V+for+Vendetta

Tianna Pittenger


 * * Story
 * Authors
 * Alan Moore
 * David Lloyd
 * Issues Adressed and Symbolism Employed
 * Anarchy and Fascism
 * Revenge
 * The Gunpowder Plot
 * Visual Elements Utilized
 * Artistic Style
 * Significant Images and Objects in the Story
 * Film Adaptation
 * Notes
 * Sources ||

//V for Vendetta// takes place in what was imagined by Alan Moore as a totalitarian dystopia in the near-future Britain. A fascist regime called Norsefire that arose after a nuclear war rules the country with an iron fist. However, one man, known only as the letter V, is determined to bring down the tyrants that populate his society while exacting his own personal revenge. A young girl named Evey Hammond happens to get mixed up with him in his plots for anarchy, and eventually becomes his apprentice. After the first spark of revolution has been lit, there is no turning back, and things are never the same for the British again. Back to Top

 Alan Moore
Alan Moore was born on November 18, 1953 in Northampton, England. He is quite a character; a general eccentric, an anarchist, a vegetarian, and a worshipper of a Roman god who he concedes is a “complete hoax.” At age 17 he was expelled from school for dealing LSD, and after a few years of small jobs went on to explore an actual career in the literary world, specifically cartoons and graphic novels. A His work in graphic novels such as //V for Vendetta //, //Watchmen //, //From Hell // and //The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen // has gained him praise in the literary world as well as admiration from scores of fans. However, with the fame that he has gained through the movie industry’s interpretation on his books, he is still unyielding about his denouncements of the adaptations presented. When asked if he was involved in the creation of the many films that have been made with his works as the premise, he denied any involvement other than coming down to the set every once in a while, saying, “It’s sort of like if someone’s going to butcher my babies, I prefer it wasn’t //me//.” H He has also stated that he will do no more work for DC or Marvel Comics due to the copyright related abuse he feels he’s received from them in the past. V for Vendetta was published in 1989 by DC, and just as with the fans that he reached through the book, it became one of his own favorite works. When asked about the book he’s most proud of, //Watchmen// came to mind, but //V for Vendetta// was also recognized. **“ ****//V for Vendetta //** was also important to me because, although it probably wasn’t as intellectually dazzling or as accomplished as **//Watchmen //**, it probably had more //heart //, more emotion,” said Moore. H There were many different elements used by Moore in the creation of the book. He created a list of these elements before the book was written and it was eventually reprinted in //Behind the Painted Smile//, the supplemental information book that went along with //V for Vendetta//. The list goes as follows:

"Orwell. Huxley. Thomas Disch. //Judge Dredd//. Harlan Ellison's "//Repent//, //Harlequin//!" //Said// //the// //Ticktockman//, //Catman// and //The// //Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World// by the same author. Vincent Price's //Dr. Phibes// and //Theatre of Blood//. David Bowie. //The Shadow. Night Raven. Batman. Fahrenheit 451.// The writings of the New Worlds school of science fiction. Max Ernst's painting "Europe After the Rain". Thomas Pynchon. The atmosphere of British Second World War films. //The// //Prisoner//. Robin Hood. Dick Turpin... " K Back to Top

David Lloyd
David Lloyd was born in 1950, and started illustrating comics in the 1970s. He’s best known for his work with //V for Vendetta//. However, he and Alan Moore had worked on other projects in the past, such as the //Doctor Who// series that they had made when they worked for Marvel comics. Lloyd’s illustrations of V for Vendetta are striking, using light and darkness along with limited colors to create a world that looks as if it’s very dark indeed. Lloyd also advised Moore against using some of the usual characteristics of comics, such as captions, thought bubbles, and sound effects. Lloyd thought that ommitting these elements of conventional comics would make the book more like a serious novel instead of a run-of-the-mill comics book. E Moore apparently appreciated working with Lloyd, saying during the creation process:

“… if ever he [David] should decide to leave the strip there is not the remotest possibility of my working with anyone else upon it. V is something that happens at the point where my warped personality meets David’s warped personality, and it is something that neither of us could do either by ourselves or working with another artist or writer.” L Back to Top

Anarchy and Fascism
Anarchy plays a key role in Moore's story. V says that anarchy has taught him that "justice is meaningless without freedom," and that anarchy is honest and promises nothing, so no promises can be broken. As explained in various sections in the book, V's utmost wish is to bring about a revolution which will end with the people of Britain coming to a "true order, which is to say voluntary order" (in other words, anarchy) of their own accord. The best way to do this, as he sees, is to bring the current totalitarian regime to it's knees and then obliterate it altogether. After that, he wishes to leave it up to the people of the country, who he hopes will continue and end what he started. Eventually, V's dream is realized, but as it passes into the next stage of revolution and reconstruction, it brings with it his own life. This leaves Evey to take up his mantle on her own and to help spread what they believe will be a better form of life for the people.

