Review: V for Vendetta, Alan Moore
Aug. 17th, 2010 07:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jeriendhalSummary: In post-WW III Britain, a young girl named Evey is almost raped by the police arresting her, but she's rescued by the mysterious "V", a caped figure in a Guy Fawkes mask who's waging a one man war against Britain's fascist government. On his trail is Detective Finch, a cop who becomes obsessed with finding V even as he questions his motivations for staying with the police force as his life become more and more empty.
Written by Alan Moore just prior to his legendary Watchmen, VfV reflects his deep distrust of the then current Thatcher government, as the labor unions were crushed and Britain contemplated confining the AIDS infected in camps. Out of this anxiety came V, a superhero with Batman's intelligence and the Joker's grip on sanity. As heroes go, he's an ambiguously British creation, fighting an inarguably evil government, but doing so with bombs and quiet murder (with an offscreen body count of over fifty people before the story properly begins).
Which brings us to his treatment of Evey, the young woman under his protection, whom he frightens and beguiles with his insane ramblings, then abandons, then enacts the infamous prison scenario upon. The latter of which is a masterpiece of drama, but also shown as realistically degrading to Evey (who reacts so badly when the deception is revealed that she nearly has an asthma attack) It's almost textbook Stockholm Syndrome as she willingly takes up the cause after V's death, falling into his madness after he's left the country in ruins.
Arguably none of the other women turn out much better, Rosemary Almond going from loyal Party wife to degraded showgirl, and Helen Heyer is just a stereotypical scheming bitch. Then again the men don't do much better. Finch does drugs to try and follow V's train of thought and is left a homeless bum at the end. The Leader becomes so obsessed with his FATE computer system that he literally jerks off to her data, and every other person related to the Party is almost uniformly vile.
And of course in the end everything is left in flux. V is an anarchist in the classic sense, toppling over the old order in order to allow a new, perhaps cleaner one, arise. But the story ends with his death, Evey taking up his mantle, and Finch wandering down an empty road to an uncertain future. Evil is defeated, but nothing is offered in its place. Again, it's far more ambiguous than is the norm for American comics, and still disturbing almost thirty years later.
Just remember when you look up at that CCTV camera, that it's there for your protection, citizen.
Written by Alan Moore just prior to his legendary Watchmen, VfV reflects his deep distrust of the then current Thatcher government, as the labor unions were crushed and Britain contemplated confining the AIDS infected in camps. Out of this anxiety came V, a superhero with Batman's intelligence and the Joker's grip on sanity. As heroes go, he's an ambiguously British creation, fighting an inarguably evil government, but doing so with bombs and quiet murder (with an offscreen body count of over fifty people before the story properly begins).
Which brings us to his treatment of Evey, the young woman under his protection, whom he frightens and beguiles with his insane ramblings, then abandons, then enacts the infamous prison scenario upon. The latter of which is a masterpiece of drama, but also shown as realistically degrading to Evey (who reacts so badly when the deception is revealed that she nearly has an asthma attack) It's almost textbook Stockholm Syndrome as she willingly takes up the cause after V's death, falling into his madness after he's left the country in ruins.
Arguably none of the other women turn out much better, Rosemary Almond going from loyal Party wife to degraded showgirl, and Helen Heyer is just a stereotypical scheming bitch. Then again the men don't do much better. Finch does drugs to try and follow V's train of thought and is left a homeless bum at the end. The Leader becomes so obsessed with his FATE computer system that he literally jerks off to her data, and every other person related to the Party is almost uniformly vile.
And of course in the end everything is left in flux. V is an anarchist in the classic sense, toppling over the old order in order to allow a new, perhaps cleaner one, arise. But the story ends with his death, Evey taking up his mantle, and Finch wandering down an empty road to an uncertain future. Evil is defeated, but nothing is offered in its place. Again, it's far more ambiguous than is the norm for American comics, and still disturbing almost thirty years later.
Just remember when you look up at that CCTV camera, that it's there for your protection, citizen.
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no subject
Date: 2010-08-18 12:35 am (UTC)One of the major arguments of the book is that fascism degrades society and everyone in it, and rewards the vilest in a race to the bottom.
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Date: 2010-08-18 01:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-18 04:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-18 06:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-18 07:11 pm (UTC)Oh, you are in for a treat. Track it down. It's vastly superior to the movie, and a lot more thoughtful and disturbing. You may find this comparison review (spoiler-free!) of mine entertaining.