Granmeister+Poohbaa

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Karen Granahan AB4 2-4-2011 __V for Vendetta Review __ “There are ideas in this film. The most pointed is V’s belief: “People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.”” (Ebert) V is a masked character who is disguised as Guy Fawkes, the 17th century British anarchist, who makes it his life mission to destroy the totiltarian government that has taken complete control of Britain after an era of war and chaos around the globe. Chancellor Sutler rules over the nation using a big-brother approach with surveilance systems watching over the fear driven people constantly. This government could be described as a neo-nazi system in the sense that it is racist, discriminates against homosexuals, and doesn’t accept any form of religion other than Christianity. There are undisclosed locations that they use like concentration camps from the holocaust where they do scientific tests, torture, and kill the unfortunate victims. In the beginning of the movie the people of Britain are very much so afraid of their own government. V saves a young lady named Evey Hammond when she was out after curfew caught by the corrupt police as they were about to sexually assault and beat her. They become friends throughout the movie and he shows her the truth about her own government that the citizens had been blinded from. “The movie asks questions about the price we're willing to pay by giving up freedom to feel safe (a far cry from "Give me liberty or give me death!"), and argues that the term "terrorist" is defined by perspective.” (Berardinelli) This is the message that V breaks into the tv station system to broadcast to the people. He may be confined by a mask, but he really brings character to it with the passion and ferver he infuses into every speech. He is portrayed as an educated, polite, and emotional person, which makes it difficult for the audience to decide if he is a terrorist or a freedom fighter. He is a freedom fighter for the people, but to the fascist regime, he is a mind boggling terrorist. “Without overthinking or digging too deep, viewers will be able to identify parallels with //1984,// [|//The Matrix//]//, The Phantom of the Opera, Zorro //, and even [|//Star Wars//].” (Berardinelli//)// V is a dark, masked character who sneaks around secret, shadowed passageways under the city. That relates to the Phantom of //The Phantom of the Opera//, however, V’s real face is never revealed in this movie. He is an agile fighter and full of wit like __Zorro__, as well as fighting against an all controlling system similar to the conflict in //The Matrix//.

Ebert, roger. "V for Vendetta." //rogerebert.com//. Roger Ebert, 06 mar 2006. Web. 4 Feb 2011. .

(Ebert)

Berardinelli, James. "V for Vendetta." //Reelviews//. Reelviews Movie Reviews, n.d. Web. 4 Feb 2011. .

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 1.5pt; line-height: normal; margin: 7.5pt;">(Berardinelli)