WHY V FOR VENDETTA MATTERS – ESPECIALLY NOW

[MattBrady]

by Rich Johnston

"But... but how can he be a terrorist? He's the good guy?"

Towards the end of 2001, twelve years after its peak, the last embers of the Islamist revolution gave their final glow. Four planes flew into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the ground (opposing some romanticised version of the latter, the passengers never breached the cockpit, the terrorists decided to down the plane after realising they couldn't reach their target in Washington DC.)

A last kick from the movement which, after the insurgency in Iran that followed the return of exiled Ayatollah Khomeini, bringing him to power, failed to convert the whole of the Middle East, let alone the world, to Islam. Failed to defeat Iraq and depose Saddam's secular government (he even had Christians in his government, the heathen!). Failed to persuade Saudi Arabia to expel the USA from its borders. Failed to reduce or repel Israel. Yet a relatively small action by a few operatives managed to kill thousands and start a war which reduced the fundamentalists’ power base in Afghanistan, but increased it elsewhere, and even managed to depose its most hated enemy, Saddam Hussein, and leave an Iraq ripe for recruitment.

Sometimes an act of terrorism by a few men, or even just one, can create an overwhelming response from the enemy that can, in its own way, fulfil their objectives.

It's a commonly used adage that terrorism doesn't work. Sadly, it's not true. The Good Friday Agreement in Ireland is likely never to have happened without the IRA's mainland bombing campaign (one I have first hand experience with). And the movements collectively dubbed Al Qaeda have never been so healthy right now. All the second Gulf War did was blow on those embers till they lit.

So. V For Vendetta. A story about personal responsibility that makes Spider-Man look like the infant parable it really is. A book about power, fascism, anarchy, the impotence of democracy, the potential of humanity and the innate contradictions of the English.

And the book is rooted in those idiosyncrasies. Taking its theme from that most bizarre of annual celebrations, Guy Fawkes Night when people gather around bonfires eating jacket potatoes and parkin, setting off fireworks while watching the burning effigy of a man put to death for the Catholic terrorist act of blowing up the political seat of Protestant power, the Houses Of Parliament. And we think he's great.

Britain has a history of turning its villains into heroes. From communist thieves like Robin Hood, to the highwayman Dick Turpin whom rich ladies would love to be held up by, through to the Kray Twins and those behind the Great Train Robbery. Have you ever noticed that the best villains in Hollywood movies are English? And didn't you really want Alan Rickman to push Bruce Willis off the top of that building? C'mon...

And so we have V. A murdering terrorist against a state, one that may have exceeded its powers, but also a state that the population as a whole support. There's something perverse amongst us that admires a strong grip, even while it’s round our throats.

And V doesn't let us off the hook with some easy action-adventure solution of deposing the dictator and letting democracy reign in its place. He's proposing anarchy as a solution to fascism. He provides no structure for solution merely “do what thou wilt”. It’s the opposite movement to the current situation, but is that really a better way to be?

So the movie. Well, script aside, it's off with a false foot. The metallic logo, the V inside the circle rejects the anarchic origins of the logo, the spray painted A for Anarchy, reversed and the bar removed. Then there's casting a star in the lead as V, where what you really need is a David Prowse figure under the mask, and someone else providing the voice, which you'd never be sure is or isn't computer generated or recorded. V cannot be anybody, because he is anybody, that's pretty much the point.

There's also word that England is in the state it’s in because it lost the war with Germany in World War II. Which is also deeply problematic, as it presumes an external oppressive force, where in the book; the country did it to itself. Again, pretty much the point here. Goodness me, what a lot of points.

Alan Moore's works have a pretty poor history of translation to film. Much of this has to do with the fact that they use the comics medium so well, that transference to any medium loses something. But in V, so many of comics' tricks were rejected, and a more filmic approach taken, that one could just use the panels as a storyboard in many cases.

But that's all by the by.

V For Vendetta matters because its about taking personal responsibility for the country you live in, realising the connection between people and power and the understanding that the government are the servants and you get the political system you deserve.

