I have taken the time to consider and absorb the themes present in the movie V for Vendetta. You will now read my thoughts.
The basic conflict in the movie is that of fascism versus anarchy, which brings up interesting, although forced, parallels with the current American landscape. V, the (anti?)hero of the piece, is fighting a horribly oppressive and corrupt regime using tactics that make him to be just as much a monster as the enforcers of the law. He has was horribly deformed when the government experimented on him to develop a biological weapon to use against its own people (to blame on "terrorists"), and later to develop the cure that would send a certain political party headlong into complete domination over the British political landscape. This deformation leads him to murder the architects of this political change- however the architects also happen to be those responsible for his own disfigurement. His actions bring to mind one of Nietzche's more interesting and truthful maxims: "One should see to it when hunting monsters that they do not become one in the process: For when one stares long into the abyss, the abyss stares back into him." His preoccupation with vengeance seems quite archaic, but his choice of language and entertainment (fencing, reading) show him to be an archaic kind of guy. His later actions with Evey, however, prove just how far he is willing to go in the pursuance of his goals.
The mentioned obsession with personal vengeance seems to be the catalyst to a greater truth for V. While being experimented upon he seems to have reached the point where he accepts his own death. The psychological change that accompanies this is the classic symptoms of initiation into the greater mysteries- the dissolution of the ego and the emergence of the Greater Will. Later, after Evey tries to escape him and he is forced to recapture her and keep her imprisoned until he is ready to set his plans to destroy Parliament into motion, he utilizes similar methods to initiate her. She believes that she is to be executed for failing to reveal his location, even under torture (sorry, enhanced interrogation- holding someone's head under water until they almost drown is not torture). In a scene that is (obscenely apparant) a parallel to V's emergence from the fiery ruin of the laboratory/concentration camp, Evey is allowed onto the roof in a rainstorm. She has been tried by water, just as he has been tried by fire.
Evey's entry into adepthood is even more apparent as she is forced by V's death (after his execution of the architects of civilization) to complete his plan and demolish the Parliament building. At the end we see her standing with Inspector Finch, who has pursued the truth behind the entrenchment of fascism and the rise to power of the ruling party, and it becomes clear that she has chosen him as her new neonate, much as V chose her.
The themes of this movie were complex. In the movie canon the United States is embroiled in its second Civil War and it is apparent that the world economy is in shambles. Britian appears to be quite strong in relation to the status of the other countries of the world, and it remains so through the stabilizing effect of its fascist government. Were it not for the egregious sins committed during its rise to political prominence and the insane measures to which it goes to maintain control of the populace one might argue that the Norsefire party was a far better choice for England than the civil disturbances and destruction that would have occurred had it not taken the reins of power.
Another aspect that merits consideration is whether a monster is needed to push the people toward revolution. The monsters in charge make pretenses at covering their greater sins and the people are usually willing to accept the lies and misdirections reported by the state-controlled media at face value. Even though they did not know his nature they needed V to point out that the government must be overthrown. He will be revered, a national hero will be born, and the people will gloss over the fact that he murdered out of vengeance and that social change was only his secondary consideration. I find it even more amusing that the history of the Gunpowder Plot will be rewritten so that Guy Fawkes becomes a fighter for religious freedom when in reality he simply wanted to place England back under the thumb of the Pope.
While most of the movie showed a keen insight into human nature (most likely borrowed from the graphic novel) I found one thing to be glaringly incorrect: the idea that pornography had been eliminated. Society has developed to a point where it could not function without our dirty little vices like pornography and recreational drug usage. Without some sort of government-sponsored supplement, like soma from Huxley's Brave New World, a society would not tolerate the removal of all vice in exchange for its security. We are willing to trade much freedom for safety, but gods help the person who tries to take away our dirty magazines and reefer.
Finally I would like to point out that the creator of the graphic novel did not support the movie. He claims to have written a story about fascism versus anarchism and is offended by the Americanization of the story and how it was turned into a story of the American conservative versus liberal political scene. While I can deifinately see that perspective, and find myself also wishing that it was a little more British, since I watched it while eating freaking scones, I think that the dilution of the theme to calling it "security versus liberty" turns it into something near-universal in scope. I found myself approving of the movie in that it got me thinking not only about such concepts such as how much I am willing to give up for security (nothing! and fuck you for asking!) but also how far I would be willing to go to overthrow tyranny. And the very graphic picture of gays and lesbians in internment camps merely proves that I am not alone in thinking that there are certain powerful elements in government that want nothing more than to see us, as Sir Ian McKellen said in X-Men, "in chains with a number burned into your forehead." I think this is something that everyone should be aware of, and the dangers of allowing this to happen should be publicized. We failed to see the revolution in the 1960's and our sense of disillusionment and apathy now is a result of that failure. If this movie is to prove prophetic we would be wise to be well-versed on its themes.
