by Anonymous Logician, Copyright March 22, 2006, all rights reserved. 670 views
V for Vendetta, adapted for the screen by the Wachowski brothers and starring Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman, opened this Friday. I'm not yet sure whether I'll go see it or wait for the DVD, but the reviews all agree that the film is very thought-provoking.
The central concepts with which the movie tries to come to grips are revolution vs. terrorism and liberty vs. statism. Since I haven't seen it, I won't comment. But here are some thoughts by others that I found interesting. First, on the subject of terrorism, my friend Chris Yokel writes that
[I]t must be said that [V, the main character] can hardly be called a "terrorist" in the modern sense of the word. His assasinations are specifically targeted against officials of the fascist regime. He just doesn't go around blowing people up indiscriminately. The one interesting thing I noted at the end of the movie is that he appeared to realize through Evey that the things he had done were wrong, and that he was deserving of death.
Anthony Gregory over at LewRockwell.com insists that the issue of V's actions, though important, is secondary: "V's violence…pales in comparison, and is secondary, to that of the state, and perhaps it is not so much the alleged glorification of his, but rather the portrayal of the state's, that irks so many people so much about this movie." Gregory continues:
In aggrandizement and protection of its power, the state in Vendetta has taken the church under its fold, making it an arm of the government and thus corrupting it completely. It divides and conquers, making the people more afraid of peaceful differences among one another than of the coercive institution that threatens them all. It explores the wretched avenues of biological warfare, tests demonic weapons on its own subjects, and scapegoats others for whatever goes wrong. It forbids unapproved religious texts and anything else seen as challenging its authority. It targets civilians while disingenuously accusing the vigilante of doing so. It murders, rapes, and spies on its citizens without relent.
Butler Shaffer, also of LRC, writes:
Not only is this the most powerful anti-state film I have ever seen–one that makes no compromises with the system –but is, purely from a film-making perspective, one of the best movies I have seen in some time. Had the subject matter of this film been anti-vivisectionism, the depletion of the rainforests, or the sorrows of divorcees, its acting, writing, direction, and other production features would have made watching it an enjoyable experience.
I'm not a full-octane libertarian or anarcho-capitalist, so I probably won't see the film in the same way Shaffer does. But V for Vendetta promises to be an interesting watch.