STUDY QUESTIONS
V for Vendetta
Good evening, London. Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. I do, like many of
you, appreciate the comforts of every day routine- the security of the familiar, the tranquility
of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration,
thereby those important events of the past usually associated with someone's death or the
end of some awful bloody struggle, a celebration of a nice holiday, I thought we could mark
this November the 5th, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out
of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat. There are of course those who do not
want us to speak. I suspect even now, orders are being shouted into telephones, and men
with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in
lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to
meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is
something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and
oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw
fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and
soliciting your submission. How did this happen? 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. I know why you did it. I
know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War, terror, disease. There were a myriad of
problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear
got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the now high chancellor, Adam Sutler.
He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your
silent, obedient consent. Last night I sought to end that silence. Last night I destroyed the
Old Bailey, to remind this country of what it has forgotten. More than four hundred years
ago a great citizen wished to embed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope
was to remind the world that fairness, justice, and freedom are more than words, they are
perspectives. So if you've seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to
you then I would suggest you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked. But if you see
what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek, then I ask you to stand
beside me one year from tonight, outside the gates of Parliament, and together we shall
give them a fifth of November that shall never, ever be forgot."
The above speech is the November the Fifth message that V delivers in his
hijacking of the Interlink during his occupation of the BTN (British Television
Network) studios. Norsefire Chancellor Sutler orders BTN to proclaim the entire
episode an act of terrorism. Do you consider the content of V's message a
terrorist manifesto? When a government, in conjunction with its media, plays
down or alters the terror of an alleged act of terrorism, is it a conspiracy? Why,
or why not? Are there circumstances under which a message of hatred for the
ideologies of one's own government is a form of "hate speak"? If so, what are
they? If not, why not?
2.
Remember, remember,
the fifth of November,
the gunpowder treason and plot. I know of
now reason
why the gunpowder treason should ever
be forgot.
The inspiration for V for Vendetta was the 1604 Guy Fawkes's plot to blow up
the British Parliament building and, in a subversive act of protest, assassinate
King James I and restore a Catholic monarch to the British throne. The U.K.
celebrates November 5, Guy Fawkes Day, in the same spirit with which
Americans in the United States celebrate October 31, Halloween: as a
vanquishing of the darkness and a celebration. Much in the way we display
scarecrows on Halloween night, in England Guy Fawkes effigies are hung, and
often burned, in a celebratory bonfire. However, Guy Fawkes is clearly a
political holiday at its heart. What political holidays in the U.S. do you feel
celebrate—or, should celebrate—the proper spirit of political subversion? For
instance, 2012 marks the 100 year anniversary of San Diego's Free Speech
Fight, in which organized workers suffered imprisonment, police violence, and
death in order to congregate and protest publically in downtown San Diego. Do
you feel that his is comparable to the Guy Fawkes holiday in the U.K.? Why, or
why not?
3.
People should not be afraid of their governments; governments should be afraid of their
people."—V
"The building is a symbol, as is the act of destroying it. Symbols are given power by their
people. By itself, a symbol is meaningless, but with enough people, blowing up a building
can change the world."—V
Do you agree or disagree with these statements? The dropping of the atomic
bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended World War II by creating a global
state of terror in a demonstration of the power of atomic weaponry. It's widely
known that Kyoto, not Nagasaki, was originally slated for atomic destruction.
Among other qualities, Kyoto was considered one of Japan's oldest cultural
capitals, housing some of it's greatest antiquities and oldest monuments,
temples, and buildings. Its selection was intended to strike at the very heart of
Japanese culture, itself. Buildings can be symbols in many different ways that
change the world. In light of September 11, 2001, how do you react to the
quotes above? What, if anything, is different about V's plot to blow up buildings
as a symbolic gesture? If you could safely destroy (i.e., without casualties) one
manmade structure as a symbol, what would it be and what would it represent?
In what way would you wish to "change the world" with this single act, and
why?
4. "Would you prefer a lie or the truth?" —V
"Artists use lies to tell the truth, while politicians use them to cover the truth up."—Evey,
paraphrasing her father.
"If our own government was responsible for what happened at St. Mary's and Three
Waters--if our own government was responsible for the deaths of almost a hundred
thousand people--would you really want to know? . . . [At Larkhill] I suddenly had this
feeling that everything was connected. It’s like I could see the whole thing, one long chain
of events that stretched all the way back before Larkhill. I felt like I could see everything
that had happened, and everything that was going to happen. It was like a perfect pattern,
laid out in front of me and I realized we were all part of it, and all trapped by it."—Finch
In responding to Evey's charges that he fraudulently imprisoned and tortured
her, V replies, "Yes, I created a lie, but because you believed in it you found
something true about yourself." Is this an example of "artists using lies to tell
the truth"? Was the torture justified? To what extent does this statement apply
to what Finch says about Larkhill and his own government? Has he discovered
something true about himself? Is it possible to learn something about ourselves
by believing in a conspiracy? Is learning something true about oneself the
same thing as learning a truth? In answer to V's question, "Would you prefer a
lie or the truth?" discuss the circumstances under which you would prefer your
own government to lie to you, and the circumstances under which you would
prefer it to tell you the truth.
5.