At a time when the US makes any criticism of the state a criticism of the country, where people vote for and approve a man who has lied to them because they feel he's a strong and where a country that had prided itself above others for the value it places on personal liberty and responsibility, has enacted stringent controlling measures under the name of patriotism, and increasing the national debt to a greater amount even than under Reagan for the sake of pursuing the dream of a morally bankrupt neo conservative taskforce who only managed to get the eye of the originally isolationist George W Bush when the terrorists struck, and managed to divert him from the real causes to some fictitious nonsense about all terrorism stemming from Saddam, repeating their trick with the communist threat back in the sixties and seventies.

And what of England, my England? Well, we it looks like Tony Blair will be returned to power, even as the Home Secretary Charles Clarke makes his predecessor look like a wimp. Home arrests, internment go hand in hand with increased fear of immigration and an upswing in Islamaphobia. Right now, the fascist party the BNP are planning to put up a record number of candidates for this year's General Election, and will no doubt get a record number of votes. We do this to ourselves. And if there was a V amongst us, he'd be condemned as much or more than the IRA.

But we all have a choice.

Next week, my first child is due. If it's a girl, we're calling her Eve. In Moore’s famous introduction to the book, he talked about how living under a Thatcher government made him want to take his family abroad. The fact that I don’t feel the same way says a lot about how I no longer feel as connected to my own government as I used to.

[bizarromark]

"At a time when the US makes any criticism of the state a criticism of the country, where people vote for and approve a man who has lied to them because they feel he's a strong and where a country that had prided itself above others for the value it places on personal liberty and responsibility, has enacted stringent controlling measures under the name of patriotism, and increasing the national debt to a greater amount even than under Reagan for the sake of pursuing the dream of a morally bankrupt neo conservative taskforce who only managed to get the eye of the originally isolationist George W Bush when the terrorists struck, and managed to divert him from the real causes to some fictitious nonsense about all terrorism stemming from Saddam, repeating their trick with the communist threat back in the sixties and seventies."

I've gotta hand it to Rich: Not only is that the longest run-on sentence I've seen in awhile, but it also managed to cover every single cliche in the Official Paranoid Leftist Hyperbolic Talking-Points Manual.

Congratulations!

Oh, and congratulations on Baby Eve, as well.

[SanityOrMadness]

*applauds*

[Nathan Grey]

you should put 'political rant' as an attention flagger. some of us support the bush administration, and respect blair for standing with us. so yea....

[BS197]

Originally posted by Nathan Grey
you should put 'political rant' as an attention flagger. some of us support the bush administration, and respect blair for standing with us. so yea....

"some of us also have problems breathing because we are so stupid"

Good article Rich Johnston.

[beetle1million]

Originally posted by Nathan Grey
you should put 'political rant' as an attention flagger. some of us support the bush administration, and respect blair for standing with us. so yea....

Just because you have a differing opinion doesn't make it a political rant. And you could have, at any time, stopped reading what he had to say if you found it offensive.

[Positive Boy]

Rich Johnston with an op-ed piece on Newsarama! The world is full of wonders!

Good show, old chap! Thanks for the well written insightful piece, especially as to how you personally relate to the topic and many thanks for the "heads up" on the exciting changes the filmmakers are bringing to Alan Moore's visionary work as it heads to the grand silver screen!

Whenever comics are brought to film, it's always enlightening to see the stories and heroes from a different point of view with all sorts of tweaks meant to help the material find a new audience or even bring a new spin or totally different meaning to the source material. I know that new audiences will be so enamoured by what they see "on screen" that they'll flock to comic stores and become new fans!

I'm E for Excited!

Can't wait!

[bizarromark]

Four planes flew into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the ground (opposing some romanticised version of the latter, the passengers never breached the cockpit, the terrorists decided to down the plane after realising they couldn't reach their target in Washington DC.)

Care to site your source of information for that interesting bit of information, Rich?

By the way, the Big Book O' Bushitler Conspiracies doesn't count.

