V For Vendetta

Zach Persson
Kurt Eggers
Nick Breault

Shakespeare,
Visual Rhetoric,
and Political Actio

Shakespeare and V
for Vendetta
Director James McTeigue both
explicitly and implicitly links V
with Shakespeare in the film
employing a variety of texts and
not simply Macbeth. What
purpose could this adaptation
alteration serve?

Dont wait up for me Bill. I intend to enjoy

myself tonight.

V is aligned with Shakespeare at the moment of his

inception in V for Vendetta and their connection is
reiterated throughout the film. This mirrors Alan Moores
graphic novel to an extent, however, the adaptation is not
limited to Macbeth. V quotes Hamlet, Sonnet 55, and
Richard III as well. The employment of Shakespeare
provides cultural capital for the audience through textual
allusions indicating V is the tragic hero of a revenge
narrative, rather than a terrorist, making him a sympathetic
character
What aspects of V for Vendetta vindicate the visage of V
as a tragic hero?

The multiplying villainies of nature do swarm upon him, and fortune, on his
damned quarrel, smiling, showed like a rebels whore. But all thats too weak
for brave Macbeth, well he deserves that name...disdaining fortune, with
brandished steel like valours minion carved out his passage...till he faced the
slave; which neer shook hands nor bade farewell to him (Moore 12 and
Macbeth 1.2.11-21).

We are oft to blame in this:/Tis too much proved that with

devotions visage/And pious action we do sugar oer/The devil
himself (Hamlet 3.1.46-49).
V mirrors Hamlet as an avenger seeking retribution for himself and
family/surrogate family member (Valerie Page/King Hamlet) against
an authority figure whose own crimes render him/her unfit for office
(Sutler/Claudius).
V achieves tragic hero status by sacrificing himself for his cause
and ridding England of a corrupt ruling class.
Beneath this mask there is more than flesh Mr. Creedy. Beneath
this mask there is an idea. And ideas are bulletproof.

The Norsefire governments state run

religion is analogous to the Anglican
Church that the conspirators of the
Gunpowder Plot opposed. The Anglican
Church persecuted Catholics, while the
Norsefire-run church persecuted
homosexuals, minorities, and also the
Irish. This persecution of the Emerald Isle
is reminiscent of England tyrannical
behavior under the leadership of
Margaret Thatcher.
The extreme reactionary behaviors of the
Gunpowder Plot, V, and the IRA were a
result of these oppressive regimes.

Bishop Lilliman, the only clergyman portrayed in V for Vendetta,

is a pedophiac in addition to profiting greatly from the atrocities
committed at Larkhill.
V quotes Richard Gloucester,
And thus I clothe my naked
villainy/With odd old ends,
stoln forth of Holy Writ/And
seem a saint when most I
play the devil (Richard III
1.3.334-336).

Shadow Gallery Art

The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian

Vi veri universum vivus vici

V is placed in the mirror with the quote from Doctor Faustus

Differences From novel: Use of Symbols

Norsefires Christian-inspired iconography is completely absent from the novel.

Cinematic Rhetoric: How Films

Persuade

Because of Sutlers visual framing, which is made possible by a

uniquely cinematic ground, the audience can virtually touch the sweat
oozing from his pores, which reinforces viewers earlier disgust at the
teeth of the Fingerman and hence the government. -Ott

Maintaining Thematic Elements of the

Novel Through Visuals

Evey in the Film

From the outset, the audience
is made to identify more
strongly with Evey in the film
than they are in the novel,
which helps convey the films
particular message

The Effectiveness of the Films

Rhetoric

Seldom do films make as heavy-handed an effort to intervene in complicated

social process that have the capacity to impact the disposition, direction, and
duration of political policy as does V for Vendetta, which warns its audience that a
population should never trust its government to restore freedoms once they have
been undermined in the interests of national security. -Ott

Discussion Question
What about the Guy Fawkes mask makes it so appealing to
protesters from such different backgrounds?

Turkey, 2013

Syrian Flag Mask

Occupy Wall Street

Differences From Novel: Politics

The graphic novel, written two decades ago, was a
portrayal of Maggie Thatcher-style conservatism run amuck.
The movies regime has been updated to reflect a later style
of conservatism.
-Brian L. Ott

V for Vendetta, critics agreed, was an allegory for life in

George W. Bushs America, and an unwavering critique of
his administration and its policies
-Bob Mondello

V for Vendettas Influence on Political Activism

V for Vendetta enlists and mobilizes viewers at a visceral level to reject political apathy and to enact a
democratic politics of resistance and revolt against any state -Ott

Egypt, 2012

Guy Fawkes as a Blanket Symbol

Only a nomadic symbol of this kind could possibly keep up with the rampant mutations of post-industrial
capitalism -Lewis Call

Lebanon, 2013

Though the symbolism isnt always effective...

It takes 40 minutes for director James McTiegue to get back to the explosions that
his 16-year-old target audience assumes will solve everything -Mondello

Ave Atque Vale