Literature is a common and ancient way of getting information out to the public. Although there are some authors who write solely for the love of writing, it is more common than ever for them to use their abilities to express dissatisfaction with the society in which they live. The most famous works written with this intent are the novel 1984, the short story “Harrison Bergeron”, and the graphic novel entitled V for Vendetta. The first two works were written by George Orwell and Kurt Vonnegut, respectively. Alan Moore wrote the original story V for Vendetta, with James McTeigue directing the 2005 movie. Each of the worlds these writers have created are not only criticisms of the government in their time, but a prediction of where the world …show more content…
is headed if changes are not made. The dystopian societies created in 1984, “Harrison Bergeron”, and V for Vendetta all depict insidious governmental control over their people through the monitoring of the populace, the appointment of a highly esteemed leader, and the manipulation of the public via television screen. Surveilling the general population is a topic that is controversial in everyday life, but has become so common in George Orwell’s 1984 that the main character Winston has adapted.
Under the constant threat of the telescreens, Winston is adroit at keeping his true thoughts hidden. In addition, Winston is used to people around him simply disappearing, as if they had never existed. Similarly, the characters in “Harrison Bergeron” are monitored by way of “handicaps”, items that limit their abilities so they are no better than anyone else. George Bergeron mentions that if he is caught without his handicaps for even a minute he could face a substantial penalty. As part of this form of monitoring, the government has taken George and Hazel’s son from them due to his apparent superiority in IQ and physical capabilities. Thirdly, the movie V for Vendetta cuts away from the main plotline multiple times to follow a van circulating the streets. These vans pick up conversations from households in the area. This is most prominent immediately following V’s bombing of the Old Bailey. Through this measure they can ensure that none of the people know the actual events of that night. Surveillance cameras are used in conjunction with a strict curfew to keep the masses inside during hours of the night. Close observation of the public in all three stories allows their governing bodies to remove anyone they consider to be a threat. Each of the authors saw in their society a growing use of …show more content…
technology against the vulnerable public. Reigning over each of these worlds is a feared leader.
Framing innocents among their proletariat is an important similarity the reader sees in the way that they rise to power. In 1984, Winston describes Big Brother as this leader. No evidence is presented that Big Brother exists, and yet the people blindly follow him, united under one face. “Big Brother is watching you” (Orwell 3). This quote confirms both the watchful eye of the Inner Party and absolute control that “Big Brother” has.. Likewise, the characters of “Harrison Bergeron” answer to the Handicapper General, a woman who is in charge of distributing the handicaps to the public. To keep the people in their place, Diana Moon Glampers uses force. In doing so, she tricks them into believing that they are all equal, when in fact they are not. In both the movie 2081 and the short story, Diana is revealed to have no handicaps, giving her the clear upper hand against her people. Glampers is also guilty of falsely accusing an innocent when she allows the media to muddy Harrison’s image. Finally, V fights tyrannical control in V for Vendetta by taking down the High Chancellor. Where Diana differed slightly in the method she used to accuse the innocent, V for Vendetta directly mirrors 1984. After a nationwide epidemic, High Chancellor Adam Sutler promises to restore the country to glory. V later reveals that it was by Adam’s very hand that the country fell into such disrepair. Speaking of Creedy, a man who assisted in Sutler’s
rise to power, V says, “...along came a spider. He is a man seemingly without a conscience for whom the ends always justify the means and it is he who suggests that their target should not be an enemy of the country, but rather the country itself.” V further explains that more of Sutler’s men were able to line their pockets with the nation’s money by distributing a cure they had been keeping to themselves all along. This prompts V to point out that, “...the end result, the true genius of the plan, was the fear.” To perpetuate fear in their country, Sutler names, tries, and executes several “extremists”, allowing him to win the election. The appointment of an omniscient and omnipotent power unites societies and allows them to be exploited to further the governing body’s command. These three stories are additionally linked by governmental use of television to manipulate the population. 