"My fellow Englishmen: tonight our country, that which we stand for, and all we hold dear,
faces a grave and terrible threat. This violent and unparalleled assault on our security will
not go undefended... or unpunished. Our enemy is an insidious one, seeking to divide us
and destroy the very foundation of our great nation. Tonight, we must remain steadfast. We
must remain determined. But most of all, we must remain united. Those caught tonight in
violation of curfew will be considered in league with our enemy and prosecuted as a
terrorist without leniency or exception. Tonight, I give you my most solemn vow: that justice
will be swift, it will be righteous, and it will be without mercy."—Chancellor Sutler
"Terrified people do not want to be free, they want to be protected. If you can keep the
people in a state of terror, you won't have to take away their freedom — they'll give it to you
willingly."—Alden Loveshade, in "Red Alert — Terrorist Threat from Your Own
Government?"
Propaganda and torture are two extremes used to make people feel willing. For
that reason, there is evidence in the story of V for Vendetta that Evey Hamill is
perhaps a victim of Stockholm Syndrome, the condition in which a captive
begins to identify with the conviction and ideologies of her captor. Do you
agree or disagree with this? Why? When she falls in love with V, does she fall
in love with "the man" or with "the idea"? How do you know? Using your
answers to these questions, develop a position about conspiracy theory and
cover-up, in general. To what extent do people fall in love with the particular
facts of a conspiracy, or with the idea of a conspiracy? What are the
differences between the two? Select an example of a real conspiracy that you
feel illustrates your answer, and be prepared to discuss it with the class.
6.
Valerie Page's Letter
"I know there’s no way I can convince you this is not one of their tricks. But I don’t care. I
am me. My name is Valerie. I don’t think I'll live much longer, and I wanted to tell someone
about my life. This is the only autobiography that I'll ever write, and – God – I'm writing it on
toilet paper. I was born in Nottingham in 1985. I don’t remember much of those early years.
But I do remember the rain. My grandmother owned a farm in Tottlebrook, and she used to
tell me that God was in the rain. I passed my Eleven-Plus, and went to a girl’s grammar. It
was at school that I met my first girlfriend. Her name was Sarah. It was her wrists – they
were beautiful. I thought we would love each other forever. I remember our teacher telling
us that it was an adolescent phase that people outgrew. Sarah did. I didn’t. In 2002 I fell in
love with a girl named Christina. That year I came out to my parents. I couldn’t have done it
without Chris holding my hand. My father wouldn’t look at me. He told me to go and never
come back. My mother said nothing. I’d only told them the truth. Was that so selfish? Our
integrity sells for so little, but it is all we really have. It is the very last inch of us. And within
that inch, we are free. I’d always known what I'd wanted to do with my life, and in 2015 I
started my first film: The Salt Flats. It was the most important role of my life. Not because of
my career, but because that was how I met Ruth. The first time we kissed, I knew I never
wanted to kiss any other lips but hers again. We moved to a small flat in London together.
She grew scarlet carsons for me in our window box. And our place always smelt of roses.
Those were the best years of my life. But America’s war grew worse and worse, and
eventually came to London. After that there were no roses anymore. Not for anyone. I
remember how the meaning of words began to change. How unfamiliar words like
“collateral” and “rendition” became frightening. When things like "Norsefire" and the
"articles of allegiance" became powerful. I remember how "different" became "dangerous." I
still don’t understand it: why they hate us so much. They took Ruth while she was out
buying food. I’ve never cried so hard in my life. It wasn’t long until they came for me. It
seems strange that my life should end in such a terrible place. But for three years I had
roses, and apologized to no-one. I shall die here. Every inch of me shall perish. Every inch.
But one. An inch. It is small and it is fragile, and it is the only thing in the world worth
having. We must never lose it or give it away. We must never let them take it from us. I
hope that, whoever you are, you escape this place. I hope that the world turns, and that
things get better. But what I hope most of all is that you understand what I mean when I tell
you that, even though I do not know you, and even though I may not meet you, laugh with
you, cry with you, or kiss you: I love you. With all my heart. I love you. —Valerie."
"Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr.
Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof."—V
Promising actress Valerie Page is imprisoned, tortured and killed as an
unwitting participant in a monumental cover- up and conspiracy. Her story, and
her simple act of sedition—in writing her life story, to the very last inch of her
life— is moving, not only because it makes a dramatic emotional impact within
the framework of the film's story, but because we identify with her on many
different levels as, both, victims and accomplices to conspiracies and coverups. What, though, is the actual idea of her biography that V would describe as
"bulletproof"? What is it we are to understand when Valerie tells us, "though I
do not know you . . . I love you." Did her message have the same inspiration
effect on V as it does on Evey?
7. (This question should be answered by all of the groups.)
V: "You made me understand that I was wrong, that the choice to pull this lever is not mine
to make."
EVEY: "Why?"
V: "Because this world, the world that I'm a part of and that I helped shape,
will end
tonight. And tomorrow, a different world will begin that different people will shape, and
this choice belongs to them."
Given the state of affairs in this story, would you make the choice to pull the
lever? Why, or why not? What are the political and/or social circumstances
under which you would endure torture? What sort of conspiracy would it take in
order for you to become a crusader? What risks would you be willing to take in
such a crusade? Do you believe that people who believe in, or otherwise
support, conspiracy theories are taking risks of any kind? Do they believe
themselves to be crusaders? Why, or why not?