Fascism is equally important to the story. When Moore was starting to write //V for Vendetta//, Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative party was in power in England up against the Labour Party. He was very concerned about what might happen to his country if either party won the election that was coming up at the time. He thought that if the Labour Party won, that the nuclear missles that were being housed in England by the Americans would be taken out of the country. On this thought, he started to rationalize that if they did that, they would be short distance "from that point up until the Fascist takeover in the post-holocaust Britain of the 1990's." But as it turned out, the Conservative Party won the election, and Thatcher was given power once more. However, this didn't change Moore's views about where the country was headed. With Thatcher's comment regarding her confidence about Conservative leadership "well into the next century" along with the other circumstances of the time (rumors circulating about concentration camps for people with AIDS, police vans with cameras perched on top of them, the eradication of homosexuality). With these ideas circulating and Alan Moore's pre-existing fear of totalitarianism, //V for Vendetta// was created with them in mind. C Back to Top

Revenge
V's vendetta sparks from not only his mistreatment as a test subject and political prisoner in the Larkhill detention center, but also from the death and dying words of a woman who he had never met, but who had lived in the cell next to him. The woman, Valerie, wrote with her last vestiges of life a letter on toilet paper to anyone who could read it. In it, she told her life story and proclaimed: "I don't know who you are, or whether you're a man or woman. I may never see you. I will never hug you or cry with you or get drunk with you. But I love you. I hope that you escape this place. I hope that the world turns and that things get better, and that one day people have roses again." Valerie's letter inspires V to take action against those who held him prisoner and those who control them. So through her death and the atrocities he himself went through, his wish for revenge was born. This feeling guides V for the rest of his life, and acts as a basis for his plots.

Every person that V kills or exacts his revenge upon was a key figure in making him who he is in the story. A good example of this is Lewis Prothero, the main figure in the propaganda industry. He was "the voice of fate," and his news show was broadcast to everyone in Britain. While being a prominent political figure, he also had what was deemed a sentimental side because of his avid hobby of collecting dolls. While on a train ride with some other party members, he is kidnapped by V and taken back to the Shadow Gallery (V's home), to a special part that had been prepared just for him. V walks him through a replica of the concentration camp, Larkhill, where they had both been during the war: V as a prisoner, and Prothero as a military figure who ran the base. Throughout the "tour," Prothero denies being at the center at first, and then comes to the horrible realization of who V is, and how he relates to his past. V then shows Prothero the crown jewel of all of his preparations to make Prothero "at home": a replica of the ovens, which Prothero used to operate, and which have now been filled with his precious collection of dolls. V points out to Prothero the irony that he cares more about the safety and "life" of his dolls than about the scores of humans he killed at Larkhill. After Prothero's numerous pleas for mercy on his dolls, V flips a switch. Immediately, the pile of plastic and porcelain figures crying piteously "Mama...Mama" is engulfed in flames, and Prothero breaks down. Later on, he is pointed out in a back alley to a guard by V himself. When Prothero is taken inside and seen in the light, he is covered in makeup that makes him look like a doll, and the only words that come out of his mouth are "Mama...Mama." He had been driven insane, just as what the Larkhill concentration camp had done to V. With his revenge exacted on one more person, V moves onto the next to make them pay one way or another for their role in making him who he was. M Back to Top

The Gunpowder Plot
In one of the beginning scenes of the book, V recites a small rhyme that sets the tone for the whole book. "Remember remember the fifth of November / The gunpowder treason and plot / I see no reason why the gunpowder treason / Should ever be forgot..." It refers to an incident in 1605 involving Parliament and the attempt to blow it up by a man named Guy Fawkes. The idea was that if the plan succeeded and Parliament was successfully destroyed, then the newly crowned James Stuart along with the Lords and Commons present would be destroyed as well, bringing a form of anarchy to England. However, Fawkes was found out, tried for treason and hung. V uses this incident for the basis of some of his actions, for example, the style of his mask (which is based on Fawkes' likeness) and blowing up Parliament on November 5, 1997 in parody of Fawkes. D

