V For Vendetta Themes

The United States have always been viewed as a democracy. It has been portrayed as the land of the free for many years. Out of all of these years the States have not been free. It is all a façade and a very good one at that. There are many norms and values that have been placed upon society and have been accepted in the eyes of the public. “V for Vendetta” is a film that is based off of the graphic novel that was written by Alan Moore. Though the novel V for Vendetta was written in the 1980’s the drama film was released in 2006 and it definitely made a political statement. The film surfaced political and social norms, religious beliefs, and a sense of morality through the significance of the themes and the meanings behind them.

To begin the

plot takes place in a police state where the main character happens to be a vigilante known as V in the story. A vigilante is someone who elects them to undertake law enforcement within their own community without any legal control simply because the legal facilities are made out to be insufficient. London's government is based off of fascism, dictatorship, and oppression. Freedom is free to have but it is not free when it is challenged. Most people who have always had their freedom taken advantage of it, however, in terms of fascism, power and freedoms can be dictated and threatened. One must have the ability to fight for their freedom by any means necessary or just simply hand it over which would allow those who threatened it to take full advantage of it. One of the main themes was to always strive and never give up even if fighting for your freedom or what you believe in can put you in danger.
In addition to that the government in V for Vendetta is very similar to today's government being that their treatment of the legislation of religion is just as important as the government alone. Their government and today's government are both considered to be religious and conservative. Though this is not a bad thing, it still becomes problematic for those who are neither religious nor conservative and will go beyond the means of traditional interest to live the life they want to live. This factor is what some theorist research and explains how crimes are committed because one is forced to live by certain norms and values that they may not agree with. In V for Vendetta the meaning of crime is treated like an interchangeable lens that everyone sees through differently. This definitely raises questions about the morality and social norms that are displayed throughout the film as well as religion. Moore uses religious figures to show the impact and authority that religion has on the government.
In the light of morality, it is challenging trying to detect who the protagonist and antagonist are in V for Vendetta.

On one token, it seems pretty evident being that V combats the fascist government in order to free the people. V’s actions can be classified as good vs evil, however, the way he goes about achieving that freedom is what conflicts with the morality of his character. It allows one to question whether or not his actions are wrong, even though he is trying to do something right. He can be somewhat of a savage when he kills guilty and innocent equally notwithstanding of their repentance. V has some bad ways in which he finds himself capturing this orphan girl named Evey. He tortures and emotionally abuses her until she finally breaks down. He does this so that way she can see things the same way that he does despite the fact that she has her own desires and beliefs. The fact that he manipulates and brainwashes her it allows the audience to think that V is a bad guy being hat his sense of morality goes out of the window from time to time. Though people may consider that evil he still means well and does what he does with good intentions. Though his actions are not heroic he still captures the attention of the audience in a way that allows him to show how he is a dynamic character. If this were any other story he may as well be the villain based on his actions, but he is the hero in V for Vendetta. The main point of interest of V for Vendetta is freedom and its

relationship with chaos, or the absence of government. V labels himself as an anarchist who has confidence in the idea that all governmental authority is corrupt because it invades the privacy and the rights that humans possess in reference to freedom.
Likewise, the members of Norsefire are portrayed as having fluctuating degrees of respectable qualities. As one of the highest ranking officials in the government, Eric Finch eventually hunts down and kills V, not because V did anything to him, but because he thinks it is morally the right thing to do. As seen a lot of the characters are having trouble dealing with morality. Even though Finch does not believe in fascism, he still desires to help London any way that he can. The leader of the fascist regime, Susan, also honestly believes that what he is doing is the best option for everyone; no matter how unpleasant it leaves people feeling. This allows Susan and V to show their similar characteristics since they both seem to have the same view.
In the final analysis it is evident that this film has more hidden meanings than expected.

It was very deep and has the potential to have an entire audience on edge being that it is filled with excitement and very vivid details from start to finish. In the movie V states that “people should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people”. This statement is the epitome of today’s government and the government that was in the film. People are often afraid of what they cannot see and touch. Government cannot be seen or touched but it can be changed and the only way to do that is by implementing positive methods in approaching or addressing problems. The United States is a prime example of a democracy however every country has its fallacies within its government. Though the U.S. has been portrayed as the land of the free just like V there is always someone willing to try to put everything on the line in order to gain victory for the entire country and not just

themselves.