1984 uses telescreens, televisions with cameras embedded in them, to both monitor and spew their propaganda at their subjects. During Winston’s first morning, he explains the exercise routine imposed upon everyone. He later tells of the telescreens broadcasting news stories, ones that he knows are likely fake. Telescreens are the most important way the people receive information, and, thus, the easiest way to make the populace believe the government’s lies. News stories can easily be changed to suit the needs of Big Brother. This is not simply done once, but many times. Winston’s place of employment specializes in changing “inaccurate” books or newspapers from the past to reflect the newest truth put forth by the Inner Party. In the same way, George and Hazel Bergeron are fixated on their own television when a news broadcast suddenly fills the screen. It warns them that Harrison Bergeron has escaped his confinement. Claiming that he is a dangerous man, the reporters insist that he should be treated as such when, in fact, he is only a danger to those who threaten the freedom of the people. By denouncing Harrison, the reporters effectively make any action he may take treasonous in the eyes of the viewers. V for Vendetta strongly correlates with both of these stories in regards to use of television. The BTN both writes false stories such as those seen in 1984 and falls momentarily into the arms of the villain. After V attacks, the destruction of the Old Bailey is described as a routine demolition with the use of fireworks to give it a proper send off. Correspondingly, V is described as a rogue in an effort to make him feared. He, like Harrison, takes advantage of the government’s broadcasting system, risking his life to expose the corrupt government. The use of television is vital to the survival of the government in all of these worlds. “You wear a mask for so long you forget who you were beneath it.” This quote, as dictated by Gordon Dietrich in V for Vendetta, closely links Orwell’s 1984, Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron”, and director James McTeigue’s V for Vendetta. Each of these finds its main character hiding, in one form or another, from its government. Winston conceals his treacherous thoughts with a neutral expression and George Bergeron bears his handicaps despite Hazel’s leniency. Lastly, and most blatantly, is V, hiding behind not only a mask, but an entire alias. He has become an entirely new being with a new face and a new identity. V goes so far as to no longer be regarded as a person, merely as an idea, by anyone but Evey. These characters were forced into their various personae by a despotic regime. The stories give a powerful message about the abuse of governmental power through intimate surveillance of its people, the use of a well-respected leader to link the people together, and the use of television as a method of deceit.
One similarity between the text and the movie was that everyone was equal in every way. It was important that the filmmakers keep this in the movie because it’s the most important detail in the story. In the short story, “Harrison Bergeron”, it says, “They were equal in every which way. Nobody was smarter than everyone else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than everybody else” (1). If the filmmakers had never kept the equality part in 2081, the storyline would not make any sense. In the movie, everyone that needed handicaps had them including George, Harrison, and the ballerinas.
You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty (Gandhi). The power society has over citizens is explored in the two texts Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut. The story Fahrenheit 451 depicts firemen who start fires instead of stop them. In this society censorship is valued and books are a main reason firemen burn. Books give you knowledge and knowledge is power which is what this society tries to prevent. In the short story “Harrison Bergeron” the topic similarly is about censorship in a more extreme way. People must wear masks and handicaps to prevent them from being different or unique. Intelligent people get a sharp noise in their ear every twenty seconds to prevent people from taking unfair advantage of their brains.
V for Vendetta is a great movie to watch in Civics class. It is a perfect film to discuss issues related to civics as it talks about citizen’s duty to overthrow corruption and more. As it is set against the ‘futuristic landscape of a totalitarian Britain’, this story focuses on a young working-class woman named Evey. In the event of being in a life-death situation, she meets V who rescues her. V makes her realize that she has the potential to do anything she desires and discovers the truth about herself as well as V. This movie is covered with various relations to Civics.
