Everybody wears a mask, everybody is hidden behind some kind of shield which mimics what their ideal life represents. In the text ‘V for Vendetta’ this is no exception. Based on the graphic novel, written by Alan Moore in 1982 and developed into a film by director James McTeigue in 2006. V for Vendetta shows how one man’s perception of a just society can cause mass anarchy once the idea is shared with the oppressed public domain. Within the text itself, the directors overall intention was to show how one ideal can unify it’s people into one. “People should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people.” This quote which was referenced by V throughout the text highlighted the concept of how V’s belief and idea of national anarchy could be extended once society was encouraged to express similar ideals. This was demonstrated through the use of symbolism including the iconic V mask and the number 5 (V), as well as through diegetic sounds and dialogue. These were techniques that were heavily used throughout the fight and domino scenes. As leading character V had a charismatic approach which made the audience swoon over him. The global context and references made throughout the film allowed for the audience to make direct links between scenes and real life, alongside its relation to history.

One idea has the ability to unify a society. Throughout the text ‘V for Vendetta’, main character V had the idea of causing anarchy in an attack on the government.  Finch makes the connection after V began the unification through the dispersal of the iconic V mask, this was done through the postal services as they dispatched bulk quantities of the mask to urban homes. This began the revolution that V inspired. The mask became an icon within London city, as many contrasting personas would dawn the mask to hide their true identity. Whether this was an innocent child, dressing in costume. Or a criminal, concealing their true self, the mask quickly began to appear all over the city. And due to the political fear that V had already stirred up, this just caused an increase in police assault upon countless victims including a young girl who was shot and killed. After the first killing riots began. Finch made the link regarding the chaos when scenes flashed between him and a robbery with the dialogue of “The whole city’s gone mad, this is exactly what he wanted.” “what?” “Anarchy in the UK.” Director McTeigue, used the symbolism of both the mask and the V to show how the idea is spread. During the domino scene, we are shown varying ideas as they flash across the screen. This included several different takes on the V symbol as it was presented by the train tracks, painted on the unify sign by the young girl, the roman numeral on V’s door at Larkhill, the explosion that was foreshadowed, scratched into a metal panel, on the corrugated fence in the subway, and finally shown as V laid out his own symbol using dominos. The integration of the V as a symbol throughout the text linked the ideas that the director was trying to express. Thus further elevating his intention of showing how one ideal can unify people. During the domino scene, there is a chapter where V is seen standing in the shadows behind the V shaped corrugations as Finch is quoted saying, “we are all a part of it, and all trapped by it.” This shows that even V himself is consumed by his own ideal. He is trapped behind the belief and integrity he has towards his vendetta. These scenes gave the audience the feeling of awe as connections made by Finch also were made by us. Allowing us to see the correlation between the past, present and future storylines. As we linked Guy Fawkes, Larkhill, Evey, Detrich, Valerie, and what was to come with the explosion of the London tower and the shoot off between V and the police. In relation to our modern society, amongst the flash scenes we were shown real cam footage of the Brixton riots. A riot which broke out in London in ? Due to ?. As all dystopian literature serves as a warning to prevent the recurrence of historical tragedies, McTeigue is using the riots as a case study of what we need to prevent from occurring again.

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