V for Vendetta
© 2006 Warner
This movie is seeping with theistic existentialism. The society created by the British government was established in response to fall of the United States of America . The government is clear in portraying that moral decline was the reason for the fall that once great nation. The United States fell because they turned their back on God. In response, the current government established policies to ensure the same will not happen to their own nation. These policies are based on the government’s view of God. The view that God despises homosexuals, and views them as less human; the view that any moral compromise will wreak ultimate punishment; and the view that God has established the governmental powers thus no one should stand against them.
The theme of this movie is standing against this misunderstanding of God. This story portrays that God is not a god of discrimination or class systems. Rather, God values each human equally and with unconditional love. Every human deserves freedom and equal rights, no matter their class status or sexual orientation.
The key exploration of these concepts is when Evey is in the middle of deciding what she will make a stand for. Her world has just been torn apart, and she must decide what she will believe and choose to stand for. It’s pouring rain outside, she whispers to herself “God is in the rain” and then walks straight out into it. She throws her arms out as if to soak of every drop of God, and feel what he is truly like. It’s a moment of deep spiritual exploration.
Just before this, Evey is in jail, and she comes across an autobiography that another girl wrote on toilet paper while she was in jail. This girl, Valerie, explained the trouble of growing up a lesbian in a society that devalued people in that lifestyle. Her family, her friends, her government; all rejected her. Her society hates homosexuals to the point that they use them for biochemical testing. She ends her autobiography in letter form, sending a final message to the reader. This message is an incredibly beautiful literary expression of love:
I shall die here, every inch of me shall perish. Every inch but one. An inch. It is small and it is 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 world 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 of my heart, I love you.
That one inch that cannot be taken, is the ability to love. Here, Valerie chooses to love simple because whoever is reading this letter, is another human being. This is what she believes is a humans ultimate purpose. Valerie finds value and worth in these person regardless of who they are, or how they interact with her. She loves them regardless of whether or not she even meets them. Simply by being another human being, they have earned her love. This is a love we can all learn from.
The final scene of the movie, as V is accomplishing his task, Evey is asked “Who was he?” To which she responds; “He was my father, and my mother. He was my brother. He was you. He was me.” Then it shows the crowd taking off their masks, and you see the faces off all the key characters in the film. Whether they are alive or dead, you see their faces. V was a representation of all of humanity. V represented the ultimate purpose of every human, to reflect what God is truly like. V was a symbol. V’s life itself was meaningless, he will be long forgotten. But this symbol will last forever.
Remember, Remember the Fifth of November.
[written by] Jason C
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