I bought the DVD, V for Vendetta and watched it again the other night. V has all the things I love about movies. In no particular order:
Good acting. Especially, Hugo Weaving, who had to act without facial gestures. Even though the ancient Greeks started theater with the actors wearing masks, drama these days has dropped the masks, unless you’re a psycho killer or a superhero. Natalie Portman does a good job too and with a good English accent.
Good writing. The plot is convoluted, but I always like trying to figure out a convoluted plot. Plus, there are lots of literary references and that always starts the serotonin flowing in me. If you want to do a comparison of good and bad dialogue, line up a scene of Portman from this film with any of her scenes from The Star Wars movies. You will see a huge difference.
Things that make you go hmm. Even though the graphic novel this movie was based on was written during the Thatcher years, the references to Bush are clear. A good work of art should always reflect human thought no matter what the time period. V talks about words and their power, and how institutions will use words to consolidate their own power. Bush and the Republican party use words in ingenious ways, especially since they are so well trained to repeat the talking points and never veer off. Of course, when you keep repeating the same lie when the truth keeps popping up, you start to look like a fool or even insane. Dick Cheney has a propensity to keep saying these lies so often that he really should be tested for mental infirmity.
But the main question that this film brings up for me is how much is enough for revolution? What does it take for people to say no more and take to the street? I’m not advocating revolution, and I’m hardly a street-fighting man. The dystopia of V is pretty bad with their secret police, curfews, and poisoning of their own people. America is not V’s England. We have the worst president in power since Nixon, but it’s certainly not bad enough to start a revolution. But since Republicans seem to love power over everything else except money, what would happen if Bush tried to grab power indefinitely? Or any president for that matter? Is it possible in America for a coup to happen? And if it did happen would Americans rise up and fight, or would we be complacent and stay at home, watching DVDs? What is the tipping point for China, Burma, Iran, North Korea, or any other totalitarian country today? What would be our tipping point? Hmm.
Good acting. Especially, Hugo Weaving, who had to act without facial gestures. Even though the ancient Greeks started theater with the actors wearing masks, drama these days has dropped the masks, unless you’re a psycho killer or a superhero. Natalie Portman does a good job too and with a good English accent.
Good writing. The plot is convoluted, but I always like trying to figure out a convoluted plot. Plus, there are lots of literary references and that always starts the serotonin flowing in me. If you want to do a comparison of good and bad dialogue, line up a scene of Portman from this film with any of her scenes from The Star Wars movies. You will see a huge difference.
Things that make you go hmm. Even though the graphic novel this movie was based on was written during the Thatcher years, the references to Bush are clear. A good work of art should always reflect human thought no matter what the time period. V talks about words and their power, and how institutions will use words to consolidate their own power. Bush and the Republican party use words in ingenious ways, especially since they are so well trained to repeat the talking points and never veer off. Of course, when you keep repeating the same lie when the truth keeps popping up, you start to look like a fool or even insane. Dick Cheney has a propensity to keep saying these lies so often that he really should be tested for mental infirmity.
But the main question that this film brings up for me is how much is enough for revolution? What does it take for people to say no more and take to the street? I’m not advocating revolution, and I’m hardly a street-fighting man. The dystopia of V is pretty bad with their secret police, curfews, and poisoning of their own people. America is not V’s England. We have the worst president in power since Nixon, but it’s certainly not bad enough to start a revolution. But since Republicans seem to love power over everything else except money, what would happen if Bush tried to grab power indefinitely? Or any president for that matter? Is it possible in America for a coup to happen? And if it did happen would Americans rise up and fight, or would we be complacent and stay at home, watching DVDs? What is the tipping point for China, Burma, Iran, North Korea, or any other totalitarian country today? What would be our tipping point? Hmm.
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