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V for Vendetta

Aug 31, 202414 min read

Part of the Casswiki article series Movies and TV series

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V for Vendetta is a 2006 film, written by the Wachowskis, based on Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s 1982 graphic novel of the same name. A freedom fighter goes by the name of “V” who attempts to start a revolution against a fascist regime that has a complete control over dystopian England during the late 2020s and sought out to kill its opponents from concentration camps (where “V” was subjected). Evey, a working-class woman found herself caught in “V“‘s mission while Inspector Finch leads a pursue to stop “V”.

The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 (5 November 1605) is V’s historical inspiration for the revolution against Adam Sutler’s fascist regime.

This film is highly recommended by FOTCM as it portrays a totalitarian society more realistically than any other films thus far.

As Laura Knight-Jadczyk wrote on V for Vendetta thread at the Cassiopaea Forum:

This subject has exercised me also. I mean, once you truly understand the nature of the psychopath, what to do about it? Once you know that they are truly mad-dog, consciencless killers under a mask of sanity, in a three piece suit, what do you do about it? And most particularly, what do you do about it when they are in positions of almost absolute power?

When you see the scenario as set up in the movie, V for Vendetta, you can see that it is almost exactly the problem we face. How do you get such creatures as that OUT of power? Remember what Lobaczewski wrote about them:

Much too common is the pattern of error which reasons that purportedly autocratic leaders of countries affected by this pathocracy actually possess decision-making powers in areas which they in fact do not. Millions of people, including ministers and members of parliaments, ponder the dilemma of whether such a ruler could not, under certain circumstances, modify his convictions somewhat and relinquish his dreams of conquering the world; they continue hope that this will be the eventual outcome.

People with personal experience in such a system may attempt to persuade them that their dreams, although decent, lack a foundation in reality, but at the same time they sense a lack of concrete arguments on their part. Such an explanation is in fact impossible within the realm of the natural language of psychological concepts; only an objective comprehension of the historical phenomenon and its essentially deviant nature permits light to be shed upon the causes of the perennial deceitfulness of this macrosocial pathological phenomenon.

The actions of this phenomenon affect an entire society, starting with the leaders and infiltrating every village, small town, factory, business, or farm. The pathological social structure gradually covers the entire country, creating a “new class” within that nation. This privileged class of deviants feels permanently threatened by the “others”, i.e. by the majority of normal people. Neither do the pathocrats entertain any illusions about their personal fate should there be a return to the system of normal man. […]

If the laws of normal man were to be reinstated, they and theirs could be subjected to judgment, including a moralizing interpretation of their psychological deviations; they would be threatened by a loss of freedom and life, not merely a loss of position and privilege. Since they are incapable of this kind of sacrifice, the survival of a system which is the best for them becomes a moral imperative.

Such a threat must be battled by means of any and all psychological and political cunning implemented with a lack of scruples with regard to those other “inferior-quality” people that can be shocking in its depravity.

Pathocracy survives thanks to the feeling of being threatened by the society of normal people, as well as by other countries wherein various forms of the system of normal man persist. For the rulers, staying on the top is therefore the classic problem of “to be or not to be”. […]

We can thus formulate a more cautious question: can such a system ever waive territorial and political expansion abroad and settle for its present possessions? What would happen if such a state of affairs ensured internal peace, corresponding order, and relative prosperity within the nation? The overwhelming majority of the country’s population would then make skillful use of all the emerging possibilities, taking advantage of their superior qualifications in order to fight for an ever-increasing scope of activities; thanks to their higher birth rate, their power will increase. This majority will be joined by some sons from the privileged class who did not inherit the pathological genes. The pathocracy’s dominance will weaken imperceptibly but steadily, finally leading to a situation wherein the society of normal people reaches for power.

This is a nightmare vision to the psychopaths.

Thus, the biological, psychological, moral, and economic destruction of the majority of normal people becomes, for the pathocrats, a “biological” necessity.

Many means serve this end, starting with concentration camps and including warfare with an obstinate, well-armed foe who will devastate and debilitate the human power thrown at him, namely the very power jeopardizing pathocrats rule: the sons of normal man sent out to fight for an illusionary “noble cause.” Once safely dead, the soldiers will then be decreed heroes to be revered in paeans, useful for raising a new generation faithful to the pathocracy and ever willing to go to their deaths to protect it. […]

Pathocracy has other internal reasons for pursuing expansionism through the use of all means possible. As long as that “other” world governed by the systems of normal man exists, it inducts into the non-pathological majority a certain sense of direction. The non-pathological majority of the country’s population will never stop dreaming of the reinstatement of the normal man’s system in any possible form. This majority will never stop watching other countries, waiting for the opportune moment; its attention and power must therefore be distracted from this purpose, and the masses must be “educated” and channeled in the direction of imperialist strivings. This goal must be pursued doggedly so that everyone knows what is being fought for and in whose name harsh discipline and poverty must be endured. The latter factor - creating conditions of poverty and hardship - effectively limits the possibility of “subversive” activities on the part of the society of normal people.

The ideology must, of course, furnish a corresponding justification for this alleged right to conquer the world and must therefore be properly elaborated. Expansionism is derived from the very nature of pathocracy, not from ideology, but this fact must be masked by ideology. Whenever this phenomenon has been witnessed in history, imperialism was always its most demonstrative quality.