Hard to imagine I would doubt the word of a professional gossip jockey, but there you go.

[Frillip]

Quit whining, human rights are abused daily in Iraq and Cuba, thanks to a corrupt and seemingly invincible administration. I hope V is for Vendetta will someday be so irrelevant as to be pure fantasy, but it's getting closer every day.

[Kel]

"Facts be damned! I'm European and can spew pseudo-intellectual drivel...people will believe me."

[blade]

Originally posted by Rich Johnston

A last kick from the movement which, after the insurgency in Iran that followed the return of exiled Ayatollah Khomeini, bringing him to power, failed to convert the whole of the Middle East, let alone the world, to Islam. Failed to defeat Iraq and depose Saddam's secular government (he even had Christians in his government, the heathen!). Failed to persuade Saudi Arabia to expel the USA from its borders. Failed to reduce or repel Israel. Yet a relatively small action by a few operatives managed to kill thousands and start a war which reduced the fundamentalists’ power base in Afghanistan, but increased it elsewhere, and even managed to depose its most hated enemy, Saddam Hussein, and leave an Iraq ripe for recruitment.


I guess when Bin Ladin formed the World Islamic Front for Jihad against Jews and Crusaders in 1998, he forgot to include Iraq in his lists of enemies.

I suppose 9/11 was just a warmup for Bin Ladin's master plan, to hijack Iraqi planes and fly them into Saddam's palaces, the man who he had declared Jihad on, and who he had directed all his operations against for the past decade.


Originally posted by Rich Johnston

And what of England, my England? Well, we it looks like Tony Blair will be returned to power, even as the Home Secretary Charles Clarke makes his predecessor look like a wimp. Home arrests, internment go hand in hand with increased fear of immigration and an upswing in Islamaphobia.

Just because one British Muslim tried to blow up an airliner with explosives hidden in his shoe, and another kidnapped and beheaded WSJ reporter Daniel Pearl, and another carried out a suicide bombing in Israel; and you have Imams like Abu Hamza, Omar Bakri and Abu Qatada who openly call for the establishment of an Islamic state in Britain, and assasination of Britains leaders, and who declare suicide bombers will go to paradise etc..

Anyone who is concerned about this is obviously an 'Islamophobe', and an irational bigot, there is nothing to worry about, this are all unrelated incidents and anyone who says otherwise is a racist.

[netzart]

It is a good article and very moving. This is a very good offering on the eve of the birth of your first child, Rich. Your contribution to a better tomorrow will bring a better world for the children.

[chap22]

Originally posted by beetle1million
Just because you have a differing opinion doesn't make it a political rant. And you could have, at any time, stopped reading what he had to say if you found it offensive.

actually, whether his opinion differs or not has absolutely NOTHING to do with whether or not it's a political rant. which by the way, it is. rich is ranting, and it's about politics, or at least takes a view of political actions. regardless of what that view is, that makes it a political rant...

and taking neither side here, rep/conservative or dem/liberal, i always get a kick out of people who don't like bush making such a big deal out of his supporters voting for him even though he "lied" (and i only put quotes there because i'm quoting, not because i'm, insinuating he didn't lie) to the public, yet they all loved slick willie, master of the lie. granted, he was just lying about sex, but still...if your point is that bush is a bad guy because he lies, then bring up every other pesident who's done it too (which more than likely is every president). a lie is a lie is a lie if that's the sin you're stoning them for.

[crazyhorse01]

I think I was reading a transcript of an Alan Moore interview where the subject of this movie came up and the question was raised "Is America ready for a terrorist hero?"

Speaking for myself, I'm betting not, but I'm dying to find out. I'm more interested in the public reaction to it than I am in the film itself.

Cheers to R. Johnston for his article. He's right on about the so-called Dept. of Homeland Security. It absolutely amazes me that a country that survived the Civil War, The War of 1812, the Third Reich, The Communist Bloc, and homegrown Left- and Right-Wing extremists, including the Weather Underground, the Ku Klux Clan, and Timothy McVeigh, all of a sudden has to throw it's belief in civil liberties right out the window because of the actions of a terrorist organization run by a renegade expatriate Saudi milionaire. But, that's just my opinion.

