V for Vendetta
One of the most ambiguous and contradictive film experiences was granted to be by V for Vendetta. This comic book-based movie showed something that made me call it pathetic, e.g., the Evey Hammond character. It is not my negation of Natalie Portman’s acting talent, as she did her best. It is the image of Evey in the comic book, a teenage prostitute and a rebel with a tragic past, that contradicts the image of a young woman, capable of surviving in the world of authoritarian dictatorship, building a career on television, and sleeping with an older guy, who happens to be her boss. The movie version of Evey disgusts in her attempts to hide her real self, a ready-to-act rebel. Even Evey’s indecisiveness about pulling or not pulling the handle made me repeat the same phrase, “Come, Evey! Now! Do it right, you, silly cow!” She might have tried to be dramatic, but all she came up with was annoying. And that brilliant reaction of hers, “You did this to me? You cut my hair?” Evey, is this the only value in your life, your hair? This scene just made me realize her pathetic values. For me, even after the ‘rebirth’ and finding her fearless autonomy, Evey remained a young slutty woman, ready to do whatever if it makes her existence less miserable. However, Evey is not the main contradiction of this movie.

Having watched V for Vendetta twice, I still cannot make up my mind whether V represents good or evil. He remains somewhere in the grey zone for me, just like many people around us, who we cannot characterize as 100% good or bad. V is the symbol of social anger and desire to disrupt the government that takes its nation for the foolish slaves. For some, this movie, unlike the comic book, will seem to have a clear division between good and evil. But how could I claim V to be a protagonist if he kills people, and, at the same time, how could V be called the antagonist if he saves Evey and does what he does to bring down the established censorship? He is a symbol of all lives and souls crippled by the tyrannous rule of the chief chancellor. The established rule of nationalism, which reminds more of the Nazis, total control, and brainwashing by the media, has produced a thoughtless mob that lives being guided by propaganda. And V is the byproduct of the system, a man whose madness, skills and strength resulted from scientific experiments performed on him. Can experimenting on people against their will be legal and right? I guess not. The rule of Chancellor Sutler reminded me significantly of Nazi Germany, with their Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler, and his scientific wannabe genius, Dr. Mengele.

This dystopic movie only confirmed my suspicions that people have the memory of a goldfish, and in 10 seconds, they forgot the horror of dictatorship, censorship, religious frenzy, and sexual, gender, racial, and religious discrimination. We all have gone through this in the 1940s, but being manipulated and trapped by our fears, we forgot the simple truth every nation should remember: it is not the people who should be afraid of the government, but it is the government that should be afraid of its people. This idea made this movie invigorating and had me watch it once again. In this case, V was a collective image of the people, of everyone together, and no one in particular. He was the embodiment of an idea, an imperishable and indestructible idea that brings people together and making them strong in their desire to live free instead of being guided by fear. And V’s excellent phrase, “Behind this mask is the idea, and ideas are bulletproof,” made me realize the simple truth: dictators and rulers come and go, but it is the people who do have the real power. If we recognize that all of us need to stay united, no one will ever bring us down. And that is the main message I took from V, for better or worse.