ACTIVITY 1: Questions (1-12)
1. What was your initial reaction to V for Vendetta? How did the film make you feel? Did it make you
think? Were your opinions or attitudes changed by it? Which characters did you empathise with?
Dislike? Feel sorry for?
2. When and where is the film set? What impression is given of the society at this time? Is there any
evidence that people are growing increasingly unhappy under the government?
Setting: Dystopian England 2025
Society: Society is ruled by an oppressive regime, that enforces a curfew through loud speakers on
the street, cameras, surveillance vans, and secret police called the Fingerman.
People are unhappy: montage of people from different backgrounds seeming unhappy and
displeased by the current situation.
V’s destruction of the old Bailey with music and fireworks past curfew prompts interest and excitement
from the people.
3. What is the significance of November 5? What four things are shown happening on November 5?
November 5 is the anniversary of the gunpowder, when Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators
attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament and restore Catholicism to England during the
renaissance period.
4. How does V deliberately implicate Evey in his plans?
V implicates Evey, by inviting her to join him on the roof top and view the destruction of the Old Bailey.
The surveillance cameras would soon see them and identify her.
V uses Evey’s BTN ID to access Lewis Protheros’s apartment
5. Chief Inspector Finch says that he has been a party member for 27 years and he is one of the inner
Cabinet. How does the film suggest he has his doubts about the regime, even before he finds out
about Larkhill and the St Mary's virus?
Finch’s willingness to keep on investigating V and his terrorism, even though he has been warned
against.
Finch tells Dominic that he wants to speak to Evey before she disappears into one of “Creedy’s black
bags”.
At his meetings with the High Chancellor’s inner cabinet, Finch mumbles “England prevails” rather
than saying it loudly like everyone else.
6. How does Evey change during the course of the film? How is this shown?
Evey appears child-like with her curls, dressed in shades of pink, and lacks a degree of confidence.
At the end of the film, Evey is more confident. She has a shaven head and wears darker more
masculine clothing. She recounts to V how even one of her former colleagues at the BTN didn’t
recognise her as she so much more confident rather than subservient.
7. Why is V not ever shown without his mask?
“Beneath this mask is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea….and ideas are bullet proof”
V is meant to be an everyman, who is willing to rebel against an oppressive regime. Rather than
distracting the viewer with details about his background, the audience is instead forced to focus on
his message and motivations.
8. V murders several characters associated with his time at the Larkhill Detention Centre, yet the death
of Delia Surridge differs significantly? Why?
Delia Surridge’s murder is significantly different from Prothero’s and the bishop’s, as unlike them she
realised what she had done wrong with her medical experiments at Larkhill and apologises to V before
she dies.
When we watch a film for the first time, we usually watch for the story; when we see it again, we are more
likely to notice how the story is told. However, you may already have noticed some of the striking
techniques used.
9. Make a note of any significant techniques you remember seeing. You might think about lighting,
camera angles, special effects, or the use of sound and music.
Repetition of the symbolic red rose for each murder
Camera shots – through the chambers in Creedy’s gun, long shot of people in the crowd removing
their masks,
Editing – Dominoes scenes in amongst Finch’s explanation
Allusion – Nazism, Guy Fawkes, Shakespeare, The Count of Monte Cristo
Music – Cat Power,
10. The letter V is ubiquitous (everywhere) in the film. How many examples can you remember?
Number of V’s cell (V = 5 in Roman numerals
5th of November
V logo spray painted over government posters
V displayed in red fireworks
Evey – emphasis on the v
V quotes from Macbeth when he first appears in the film, which is in iambic pentameter
V and Evey both raise their arms in V shape, when he arises from the fire and she from her cell
V changes the TV logo from “BTN” to “VTV”
V for Vendetta is a play on the slogan of “V for Victory” at the end of second world war.
Valerie’s name starts with “V
11. Besides the letter V, the director uses a range of different symbols and motifs as part of the story? Can
you identify at least three and where you saw them in the movie?
Guy Fawkes mask worn by V
V and Evey are reborn – V through fire at Larkhill, and Evey in the rain
Red
Dominoes
Fingerman logo – geometric image with primary colors of red and black.
12. The film employs a number of different ways of telling the story. What different methods did you
notice?
The present day story of V and Evey is told conventionally.
Point of reference character of the little girl with glasses, who represents the wider British public.
Voice-over narration of Finch, usually accompanied by a montage of images
Voice-over narration of V as William Rookwood recounting Sutler’s rise to power
Back story
Valerie’s letters – voice-over narration and flashbacks
Delia Surridge’s diary – voice-over narration and flashbacks
Media Messages
News stories regarding V
BTN
Lewis Prothero’s rants on TV
ACTIVITY 2: Questions (13-15)
13. When and where is the film set? How do you know?
14. What is revealed about the society at this time? How is this revealed?
15. Often film-makers use settings to reveal important details about a character and their personality?
Consider the following characters and what each setting reveals about them?