BTW, anyone know who the "star" is who's mentioned in the article?

[Robert_Coyner]

Originally posted by Nathan Grey
you should put 'political rant' as an attention flagger. some of us support the bush administration, and respect blair for standing with us. so yea....

I don't get your point. You're allowed to have your opinion and so is he. Are you saying you would have liked the article to be labelled as "liberal editorial" so you could have avoided it? Once you got a few sentences in - or even if you just read the front page - if you didn't want to read anymore you didn't have to. Nobody made you click the link...

And, I'm really not trying to be obnoxious either. I'm just not sure what you would propose instead.

Personally, I agree with a few things here, and disagree with a few others. I think it's an interesting lens to view V for Vendetta through as well. In terms of the story, Rich has some real points to make about the intentions by the work, some of the proposed compromises of the film and our current political affairs.

And I also think that run-on sentence was a bit ridiculous. But, just because something might be heard and repeated often, might not necessarily mean it's cliche or untrue - it could actually be the case that there's some merit behind it and people are trying to get their point or message across. But, I'm also not saying take it as fact because Rich Johnston said so, but rather, as with any topic, ask yourself if you've really looked at all sides before dismissing it. If you feel you have then cool. But there are a lot of people on both the left and right sides of these arguments who would rather just say "screw the other guy - I don't like him" than actually hear what they have to say.

[crazyhorse01]

Originally posted by bizarromark
Four planes flew into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the ground (opposing some romanticised version of the latter, the passengers never breached the cockpit, the terrorists decided to down the plane after realising they couldn't reach their target in Washington DC.)

Care to site your source of information for that interesting bit of information, Rich?...

Um, I believe that was all covered in the 9/11 Commission Report.

[gon]

Sorry to derrail the rants, but... nobody wants to talk about the relevance of V for Vendetta instead of going on a vendetta to rip Rich a new one?

[Positive Boy]

Originally posted by netzart
It is a good article and very moving. This is a very good offering on the eve of the birth of your first child, Rich. Your contribution to a better tomorrow will bring a better world for the children.

You said it, Netzart!!

Could it have been edited a bit better, tightened up here and there to make the point better? Absolutely - nothing is perfect! This is a good start and an honest effort!

But we sure don't have to tear the guy down and ridicule him - when has he ever done that to another person?

And as for that better world:

Sounds great!

Sign me up!

[Ragnarokker]

Huh, I thought I was going to read about a comic book. Oh well. Chalk it up for experience. Nice tirade. I disagree on the subject matter. But being on a comic book site and thinly veiling your rant as comic book based, you tricked me into reading it. Congrats. I feel used...

[StefanDam]

He's "ranting" about politics because V for Vendetta is a political comic. And because the film adaptation is set to undermine every single point that the comic made because it might upset people who agree with the current policies of the US/UK.

V for Vendetta is an excellent, excellent comic as relevant today as it was when it was made. Consider "the voice of fate". Now think about the exposed US journalists that never actually existed from the news last year. There are definitely analogies between the comic and current trends.

What Rich is saying, and I endorse wholeheartedly, is don't change the story for the mass audience because of the fact that it really is relevant.

[KACH]

by Rich Johnston



Towards the end of 2001, twelve years after its peak, the last embers of the Islamist revolution gave their final glow. Four planes flew into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the ground (opposing some romanticised version of the latter, the passengers never breached the cockpit, the terrorists decided to down the plane after realising they couldn't reach their target in Washington DC.)

