V for Vendetta

[funnel101]

Rob and I watched V for Vendetta tonight. It was well-worth seeing, and every bit as good as everyone had told me it was. But I found myself getting increasingly uncomfortable as the movie progressed, and I can blame that on my Quaker sensibilities. I'm conflicted as to what the right way to fix a government like that actually would be. It's hard

Comments

[mvc]

I think you might really like the original comic. It seems much more aware of that doubt about whether violence can accomplish anything. It also makes a point of showing the humanity of characters on both sides--of making it clear that they're all just trying to do the best they can--, which for me, at least, is right at the heart of pacifism. Not to say it doesn't have its flaws--it drags in places, and it sometimes reads a bit like an anarchist political tract--but overall it's very interesting, and well worth reading.

[daviticus]

Well, on the one hand, while V was sympathetic, his portrayal in the movie was a lot more morally ambiguous than I'd been afraid of -- I didn't think the movie was saying violence is the answer, either. But to second the previous comment, the comic is still a lot better (the added romance was totally contrary to character). In the comic I don't think it's clear that V is doing the right thing at all.

I actually disagree with the previous comment about the anarchist political tract bit -- V sounds like an anarchist political tract, but he's also portrayed as pretty [a|im]moral and crazy, so I didn't feel like the comic itself was pushing that view too hard...

[mvc]

I should say, I also read and enjoy the occasional anarchist political tract, so the criticism wasn't meant to be too severe. But you're right, all that stuff does come from V, and it suits his character to be pretty singleminded that way, so I withdraw it as a criticism of the book.

[american_lion]

Do you mind If I ask what the creative destruction of the market means? Like putting in a lot of bogus product reviews on amazon? Or doing things that involve a lot of externalities?

[american_lion]

That's one of the things that Moore tends to do well as a writer, write ambiguous stories. V was written in a very balanced way considering that Moore himself tends to slant anarchist, and in interviews Moore has actually addressed the fact that he realized partway in that the beginning of the story was painting V as too much of a hero and worked to make it foggier. I never got a chance to see the movie in its entirety, so I can't weigh in on its accuracy.

I'd post something interesting about violence but I'm kind of out of it today, so I'll come back later.