Traditionally, Britain //does// celebrate the 5th of November, though it has been dubbed Bonfire Night. The holiday itself has changed severely over the years, starting off as a warning and transforming into an anarchistic festival. Following the treason in 1605, James decided to make the 5th of November a holiday in the spirit of nationalism and warning. However, over the years the holiday took on a different meaning, one of political unrest and the release of frustrations. In the 1800s, English towns saw the potential for upheaval if Bonfire Night got out of hand. The local uppercrust distanced themselves from the "festivites," which they saw as a threat to law and order. Since then, what little authority there has been over the holiday has been weak, and sometimes the day goes as far as temporary anarchy. There have been reports of people throwing bonfires in which effigies of Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush have been burnt in protest, reflecting the anti-conservative ideas of Guy Fawkes. D Back to Top

Visual Elements Utilized
===Artistic Style === The artistry of //V for Vendetta// is very much classical and reminds one of the older style of "film noir." This technique employs mostly monochromatic imagery which alludes to the hay-day of black and white movies. During the time directly before the creation of color movies, film makers had perfected the method of capturing their subjects on camera in a way that gave them an air of mystery or conveyed a certain amount of emotion. One classic example of how these developed methods were applied was in the movie //Casablanca//. The use of light and darkness in the film to frame and highlight the characters can be seen as an influence to //V for Vendetta//, however indirect it may have been.

Most of the book involves very dark situations, and the drawings follow the mood of the scene. A lot of the time, the background of the panels is dark, while the characters are very pale, creating a chiaroscuro effect. The style of drawing is very important to the book itself because it conveys the same sense of mystery that's present in film noir.

Significant Images and Objects in the Story
In V for Vendetta, much of the background information is given just as such -- in the background. When one sees panels dealing with the interior of the Shadow Gallery, one also sees (if actually paying attention) the things that influence V's persona. Some of the most prominent and telling things in his home are the things like what type of books he has on his shelves: Shakespeare, //Uncle Tom's Cabin//, Homer, //Don Quixote//, //Gulliver's Travels//, //Faust//, //Frankenstein//, and //V//. There are others, and the list goes on. These works all have something in common: They all deal with subject matter that the totalitarian regime would find offensive, and they would seem to a reader to be works of some intelligence, leading one to believe that V himself is an intelligent man. Other things that tell more about his background and personality are the paintings and posters that he has on his walls and suspended from his ceiling. The posters are predominantly old film advertisements, showing straight from the start that V is interested in theatrics, which will play a key role later on in the book. I

V himself is a visual element. By not having a definite "face," only a mask, anyone with enough integrity can take his place simply because he is an idea. There are some who say that V was never actually a person, simply a being wandering through life until they went through their transformation at Larkhill. Others say that it doesn't matter who V actually is, it only matters what he comes to symbolize and mean to the people of Britain. Mr. Finch, the detective who was assigned V's case and who eventually gets so wrapped up in it that it nearly costs him his mind, had a very telling and very true comment about V. He said, "He's become some kind of all-purpose symbol to them, hasn't he?" (p.252) M Back to Top

Film Adaptation
While some prefer the film of V for Vendetta to the book or vice versa, it's only fair to take them as what they are: completely different, in many ways. The film received reviews that were both positive and negative, but one of the most important reviews came from the author. Alan Moore, a veteran to what Hollywood can do to an original story, completely denounced the Wachowski Brother's interpretation of the book. He was completely put-off with the tone of the film, mainly because it failed to deal withthe subject of anarchy. He said, "[The movie] has been "turned into a Bush-era parable by people too timid to set a political satire in their own country… It's a thwarted and frustrated and largely impotent American liberal fantasy of someone with American liberal values standing up against a state run by neoconservatives—which is not what the comic //V for Vendetta// was about. It was about fascism, it was about anarchy, it was about England." K

However, David Lloyd confessed to actually liking the film adaptation of the book, saying, "It's a terrific film. The most extraordinary thing about it for me was seeing scenes that I'd worked on and crafted for maximum effect in the book translated to film with the same degree of care and effect. The "transformation" scene between Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving is just great. If you happen to be one of those people who admires the original so much that changes to it will automatically turn you off, then you may dislike the film—but if you enjoyed the original and can accept an adaptation that is different to its source material but equally as powerful, then you'll be as impressed as I was with it." K

There are some definite differences between the book and the film, however. One of the most obvious changes is of course anarchy, or rather the avoidance of the subject in the film. While it is one of the main themes in //V for Vendetta//, there is only a small mentioning of the subject in a passing conversation in the film. Another big thing that was changed to make the film more appelaing to audiences was the character dynamic between V and Evey. In the book Evey was only V's apprentice, someone to take up his mantle when he fell. However, in the movie, the scriptwriters decided to throw in a lovestory between the two of them. Other things stand out, such as character placement, significance or even things like the climax of the story. To truly pick out what details were part of the original work and what were not, one must observe them separately. F G N Back to Top