A last kick from the movement which, after the insurgency in Iran that followed the return of exiled Ayatollah Khomeini, bringing him to power, failed to convert the whole of the Middle East, let alone the world, to Islam. Failed to defeat Iraq and depose Saddam's secular government (he even had Christians in his government, the heathen!). Failed to persuade Saudi Arabia to expel the USA from its borders. Failed to reduce or repel Israel. Yet a relatively small action by a few operatives managed to kill thousands and start a war which reduced the fundamentalists’ power base in Afghanistan, but increased it elsewhere, and even managed to depose its most hated enemy, Saddam Hussein, and leave an Iraq ripe for recruitment.

Sometimes an act of terrorism by a few men, or even just one, can create an overwhelming response from the enemy that can, in its own way, fulfil their objectives.


At a time when the US makes any criticism of the state a criticism of the country, where people vote for and approve a man who has lied to them because they feel he's a strong and where a country that had prided itself above others for the value it places on personal liberty and responsibility, has enacted stringent controlling measures under the name of patriotism, and increasing the national debt to a greater amount even than under Reagan for the sake of pursuing the dream of a morally bankrupt neo conservative taskforce who only managed to get the eye of the originally isolationist George W Bush when the terrorists struck, and managed to divert him from the real causes to some fictitious nonsense about all terrorism stemming from Saddam, repeating their trick with the communist threat back in the sixties and seventies.

Rich, that's like the most insightful thing you've ever written. Well done.

And the rest of you: Why do Rich's politcal views make the point of the article any less/more viable?

--J.

[KACH]

Originally posted by Robert_Coyner
I don't get your point. You're allowed to have your opinion and so is he. Are you saying you would have liked the article to be labelled as "liberal editorial" so you could have avoided it? Once you got a few sentences in - or even if you just read the front page - if you didn't want to read anymore you didn't have to. Nobody made you click the link...

And, I'm really not trying to be obnoxious either. I'm just not sure what you would propose instead.

Personally, I agree with a few things here, and disagree with a few others. I think it's an interesting lens to view V for Vendetta through as well. In terms of the story, Rich has some real points to make about the intentions by the work, some of the proposed compromises of the film and our current political affairs.

And I also think that run-on sentence was a bit ridiculous. But, just because something might be heard and repeated often, might not necessarily mean it's cliche or untrue - it could actually be the case that there's some merit behind it and people are trying to get their point or message across. But, I'm also not saying take it as fact because Rich Johnston said so, but rather, as with any topic, ask yourself if you've really looked at all sides before dismissing it. If you feel you have then cool. But there are a lot of people on both the left and right sides of these arguments who would rather just say "screw the other guy - I don't like him" than actually hear what they have to say.

OK, so, which one of you a$$holes brought The Voice Of Reason?

--J.

[Alfonso]

Just commenting on V for Vendetta as a creative literary work, I think it might be the ultimate Alan Moore story. No, really.

I mean, Watchmen and Promethea may have actually been better stories, but I think Moore really said what he really wanted to say about life and inspiration and everything in V. I could be completely wrong, but after I read it, I got the impression that Alan Moore told the true Alan Moore story, and he could die happy that V got to see print.

It's not as amazing as Watchmen or Promethea, but it would certainly be my choice for the third best Moore story (out of an amazing library of work). Everyone should do themselves a favor and read V.

[Rich Johnston]

Originally posted by bizarromark

I've gotta hand it to Rich: Not only is that the longest run-on sentence I've seen in awhile, but it also managed to cover every single cliche in the Official Paranoid Leftist Hyperbolic Talking-Points Manual.

Congratulations!

Oh, and congratulations on Baby Eve, as well. [/b]

Thanks.

The sentence length was intentional, filled with sub clauses and deviations. Meant to give what could have been a short sentence a continuation, getting more and more out of breath until it finishes. To show the extent of the issues, side issues and sub issues here.

[crazyhorse01]

Originally posted by Alfonso
Everyone should do themselves a favor and read V.

Too true. Unfortunately, even if it's a total travesty (which it sounds like where it's heading), the film version will most likely draw a larger audience than the graphic novel ever did.

Hopefully, Rodriguez' Sin City film will succeed and create a trend where the source material is taken more seriously by filmmakers.

But, I'm not holding my breath...