, which is most likely even more powerful than a more planned attack.

In this film so much of what is powerful and leaves a mark on the viewer are the images. But it is the images correlation with sounds that make it so effective. Whether it’s the lyrical verses of V or the use of music to sum up a feeling or to intensify the viewing experience. Going back to chaos, the film both shows it through images of people wearing masks and it projects it through underlying music. 

E is for Everyone.

At the end of the film V for Vendetta, Eric Finch, the Chief of New Scotland Yard and Minister of Investigations, asks protagonist Evey Hammond, “Who was he?” in regards to V. Evey responds with, “He was Edmond Dantès, and he was my father, and my mother, my brother, my friend. He was you, and me. He was all of us.”

Evey’s wise words at the end of the film demonstrate that V was not just seeing revenge on those who had disfigured them, but rather representing the inner rage that everyone was feeling in regards to how the world was being run. His identity was irrelevant, but what he symbolized was powerful. He symbolized every member of the nation, men, women, children, homosexuals, and etcetera and had the courage and the strength to represent those people, standing up against the officials and fight for freedom.

This representation is clear at many points throughout the film but is especially clear through the parallel nature of the previous two pictures (upper: V, lower: Evey). In both pictures, the individuals have their hands raised, looking to the sky. It is an open posture and as if each individual is soaking in all of the emotions in the world. The parallelism in the postures further demonstrates that V was everyone.

In the final scene of the film, shown above, the masses have marched in front of Parliament just as V had hopes. They are dressed in his costume, demonstrating his initial power to protest, yet they proceed take off the costumes, identifying themselves as the individuals V represented.