Awakening the Zombies “Everybody was finally equal. They were not only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else.” This is a short, but powerful excerpt from the short story Harrison Bergeron. Not only does it make you wonder why everyone is equal, but as well makes you wonder how did everyone become equal? In the short story and the movie, Kurt Vonnegut presents a scary view of human society in the United States in the future, in which United States citizens are all uniform. This then leads to their loss of individuality, and therefore to the absolute deformity of humanness. Both the movie and the short story share these themes, they also have a multitude of other similarities, but also have just as many differences. These differences, irony and the symbolism between the two, are what I will be attempting to explore. The first apparent difference between the movie and the short story is that the short story takes place in 2081. In the story the government regulates everything, not just intelligence, but strength and beauty as well, and handicap people appropriately. The strong are forced to wear bags filled with lead balls; beautiful people are forced to wear masks so others would not feel unequal to them in looks. The overly intelligent are forced to wear radio transmitters in their ears, that are tuned to a government station that constantly bombards them with horrible sounds to scramble their thoughts. In the movie, the year is 2053 and everyone is forced to wear mind-altering headbands that rest on their temples. These headbands electronically modify intelligence, effectively decreasing everyone’s IQ to the desired “average” point. Unlike the story, in the movie, no one wears masks to conceal their looks and some are better looking than other making them unequal in appearance to everyone else. Also the only “weight bags” that are worn, is by one dancer on the television that wore a small ankle weight with no resemblance to the enormous weight bags that are described in the story. Another difference is that in the story Harrison Bergeron had the apparent status of a god among these average people. He was fourteen years old, seven feet tall, athletic, good looking, and a genius.
Harrison Bergeron is a story that depicts a society whereby everyone is equal mentally, physically and socially. The people were forced to wear handicaps, masks, weights and headsets in order to be equal with each other in the society. V for Vendetta is a 2005 action packed film by James McTeigue which presents a society that is controlled by the government. The film and the story present dystopian societies and both are stories of the future which shows how the government will slowly start controlling its people. In all the stories, one character stands up to the government and shows significant defiance unfortunately, they end up dying trying to fight the all controlling governments.
The approach towards freedom is hard to achieve against a totalitarian government, but possible to win with the people’s belief. 1984 by George Orwell and James McTeigue’s V for Vendetta portrays the same idealism of the anti-heroes, Winston and V. An anti-hero is “a protagonist who lacks the attributes that make a heroic figure, as nobility of mind and spirit, a life or attitude marked by action or purpose” (“Antihero”). Winston is not courageous, peaceful, and self-centered along the path of freedom for Oceania, whereas the anti-hero, V, is violent in his actions, impatient and careless in his pursuit to free London from the totalitarian government. As a matter of fact, V and Winston have the opposite behaviours; this is significant because it helps to compare the approach of the anti-heroes toward freedom. At the end of 1984 and V for Vendetta, the result of their approach is different from each other; Winston gives up on the liberation of Oceania, while V dies knowing that London is freed from Norsefire Party.
