V for Discord!
"People should not be afraid of their governments.
Governments should be afraid of their people."
The movie V for Vendetta is set to come out on Friday. For those of you unaware, this was "...a graphic novel, written by Alan Moore and illustrated mostly by David Lloyd, set in a dystopian future Britain where a mysterious anarchist works to destroy the fascist government and profoundly affects the people he encounters."
For all of us non-Brits, the mask the protagonist sports is the likeness of Guy Fawkes*, the man who famously tried to blow up Parliament in 1605 using 2.5 tonnes of gunpowder.
As they say in Britain, he was "the only man to go to Parliament with honourable intentions."
I am holding off on reading the book itself or the plot summaries until after I see the movie, but "V" is apparently an undisguised double-entendre for the Roman numeral 5 in the book. The character V, speaks in iambic pentameter... etc, etc.
(In other words, Ave Discordia!)
Despite the fact that the script was adapted by the Wachowski brothers, regrettably, it looks like Alan Moore was so ticked off about the screen adaptation that he has totally disavowed approval of the movie. I would be ticked off too, if they had cast dumbass Natalie Portman to play one of the main characters. (I still have yet to see her in a role where she could act! Fvcking no-talent bitch.) Fortunately they cast Agent Elrond to play V, so there is at least one good actor in the film.
Considering the political climate and recent events (like 9/11) it took a lot of guts to release this flick right now. Even if it is not up to Moore's standards, I have a certain degree of respect for the people who pushed it, just for doing it in the first place. (Except for Natalie Portman, until she demonstrates otherwise, she still svcks.)
By the way, if any of you get inspired to go blow up any fascist regimes afterward, well... I, for one, sure as hell won't try to stop you.
;)
* For you Harry Potter fans, the phoenix is notably named after this historical figure as well.