a.
V and his Shadow Gallery
V’s Shadow Gallery is his home and where he stores all the artworks and other subversive materials
that he has liberated from the censor.
b.
Evey and her bedsit
Evey lives in a very basic tiny bedsit, with few personal possessions that reflects her status as an
orphan who sees herself with insignificant.
c.
High Chancellor Sutler meets with the inner cabinet
Sutler speaks through a gigantic TV screen that dominates his cabinet room. He looks down on his
cabinet members who are cloaked in darkness.
d.
Dietrich and his mansion.
Dietrich is a wealthy and successful TV star, but like V must hide his identity (this time as a
homosexual) and has a secret room filled with banned art and religious texts like the Koran.
ACTIVITY 3: Questions (16-19)
16. What elements of both science-fiction and dystopian fiction does V for Vendetta have?
SCIENCE-FICTION
Film is set in an alternative future 2040
V has super hero like agility and speed. This is meant to be a side effect of the drugs that were
tested on him at Larkhill.
DYSTOPIAN SOCIETY
Oppressive totalitarian dictatorship, that censors and suppresses alternate views and opposition.
People are usually discontented with the regime and there are hints of rebellion.
17. The character of Gordon Dietrich is played by the well-known British actor and comedian, Stephen
Fry. What is unique about his background that make him a clever choice to play Dietrich?
By choosing Stephen Fry to play Gordon Dietrich, the director is deliberately choosing a prominent
gay television host and celebrity to play a character that is quite similar to him. The knowledge of
such intertextuality helps make Fry’s portrayal of Dietrich all the more poignant.
18. The film, V for Vendetta, deliberately connects the Norsefire regime with totalitarian regimes from
both history (ie. Nazi Germany) and fiction (1984 by George Orwell). Can you find at least five
examples where these connections are made?
Norsefire symbol is geometric, black, white and red just like a Nazi swastika
High Chancellor Sutler is very Hitler-like. Similar sounding names.
Fingerman = Gestapo, Hitler’s secret police
In the flashbacks, Sutler appears like Hitler in his mannerisms as he speaks on a podium to the
audience
“England prevails” – “Heil Hitler”
Norsefire regime – “Norse” = Scandinavian – blonde hair and blue eyes master race
Larkhill Detention Centre and other places were like Concentration camps for homosexuals, people
of different religions, dissidents
Larkhill Detention Centre – conducted experiments on people
19. What is the effect of such allusions on the viewer? How do they affect your overall understanding of
the text?
The director asks the viewer to make connections with the past and present day through these
allusions, which makes the film’s message about the necessity to rebel against oppressive regimes all
that more potent.
MOTIF AND SYMBOL
A motif is an image, an idea, or a word or phrase that is repeated several times in a particular work. It is a
unifying device. Although motifs are used in literature, they are particularly common in film, where they are
more often visual images.
There are a number of significant motifs in this film.
A symbol is an image, an idea, a word that represents something else, other than itself. Symbols may have
universal significance – e.g. the Christian cross – or meaning only in the work in which they are used. The
meaning of a symbol is decided by convention, rather than by any direct link with what it signifies. Symbols
may have meaning just to the audience, or to the characters or to both.
1. Look at this list of motifs and symbols in the film and complete the activity.
MOTIF OR SYMBOL
a) Letter “V”
EXAMPLE - Specific examples from
the text?
WHICH ONE? Is it a
motif or a symbol?
SYMBOLISM - If it is a symbol,
what does it represent?
Fireworks
Motif
Used for unity
Symbol – as its
consistent what it
means and represents
Guy Fawkes – symbol of
rebellion
Cell number
V and Evey’s pose after escaping
imprisonment
Graffiti on the posters
Dominoes
V’s opening speech containing
alliteration with the letter “V”
V quotes Shakespeare who writes in
iambic pentameter
Creedy plays the Beethoven’s 5th
Symphony
5th November
b) Guy Fawkes
Opening clip at the start of the film,
shows the story of Guy Fawkes
Poem
November 5th was the day of the
Gunpowder Plot
V’s mask is known as Guy Fawkes
mast
c) Color red
Curtains in V’s lair like in a theatre
Motif
Dominoes
Red graffiti
Scarlet Carsen roses
Part of the Norsefire logo
Fireworks
Sutler has a cut in the shape of v
The underground train has a red lever
d) Masks
Evey wears make up
V puts on his mask in the opening
scenes
Black bags obliterate someone’s
identity
V’s mask
Symbol
Masks are used to conceal their
real identity.
The Guy Fawkes mask that V gives
out to the people
Dietrich hides his true identity behind
his façade as a successful tv host
Sutler hides behind his Tv screen and
is never seen in person until the end
of the movie
Finch has his doubts about the
regime but is forced to hide his true
feelings
At the end of the movie, everyone
removes a Guy Fawkes mask to
reveal who they truly are and their
wish to stand against the Norsefire
regime
e) Black bags
f)
Fire and rain
g) Old Bailey and
Houses of
Parliament
h)
Girl with glasses
CHARACTERISATION
As we work through each scene, remember to also consider how the film techniques contribute to the
viewer’s understanding of each character and their nature: CHARACTERS
ROLE IN THE TEXT –




Evey
Hammond
V
Finch
High
Chancellor
Adam Sutler
Creedy
Gordon
Dietrich
protagonist/ antagonist;
hero/villian;
sympathetic; easy to
identify with;
point of view;
victim/perpatrator
DEPICTION –




costuming,
acting style and dialogue
setting,
framing and camera work
CHANGE –

Does the character change?
If so, how?