The Visceral Politics of V for Vendetta: On Politica Affect in Cinema

In his essay “E Unibus Pluram” David Foster Wallace critiques the fast-cutting tropes of contemporary cinema and television as meretriciously catering to our desire to transcend our average daily lives. These hysterical collages are, in his words, “unsubtle in their whispers that, somewhere, life is quicker, denser, more interesting… more lively.” We leave these films dazzled, punching the air, ready to do combat with a gang of bad guys or lose a pursuer in a car chase, but enjoy none of the edifying potential that Leo Tolstoy and other early theorizers of cinema’s potential saw in the fledgling art form. Contemporary independent cinema often works in stubborn self-conscious contrast to the transcendence aesthetic, but too

“The most powerful way to reach an audience is through the characters' emotions” (Alderson). Sometimes a producer’s toughest job is to appeal to his or her audience to gain their interest in a film. Two of the movies we watched in class came to mind when I think of this. ‘Three Idiots’ along with ‘A Bronx Tale’ are fantastic examples of how a producer can reach the emotions of an audience. However, I felt that one film was more powerful than the other. Although ‘A Bronx tale’ is a well written story with talented actors, the feel for the viewer throughout the movie is almost a sort of low key melancholy as the drama unfolds. ‘A Bronx Tale’ deals with more complex issues such as the mafia, murder and even racism but the producer almost always gives us what we expect next. Conversely, the lower budget film ‘Three idiots’ with little know actors leads the audience through

The film 'V for Vendetta' directed by James McTeigue addresses the idea of governmental authority and control in our society. One key scene where this is portrayed is in the opening, where Evey goes out to visit Gordon Deitrich after curfew. The futuristic landscape of a totalitarian England is displayed here, where the oppressive party in power have created a culture of fear to ensure the conformity of the citizens. However, in contrast, the final scene of the film where a crowd converges to watch Parliament blow up, illustrates a further idea. That when united, it is the people who have the power to change their society, through rebellion and political uprising.

In the novel 1984 and the film “V for Vendetta”, the protagonist for both stories are captured while performing various acts of rebellion against the totalitarian government, of which is controlling their city. In punishment, the government tortures them with harsh, inhumane methods that are similar to those used in dictatorships during the 1900s like the USSR under Stalin’s rule. However, both protagonists are tortured by different sides, and by people from completely opposite ends of the political ladder: one a government agent, the other a rebel. Although the themes disclosed in relation to the purpose and meanings of torture are similar, the overall message and final opinion that is expressed and conveyed to the recipients are complete

History is a widely sought-after subject for movies, and historical films are enjoyed by audiences of all kinds. Being extremely popular as they are, historical films have the ability to be very diverse in the way that history is recreated or used in the adaptation. These films often face criticism, however, of the fact that historical accuracy often gives way to anachronisms in the name of entertainment. Zack Snyder 's adaptation of the graphic novel 300, and James McTeigue 's adaptation of V for Vendetta are no exceptions to criticisms of historical accuracy. However, while Zack Snyder 's 300 is an attempt to recreate history, and does so in a dramatic, stylized, exaggerated, and biased fashion, V for Vendetta echoes history and uses it as a way to enhance the story.

In the film “V for Vendetta” directed by James McTeigue it is evident that “People shouldn't be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.” This is seen through several characters in the film. In the first place, the government is made up of people, most of them elected by the citizens of the country. As an illustration, midway through V for Vendetta, the character V surmises that Sutler’s career began as “a deeply religious man and a member of the conservative party. He’s completely single-minded and has no regard for political process. The more power he obtains the more obvious his zealotry, and the more aggressive his supporters become.” This shows as the number of his supporter increased and became more aggressive,

This movie could be placed in the morbid dark twisted movie that encompasses very classic literature that made me think about the deeper meaning of the purpose the author wrote the script for V for Vendetta. The film uses play on words that start with the letter V. This correlates with the subconscious having trouble to throw out the common idea of Violence out of their head because of the elementary factor that violence is the most common word used in the English language that starts with V. This can be seen in the scene when V goes on a rant and uses words such as view, veteran, vicariously, victim, villain, visitor, vanity, vice, vanity, valorous, visitation, vivified, vowed, vanquished, vicious, very, etc. One cannot exclude the title

For those who frequently watch movies, it is only an unsaid fact that they develop a strong liking for a particular genre or genres of films. And once this bond is structured in one’s mind with a specific type of movie, one often expects to get the same kind of emotional fruit from the movie apart from being entertained in general, obviously. But it can be hard when a movie is chosen and it does not exactly delivers up to one’s expectations in terms of an emotional ride.

‘V for Vendetta’ does challenge a few key characteristics of dystopian fiction, particularly in relation to the publics support of the anti-hero and optimistic ending. During the airing of V’s speech, the audience seemed fearful but understanding of his message, some even nodding along in agreement. Civilians also showed support for V in the final scenes, when thousands marched past guards wearing V’s signature black cloak and Guy Fawkes mask. Typically, in the dystopian genre the anti-hero or protagonist receives little support

To film theorist, film is an art and therefore its construction is what makes it beautiful. Many film theorists intend to look at film for its construction and how the construction contributes to how it is interpreted. These film theorists then become embarrassed when that same film evokes an emotional or bodily response that has nothing to do with how the film was constructed but everything to do with what the film is showing. This causes skewed results in what is good cinema and it rises the question: “Is this film great because of how it was constructed, or is it great because of how it made me feel.” The argument about how it made you feel has no factual basis and therefore cannot be argued because it is an

Movies, they are constantly made and constantly watched, its one of America’s favorite pastimes. But every time someone watches a film or reads a book or article everyone has something to say about it, a different opinion on it, different literary analysis or critiques. Here we view three critiques on three different movies, Halloween, 300: Rise of an Empire, and Frozen all critiqued through different ways from gender criticism, to visual and aesthetic critique, and even psychoanalytic criticism.

The film I focused on for this essay, V for Vendetta, was filmed and produced in 2006 by Warner Brothers.

The film, V for Vendetta directed by James McTeigue tells the story of Evey Hammond who dwells in a dysfunctional society controlled by the dictatorship Norsefire Party. McTeigue explores many different ideas through the theme that symbols can inspire hope and confidence within individuals and give them the courage to stand up for what they believe is right. McTeigue shows this through his effective use of characterization, dialogue, language features and camera angles. This teaches the viewer that belief, hope and confidence is needed in order to bring about change.

Close Viewing Essay: In the film V for Vendetta, the director, James McTeigue transport the viewers into a dystopian future where England is under tyrannical rule. McTeigue uses a range of film techniques such as Cinematography and dialogue to help illustrate the themes and messages of hope of a better future. This was seen in the two scenes the Domino effect and the marching scene.

V for Vendetta is a movie that immediately grasps the viewers attention. It has a tendency to seem twisted and dark. However, after examining the film more closely the themes began to emerge and started to make sense. V for Vendetta seems to align with Plato’s ideals making V’s actions seems less terroristic and begin to shape up to be that of a vigilante.