In short, the objective fact is: Thus, the biological, psychological, moral, and economic destruction of the majority of normal people becomes, for the pathocrats, a “biological” necessity.

That IS their goal.

So, how to deal with that fact? How to deal with it in terms of the future of Free Will and Freedom for All of humanity?

Notable quotes

V

Vi veri veniversum vivus vici

By the power of truth, I while living have conquered the universe.

V’s Speech To England

Good evening, London. Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of everyday routine, the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration, thereby those important events of the past usually associated with someone’s death or the end of some awful bloody struggle are celebrated with a nice holiday, I thought we could mark this November the 5th, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat.

There are, of course, those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now, orders are being shouted into telephones, and men with guns will soon be on their way.

Why?

Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth.

And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn’t there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission.

How did this happen? Who’s to blame?

Well, certainly, there are those who are more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable. But again, truth be told, if you’re looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.

I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn’t be? War, terror, disease. They were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense.

Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the now high chancellor, Adam Sutler. He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent.

Last night, I sought to end that silence. Last night, I destroyed the Old Bailey to remind this country of what it has forgotten.

More than four hundred years ago, a great citizen wished to imbed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice, and freedom are more than words, they are perspectives.

So, if you’ve seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you, then I would suggest that you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek, then I ask you to stand beside me, one year from tonight, outside the gates of Parliament, and together we shall give them a fifth of November that shall never, ever be forgot.

Evey Hammond

”Remember, remember
The fifth of November
The gunpowder treason and plot.
I know of no reason
Why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.”

But what of the man? I know his name was Guy Fawkes, and I know that, in 1605, he attempted to blow up the houses of Parliament. But who was he really? What was he like? We are told to remember the idea, not the man, because a man can fail. He can be caught. He can be killed and forgotten. But four hundred years later an idea can still change the world. I’ve witnessed firsthand the power of ideas. I’ve seen people kill in the name of them; and die defending them. But you cannot kiss an idea, cannot touch it or hold it. Ideas do not bleed. They do not feel pain. They do not love. And it is not an idea that I miss, it is a man. A man that made me remember the fifth of November. A man that I will never forget.

Valerie Page

I shall die here. Every inch of me will perish. Every inch but one. An inch…It is small, and fragile, and it is the only thing in the world worth having. We must never lose it or give it away. We must never let them take it from us. I hope that whoever you are, you escape this place. I hope that the worlds turns, and that things get better. But what I hope most of all is that you understand what I mean when I tell you that, even though I do not know you, and even though I may never meet you, laugh with you, cry with you, or kiss you, I love you. With all my heart, I love you.

Dominic & Finch

Dominic: I went by Parliament. Never seen anything like it — tanks, antiaircraft, infantry — it makes you wish that no one would show up tonight. But if they do, what do you think will happen?

Finch: What usually happens when people without guns stand up to people with guns.

Creedy & V

Creedy: [Starts shooting the approaching V] Die! Die! Why won’t you die?! [His gun clicks empty] Why won’t you die?

V: Beneath this mask, there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask, there is an idea, Mr Creedy. And ideas are bulletproof!

V & Finch

V: Our Story begins, as these stories often do, with a young up-and-coming politician. He’s a deeply religious man and a member of the Conservative Party. He’s completely single-minded and has no regard for the political process. The more power he attains, the more obvious his zealotry and the more aggressive his supporters become.

Eventually, his party lauches a special project in the name of national security. At first it’s believed to be a search for biological weapons and it’s pursued without regard to its cost. However, the true goal of this project is power. Complete and total hegemonic domination. The project, however, ends violently.

But the efforts of those involved are not in vain for a new ability to wage war is born from the blood of one of the victims. Imagine a virus, the most terrifying virus you can and then imagine that you and you alone have the cure. But if your ultimate goal is power, how best to use such a weapon?

Well, it’s at this point in our story that along came a spider. Here’s a man seemingly without a conscience for whom the ends always justify the means. He suggests that their target should not be an enemy of the country…but rather, the country itself.

Three targets are chosen to maximize the effect of the attack: a school, a tube station and a water-treatment plant. Several hundred die within the first few weeks. Fueled by the media, fear and panic spread quickly, fracturing and dividing the country until, at last, the true goal comes into view. Before the St. Mary’s crises, no one would have predicted the results of the election that year. No one. And then not long after the election, lo and behold, a miracle.

Some believed it was the work of God himself. But it was a pharmaceutical company controlled by certain party members that made them all obscenely rich. A year later, several extremists are tried, found guilty and executed while a memorial is built to canonize their victims.

But the end result, the true genius of the plan, was the fear.

Fear became the ultimate tool of this government. And through it, our politician was ultimately appointed…to the newly created position of high chancellor. The rest, as they say, is history.

Inspector: Can you prove any of this?

V: Why do you think I’m still alive?

Inspector: All right, We’d like to take you into protective custody, Mr. Rookwood.

V: I’m sure you would. But if you want that recording, you’ll do what I tell you to do. You’ll put Creedy under 24-hour surveillance. When I feel safe he can’t pick his nose without you knowing, I’ll contact you again. Till then, cheerio.

Inspector: Rookwood, Why didn’t you come forward before? What were you waiting for?

V: Well, for you, inspector. I needed you.

Further readings

See also

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