On November 5, 1605, a very real man named Guy Fawkes staged a protest, attempting to bomb the British Parliament. In the 1980s, writer Alan Moore and illustrator David Lloyd based a fantasy story on that history. In the story, a masked avenger plots to overthrow the English government.
In 2006, the story was retold in film. Since then, those who cherished or sought to emulate the legend and its compelling dark hero have donned the mask as a symbolic gesture.
The Inspiration of Story and Symbol
The Guy Fawkes mask from V for Vendetta has sold hundreds of thousands of copies every year since the film's release and has been used in protest against Scientology and now in the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement [1]. The V mask has become a cultural touchstone, recognized widely to signify populist revolt against governmental and corporate tyranny and oppression. . . continue reading>>
The most obvious message stands behind the symbol of the V. During V's first appearance on camera, he gives a V-packed monologue that basically describes his purpose and mission throughout the film - a plan to take down the totalitarian government that has destroyed his country and a personal vendetta against those who imprisoned and disfigured him. To him, the objectives are the same. The V throughout the film stands as an icon of this idea and these objectives - covering up the "Strength through..." propaganda signs that Norsefire placed around the country, present in his verbiage, November 5, the popularity of Beethoven's Fifth through the movie, and more discretely, holding his knives in a V shape, him being in cell V at Larkhill, Big Ben chiming five times before Creedy's death, and so on. The V is constantly brought about in obvious and subtle ways to continually remind the viewer of the mission and justify V's murderous and terrorist tactics as an acceptable means of carrying out his work.
Norsefire, the group controlling the government, presents itself as another very obvious message... continue reading
Posted August 24, 2012 by Wael Khairy in Film Analysis:
During the revolution Egyptians referenced “V for Vendetta” more frequently than any other work of art. Protestors held up signs that read “Remember, remember the 25 of January.” On the internet, Photoshop was used to alter Pharaoh Tout Ankh Amoun’s face into a Fawkes smile.
Sarah Abdel Rahman, an activist who ended up on TIME magazine’s cover page during the revolution referred to scenes from the film when I discussed the revolution with her. Guy Fawkes’ bumper stickers are stuck on the back windows of dozens of cars driving through Cairo traffic; his mask painted red, white and black resembling the Egyptian flag. The list goes on and on, there’s no doubt about it, in 2011 “V for Vendetta” stirred up as much conversations in Egypt as when it first spread controversy the day it was released here.
The controversy back then was one that split opinions between critics and film fans alike. Does the film promote terrorism? Is V a terrorist or a freedom fighter? By definition a terrorist is one of two things:1. a person, usually a member of a group, who uses or advocates terrorism . . . continue reading >>