V for Vendetta Alex Shaulis Gosia Vitale Intro to Comparative Studies

Outline Introduction History of Guy Fawkes Synopsis Trailer Macro Analysis/Clips Micro Analysis/Clips Questions & Discussion

Introduction Director: James McTeigue Screenplay: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski Producers: Joel Silver, Larry Wachowski, Andy Wachowski, Grant Hill Released: March 2006 Approach: Political/historical body McTeigue: " I don't think anyone wants to go to the cinema and get preached at. You have to evolve the ideas, some of them political, some of them personal, into a film. You push it into the village as one thing and it comes out another thing. Hopefully it is something people think about afterward, have discussions about, even vehemently disagree on. I like the idea you can have the entertainment and the political idea in there".

History of Guy Fawkes After Queen Elisabeth I died in successor: James I A small group took shape, 13 members One member of the group got cold feet The warning letter reached the King Guy Fawkes was caught by the authorities tortured and executed Since then, the 5th of November has become known as Bonfire Night

Set in year 2027, Britain ruled by Fascist government-Norsefire party V’s message-rise up against government on the 5 th of November-plans to destroy House of Parliament V saves Evey from arrest, claims, Evey must stay in his lair, meanwhile, V commits a series of murders against those associated with Norsefire regime Police raid a different house Evey is hiding in, take Evey into Norsefire concentration camp, undergoes torture and interrogation Evey determined not to turn in V-learns the imprisonment wasn’t real but set up by V for the purpose to free her from the fear of the government Evey leaves V and promises to return before the 5 th of November Norsefire came to power after bioterrorist attacks killed a Norsefire company found the cure to the virus Norsefire set up the virus to gain power, experimented on prisoners against the political party-V was one of the prisoners but gained physical abilities and eventually destroyed the Larkhill Detention Centre As 5 th of November comes closer, British population starts to rebel against the government-wear Guy Fawkes mask 4 th of November-Evey visits V, he shows her the explosives on a train to destroy Parliament, claiming Evey must make the decision V leaves to meet a leader of the Norsefire party, who he kills and returns to Evey, claiming he loves her. However, he had been badly wounded and ends up dying Ultimately, Evey makes the decision to send the train of explosives to Parliament, with V laying in the train surrounded by scarlet roses. Thousands of people in London march to Parliament dresses as Guy Fawkes At the end, Evey claims the V was “all of us” Synopsis

Duty V-“Voice of London”- duty to fulfill-bomb the House of Parliament. Because he feels he is the voice of the people, he feels he needs to act upon it and take responsibility for the fall of the Norsefire government. Evey- ends up saving V when he takes over the British Television Network and threatens to bomb Parliament on the 5 th November. Because V had previously saved Evey and her split from the government, she feels it is her duty to save V Before V and Evey send the train loaded with explosives to Parliament, V goes to fight a leader of the Norsefire party. Although Evey begs V to stay, he goes on anyway, saying it is his responsibility. This relates to the conflict of duty vs. personal gain in Ethan Frome; Ethan is torn between his duty to his wife and pursuing a relationship with Mattie. Like Ethan, V loves Evey, but knows he has a larger duty towards his cause. Evey is left with the ultimate decision to send the train into Parliament. V claims that she should make the decision-become one of the people of London Macro Analysis

Oppression Fascist government created so many strict rules and regulations-suppressing individuals Freud’s belief that civilisation causes unhappiness amongst individuals Eventually, it all builds up and leads to chaos- people of London started to rebel against the government Freud sees V as being a case of neurosis Macro Analysis

Humanizing a Terrorist McTeigue: Why do people become terrorists? V is a complex character: Vendetta against all who did wrong. Advocating a positive social change in Britain. McTeigue: instead of calling V a terrorist, you have to “look behind the veil” and see what factors create people like that. Is it right to call Nelson Mandela a terrorist Interesting approach-asks you to look a little deeper Macro Analysis

Revenge Part of V’s plan is to kill those who played a role at Larkhill Detention Centre. V murdered these individuals as payback for the suffering they caused him and hundreds of others against the Norsefire government and Larkhill concentration camp Might have not turned out the way he did if he wasn’t in the concentration camp Contributes superhuman qualities Evey’s personal revenge-her parents had been killed by the government. Because of this, she had her own reason for seeking revenge and taking part in V’s plan. Macro Analysis

The scene with V and the dominoes incorporates jumps between the dominoes falling and what is supposed to be real footage of the people of London rebelling against the government. The jump between the two scenes represents the idea that the government is falling and V’s plan is in action. This shows the intensity of the scene. Micro Analysis

Use of Music 1812 Overture written by Russian composer Tchaikovsky Commemorate Russia’s defense of Moscow against Napoleon's advancing army Battle of Borodino Music is played every time a government building is blown up Hope (and perhaps foreshadowing) that the people are going to win against the government Macro Analysis

Questions: How do you think oppression of the Norsefire government caused V to commit acts of terrorism? How does the music that is incorporated in the film relate to the themes? Many critics have said that “V for Vendetta” can be compared to the 9/11. Do you agree? Why/why not?