On V for Vendetta

 Recently I was informed that a young man, who I once tutored in maths when he was a boy was given an assignment in his high school Civics class. This young man was tasked with watching a movie and responding to the question shown below. My friend, the young man's mother, mentioned this to me asking if I knew of the movie V FOR VENDETTA. I decided that the question was worthy of an answer and so I wrote one, and considering my perception on the current social position held by many teachers I'm putting forth my argument on an assumed position held by the teacher. 

Question: What can be learned about the importance of civil engagement from the movie?

Part I - Introduction

‘V for Vendetta’ is a 2005 movie written and produced by Andy and Larry Wachowski based on the graphic novel published by Vertigo/DC Comics, which was written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd in 1988. The published graphic novel was based on a series of 1982 single issue comics with titles that mostly started with the letter ‘V’: Vertigo, Vincent, Valerie and The Vacation.

Part II - The Story, SPOILER ALERT

The hero of this story does not start off as the protagonist, though they do get a field promotion right near the end; I did warn about spoilers. Initially and easily recognizable hero is named within the title, and he only goes by ‘V’; brush up your roman numbers if you want to figure out why. Knowing what you now know, understand that V has a personal problem that can only be sorted out via revenge, and as such he is driven to vengeance; or as the Italians like to say – Una Vendetta.

Part III - Answering the Question in two parts

a)                             (Short answer)

In the course of being a participant in a free and open democratic like society, when you don’t participate in civil engagement then someone, or many-ones, will replace your voice and they may drive your society in a way that displeases you.

b)                     (Longer answer – More spoilers)

The movie is at its base a study in the variance of human nature types when a common situation unfolds in front of many people. While the story may come across as a homage to Orwell’s 1984, as it doesn’t really seem to define any actual year or day outside of the one obvious reference. Within the storyline, the movie informs the audience of what it needs to know about the paste so they can understand the present in the film. As such, the audience gets to see the present, hints from the past, and a suggestion towards the future.

 Outside of the self introduction V gives to Evey Hammond at the beginning of the film there are two other quite significant lines in this movie. The first being the recitation of the Guy Fox poem regarding the Fifth of November, which would be about Bonfire Night, and the second being the ‘If you see what I see’ speech. The Guy Fox lines were used to remind the ‘in movie characters’ and the audience that in times of a tyrannical government one should fight although fighting has consequence.  The second speech hints that if you don’t fight, much like the majority of people in the movie, then that too has consequences.

 So, this movie shows that if citizens are NOT willing to help row the political boat then they are letting the social boat open to mutiny and piracy. While V satisfied his urge for vendetta, and he knew that while he was ridding the world of the rot that hurt him, he left it to Evey to carry out the mission. At the end, Evey becomes the hero for she picked up the flag and carried on without V’s drive for vengeance. What the movie leaves out, much to its credit, is who will fill the political power vacuum left by the deaths of Sutler, Creedy, Prothero, and of course V himself. ‘He was all of us’ is the closing line, thus showing V as the symbol of a society nudged too far.

 -- Part V --

Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.