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“We Are Told To Remember the Idea
And Not the Man”
“... 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 surveillance coercing
your conformity and soliciting submission. How did this happen? Who’s to blame? Certainly
there are those who are 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 out 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. …”1
The paragraph above is part of the speech that V from “V for Vendetta” addressed to the
public in order to create awareness and make the people realize the “ideology” of the
“ruling class”. “V for Vendetta”, one of the most interesting and thought-provoking films of
the last decade, has created a cult following to it because of its subtle yet well treated social
commentary, reflecting ideas and issues that directly correlate to Marx and Engels’s
description of ideology, the ruling class and society at large.
1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chqi8m4CEEY
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Through the vast variety of themes that the poignant film deals with - “V for Vendetta” also
explores crucial subjects such as racism, political morality, religion, anarchy, homosexuality,
freedom of speech and totalitarianism. All matters observed from a critical angle and
through an almost post-apocalyptic point of view.
Set in the near future, an extremely conservative party “managed” to get elected and
“evolved” to a totalitarian regime, thereby forming a literal “ruling class”. A totalitarian
regime refers to a political system where authority is given to one single person, who has no
limits over his power. Usually, in a regime like that, the government is responsible for all
essential decision-making, whether it concerns public or private life. Nothing is sacred,
neither right nor any freedom. That one single person in “V for Vendetta” is called a
Chancellor, a dictator-leader who doesn’t have to be accountable for anything he decides
and that no one can doubt his judgment. He utilizes fear as the key characteristic of all his
communication strategies and maintains his ultimate authority.
According to Marx and Engels, “the ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling
ideas: i.e., the class which is the ruling material force of society is at the same time its ruling
intellectual force.” (Ed. Durham & Kellner 9). In the case of “V for Vendetta”, the ruling class
has forced its ideas to the people, creating a clear social structure, where the government
dictates how society, in every aspect of it, should be formed. Since an ideology is a
collection -or a system- of ideas, when the ruling class imposes its ideas to the rest of
society, it is forcing its ideology.
The totalitarian government in the film accomplished that by promising “order” and “peace”
and, as Marx and Engels suggest, by presenting “its interest as the common interest of all
the members of society, that is, expressed in ideal form”, giving “its ideas the form of
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universality” and presenting “them as the only rational, universally valid ones” (ed. Durham
& Kellner 10). Since we are dealing with a totalitarian regime serving literally the part of a
ruling class, instead of having another class revolting, in this case it is only one “Man”, V.
A “thinking human spirit” (ed. Durham & Kellner 12), “as the representative of the whole
society” (ed. Durham & Kellner 11).
The dominant class can use diverse ways to organize its ideological structure, aiming, as
Gramsci believes, “at maintaining, defending and developing the theoretical or ideological
“front”. Its most prominent and dynamic part is the press in general: publishing houses
(which have an implicit and explicit programme and are attached to a particular tendency),
political newspapers, periodicals of every kind, scientific, literary, philosophical, popular,
etc., various periodicals down to parish bulletins” (ed. Durham & Kellner 16).
The film, focusing on an extreme version of a political system, shows an exaggerated but still
truthful and contemporary representation of how the ruling class can use every means
possible to “regulate the production and distribution of the ideas of their age” (ed. Durham
& Kellner 9). Manipulating the media is one of the most common -and most dangerousways a ruling class can spread its ideology. Whether it is through censoring freedom of
speech or imposing a certain guideline, a government should not interfere to the sacred
function of the media, which is to inform and enlighten.
According to Gramsci, “the press is the most dynamic part of this ideological structure, but
not the only one. Everything which influences or is able to influence public opinion, directly
or indirectly, belongs to it: libraries, schools, associations and clubs of various kinds, even
architecture and the layout and names of streets” (ed. Durham & Kellner 16). Nowadays,
that the media have developed even more, we can include the radio, television, the Internet
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or any other form of media that has the power to (mis)inform, expose or hide facts and, in
general, shape public opinion.
In “V for Vendetta” this is depicted quite vividly in a range of scenes. First of all, during the
beginning of the film, where the host [Prothero] of a late night [political?] TV show is
expressing in the most blatant way the government’s particularly conservative beliefs.
Additionally, in the next scene where the media are involved, the morning news show has to
cover the demolition of the Old Bailey, which was planned out and executed by V. The
Chancellor, after hearing about V’s attack he orders to conceal it, and present it as an
organized demolition, planned from the government. While being on the set of the
television studio and listening what is being nationally broadcast, two -high in hierarchyemployees of the network have the following dialogue:
- “Do you think people will buy this?”
- “Why not? This is the BTN [British Television Network]. Our job is to report the
news, not to fabricate it. That’s the government’s job”.
Moreover, the Chancellor dictates: “I want Prothero to speak on the dangers of these old
buildings [hence the “demolition” of the Old Bailey] and how we must avoid clinging to the
edifice of a decadent past. He should conclude that the New Bailey will become the symbol
of our time and the future that our conviction has rewarded us [Gramsci’s “even
architecture”]”. That phrase alone leads us to understanding entirely how a regime,
especially a totalitarian one, can abuse its power in order to take advantage of the media’s
influence over society and by that way force its ideology to the people.
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In addition, we can comprehend the significant importance of the media and how having
control of the media can give someone a chance to express themselves in a wider audience
through one of the most fascinating scenes of the movie. As mentioned above, V addresses
the public by taking over the BTN [British Television Network] and broadcasting nationally
his awakening and inspiring message. When the Chancellor realizes what has happened, he
calls one of the aforesaid employees to criticize them on the network’s faults, only to be
told this in return: “You designed it sir, you wanted it foolproof. You told “every television in
London!” ”.
Finally, another remarkable scene concerning the media, their impact and their
consequences involves the opposite of the late night TV show already mentioned. This time
it is a comedic talk show whose host [Gordon Dietrich] is secretly fully against the current
regime, even though he is working for the biased BTN [British Television Network]. In what
turned out to be his last show, he had as a guest an impersonator of the Chancellor and
after supposedly interviewing him about the “terrorist” V, a series of events that followed
led up to his complete and utter mock, ridiculing him nationally. That happened because of
the network’s broad coverage, which he had arranged for. Ultimately, that same night,
government troops break into Gordon Dietrich’s home and after kidnapping him, they killed
him by accusing him of possessing the Quran.
Throughout the film, we can observe numerous procedures for manufacturing an ideology.
The ruling class has a process of establishing these ideological priorities through the use of
media in order to serve their propagandistic purpose. The core characteristic of the ruling
class in “V for Vendetta” is the imposition of “necessary” psychological conditions, like fear
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and obedience, censorship of personal or public freedom of speech and limitation of basic
human rights.
In conclusion, an authoritarian regime like this, where the government has taken complete
control over the economy, the circulation of information and the media are used only to
serve governmental purposes, the common man perceives the ruling class without reaction,
almost as a norm, as if they had been mentally castrated by the terror the government has
created and the media have portrayed. But as V, our protagonist eloquently declares:
“People should not be afraid of their governments,
Governments should be afraid of their people.”
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Works Cited
V for Vendetta, Dir. James McTeigue. Perf. Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman, Rupert Graves,
Stephen Rea. Warner Home Video, 2006. DVD.
Durham, Meenakshi Gigi & Kellner, Douglas M.. Media and Cultural Studies: Keyworks
Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2001. Print. Revised edition, 2006.