The film 1981 Harrison Bergeron had many characteristics of a dystopian society. For example, propaganda plays a significant role in a dystopian society and in the during the film, it was mentioned that Harrison Bergeron, the son of George and Hazel was arrested six years ago for “propagandist vandalism”. Propaganda in a dystopian society is used to control the citizens, as well as promoting specific societal standards. Also, with propaganda, the leader (Handicapper General) of the society has the power to persuade the citizens to give up their talents, individuality, life, etc. Thus, propaganda plays a large role on social tensions. In addition, this film demonstrates a dystopian society because the leader of the society convinces the citizens to give up their individuality in exchange for a “better”
In 1984, children are exposed to depravation by government ideals, and are taught to expose all insurgence. In Vendetta, children are born into a media-corrupted world, unknowing of deprivation by lacking exposure. These negate the modern belief that children learn beliefs and ideas unbiasedly. Without communication, relationships in 1984 are restricted, thereby maturation is controlled. To mature, Winston used a diary, visited illegal places and engaged in an illegal relationship to grow his confidence in his experiences. In Vendetta, people do not mature intellectually, attributable to controlled communication. V matures his character through illegal practices; by murdering for liberation, and engaging in a relationship with Evey Hammond. In 1984, relationships between people are forced for procreation, or are amicable to government ideals. Winston's desperation for emotion and connection lead him to engage with Julia, who assists Winston’s psychological insurgency. V serendipitously encountered Evey, who dependently aids V’s emotional understanding of a civilian's perspective of his actions. Both females helped mature the protagonists’ critical life experiences, analogously with modern human values to support and love others. The evaluative question, ‘what is the good life?’ is evaluated in 1984, with Winston’s perspective being nonsynthetic food, freedom, real history and the ability of expression. Similarly in Vendetta, V convincingly claimed that society too often, “Appreciate the comforts of everyday routine, the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition”, thus indicating ignorance of governmental corruption. 1984 Londoners are ashen ascribable to the permanent presence of dust, providing an atmosphere of inevitability, where dust asphyxiates Winston's spirit. Working 60 hour weeks and earning little
The purpose of any text is to convey the criticisms of society, with V for Vendetta and Animal Farm being chief examples of this statement. Through their use of allusion, symbolism and representation, they portray many of society's flaws and imperfections. Such an imperfection includes the illustration of how totalitarian governments abuse the power they have acquired for their own gain, harming the people they are sworn to serve and protect. Through this abusive self-gaining government, we all are liable to become victims of consumer culture caused by the blind obedience to advertising and propaganda, being unable to form or voice an opinion of our own. But this lack of opinion can be at fault because of our own apathy, the ignorance and slothfulness that is contributed to the role we play in our society and the importance of that role's ability to motivate and inspire change.
The dystopian novel “1984” and the movie “V for Vendetta”, share a variety of differences and similarities. Both have a totalitarian government in which they have absolute power over politics, religion and human rights. Extensive speech, critical thinking, thoughtful writing, and voice of opinion has either been restricted or limited in 1984’s Oceania and V for Vendetta’s future London. The protagonists in both novels and films have “resisted” their government. However, the methods used to employ their “rebellion” are quite different.
...ught between Orwell and the creators of “V for Vendetta”, because “V for Vendetta” gives hope that a totalitarian government can never gain enough power to be invincible, while Orwell argues the exact opposite.
In this day in age, it is very common to find films adapted from books. Many of those films do a very well in their adaptations, but some fall short. Since it was finished, and even before its release date, the V for Vendetta film has gained some controversy from its own author. But, although the film did not end up how Alan Moore, the author, would have wanted it, he did not contribute to the project, even so, the filmography very clearly kept with the original work and showed itself as a product of the time.
Although the comparisons are well hidden, both today’s society and the story ‘Harrison Bergeron’ share similar qualities. They both deal with equality, which leads to problems and consequences. A second similarity is the struggle of competition and trying to prevent it from occurring, which also leads to problems. Lastly, both struggle with normality, and the fact that it’s hard to accept that different is okay now.
V for Vendetta is a graphic novel written by Allan Moore. It is a story full of comedy with V as the protagonist who is out to fight and destroy the government and affects innocent people. The novel was later adapted into a film and directed by James McTeigue and written by Wachowski Brothers.
History plays a very important role in Moore’s story, and his ideologies about class distinction are very prominent. For these reasons, cultural poetics and Marxist literary criticism analyzes the story of V for Vendetta in a very interesting and informative way. Using these two literary criticisms, I will analyze how the historical time period and economic class Alan Moore was brought up in shapes his view of the class distinctions in his graphic novel, and specifically how the Shadow Gallery, Evey, and Rose show how prevalent class distinction is in society and the way it stunts individuals and society as a whole. Cultural Poetics involves history. This form of criticism allows history to explain the meaning behind the story and thus allows history to be the context because according to D.G. Meyers, “History serves as the repressed unconscious of literature.”