V for Vendetta
Seraphina Thiare
Review
V for Vendetta is a graphic novel that was written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd in 1982. The story follows a 16-year-old girl named Evey as she tries to survive in a dystopian Brittian that has been ravaged by wars and deeply impacted by the collapse of other nations. She accidentally gets caught up in the world of V, a vigilante who seeks to incite the collapse of their oppressive government. As the story progresses and the audience learns more about V, and his character is revealed to be more and more morally ambiguous with a lot of his motivation stemming from his desire for vengeance and to make others see his perception of true freedom, by any means necessary. Through V for Vendetta, Moore is able to express his displeasure with the government and reveal his values to an audience. However, he doesn't over romanticizes his ideas. V is objectively a monster, driven by anger, and is manipulative towards everyone around him. That being said, he is also a product of his environment, demonstrating the consequences of a hateful world that we are able to see through the eyes of Evey.
The Movie Versus the Book, Plus Some Thematic Analysis
Like a couple of other books on this group's list, V for Vendetta also had a movie adaptation that premiered in 2006. I had seen parts of the film years ago but didn't know how it compared to a book I never seemed to have the time to read.
Alan Moore notoriously hates all movie adaptations of his stories so I was expecting a few differences when it came to messages and themes, but I was not prepared for the drastic changes the Wachowski sisters actually ended up making to the story.
Moore created V for Vendetta during the cold war. He wrote it as a criticism of the government during the time particularly in reaction to Margret Thatcher's strict political ideals. His book took place during 1997 in a near, and fairly realistic, future. The Wachowskis, however, wrote the movie as a criticism of the Bush administration and the story took place closer to the year 2020. The overall setting was changed from an impoverished Britain with an overtly strict government, to a more 1984 like setting. Moore felt as though the sisters were attempting to westernize V for Vendetta. This upset him due to the fact he wrote the plot in a way that was meant to reflect the unique struggles of Britain and the average citizen's relationship to their government.
Another major difference between the book and the comic was the characterizations of the characters, particularly that of Evey. Evey in the book greatly lacks self-agency. This allows her to easily be swept up in the criminal world and manipulated by those around her. This also allows the audience to clearly see her character growth when she takes the mantle as the new V at the end of the book. In the beginning, however, Evey is naive and idolizes V before she actually begins to understand his character. For example, on page 13, after watching V blow up the parliament building, (a literal act of terrorism), her reaction isn't that of fear or dismay. She is instead infatuated with the sight of real fireworks. In contrast in the movie, Evey is a hard worker and incredibly clever. She is aged up to be in her early 20s and actually makes enough money to live fairly comfortably, her reaction to V's first act of terrorism, (which is to blow up a building called the Old Bailey), she doesn't look on in awe. Instead, she seems afraid of the man standing beside her.
The final big difference I want to address between the movie and the book is the idea of hope. The movie ends tragically but has a strong message of unity and the sense that there is a chance for genuine change in the character's near future. The overall tone of the film is still dark and brutal, but there's still that glimmer of hope. The book makes it seem like, despite the change, there's very little hope for the prominent characters. The detective fails in his mission, V dies, and Evey becomes the new wearer of the Guy Fawkes mask, adopting her own apprentice and continuing V's abusive cycle.
*Volume warning for the video (the bass is boosted)*
Character Analysis
Throughout V for Vendetta, it's obvious that V is a protagonist in the sense that he is obviously one of the leading characters in the story. However, V isn't a good guy, he's not an anti-hero, and he's not a villain. One of the few character types that can actually properly be applied to him is "rebel." The reason he was initially detained and tortured in Lakehill prison was that, for one reason or another, the government found him to be unsavory. They needed disposable souls and V was one of many to fit the bill. Once he escapes the facility, he turns into a man whose morals were clouded by the idea of revenge. He is a rebel character, and he believes what he is doing is right, but he is corrupt which leads him to commit extreme acts against his country as a whole and the few people he's close to. He opposes his government but does it in a way that's disagreeable with the average viewer and is, at some moments, blatantly wicked.
There are a few important messages that I think Alan Moore sends his audience through the questionable character of V. A major one is that people are often a product of their environment. If we let the negative aspects of our surroundings perpetuate our minds, we can lose sight of our true values and goals. Another would be the importance of independent thought. This is most clearly shown through the secondary protagonist, Evey. Throughout the book, she lacks self-agency. V manipulates and grooms her. Even though the effects of his manipulation never leave her, towards the end of the book she is able to truly think for herself. He also shows his background characters questioning the government instead of simply living in compliance.
Moore does a great job showing the complexities of what is right and what is perceived to be right. Yes, Moore thinks that we should push against our government, but our actions are not without consequence on both a small and large scale.