V for Vendetta Flashcards
“He can be…
…killed and forgotten, but 400 years later, an idea can still change the world”
- Evey Hammond (commentator)
- Dialogue
“We are told…
…to remember the idea not the man because man can fail”
- Evey Hammond (commentating)
- Dialogue
Scene where Evey and V are shown to have a potential relationship
-V and Evey have cross-cutting between them showing both of them doing the same action showing the similarities between them
“No one escapes…
…their past. No one escapes judgement”
-Prothero
What is used to set up suspense when Evey is walking to Gordons
- Filter: very dark to make it seem more sinister
- Music: low and ominous adds to sinister atmosphere
How is a sense of juxtaposition created with Evey’s safety?
Dialogue - “This is for your protection” over megaphones
Runs into fingermen who try rape her using, “our own judicial discretion”
“We exercise…
…our own judicial discretion”
-Fingermen
What is used to show how V does not accept Fingermen’s authority?
-Prop/symbolism: Fingermen show their Norsefire badge and V cuts it in half (shown with close up shot)
“This visage…
…is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant” (means he represents the ideas of a lost population)
-V
“Vanquish these…
…venal and virulent vermin van-guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volitions” (he intends to get rid of the powerful which have committed many crimes against humanity)
-V
“The value and..
…veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous” (Ends justify the means and those that have stood up for their rights shall be rewarded)
-V
What shows V is directing his vengeance against the government?
Symbolism: V carves his ‘V’ symbol into a government propaganda poster
“Evey? E-…
…V. Of course you are”
-V
What shows that V’s motives are good and bad just after his speech to Evey?
Lighting: his face is half light/dark
“It means that…
…I, like God, do not play with dice and do not believe in coincidence”
-V
“Oh, I…
…merely played my part”
-V
“I’m a…
…musician of sorts… percussion instruments are my speciality”
-V
“In recognition of…
…the imposter that stands in her stead”
-V
What shows V intends to destroy the justice system in England?
Symbolism: blowing up the Old Bailey (seen in long shot) likens to how he intends to destroy the unjust laws imposed
What does this quote imply? Creedy - “The Bailey area…
…has been quarantined”
-implies that Creedy (therefore government) believes that seeing the Old Bailey destroyed creates illness which needs to be contained
“I want prothero to speak on…
…The dangers of these old buildings and how we must avoid clinging to the edifice of a decadent past”
-Sutler
During the cross-over from the government discussions to BTN, what kind of impression is created? how is this created?
- The world that is most important is the one we don’t see
- Dialogue: “This is the BTN. Our job is to report the new not fabricate it. That’s the government’s job.” - Dascomb
- Lighting: Gov conference = dark, BTN = light
- Music: Gov conference = sinister (lack of music), BTN = upbeat (upbeat positive music)
- Shots: Gov = over shoulder (can’t see faces, only sutlers), BTN = mid shots (can see people’s faces)
“If you’re looking for…
…the guilts, you need only look into a mirror”
-V
How is juxtaposition created with this quote and camera shot? “He promised you…
…order, he promised you peace and all he demanded was your silent, obedient consent”
- close up shot of weapons used by SWAT team to get into BTN
- shows how Sutler promised these things, but really uses brute force to get the job done
“Fairness, justice and…
…freedom are more than just words, they are perspectives”
-V
Complete and explain what is this quote showing? “A psychotic terrorist, only…
…identified by the code name ‘V’, attacked the control booth with high powered explosive and other weapons, that he used against unarmed civilians in order to broadcast a message of hate… footage now from a daring raid by the heroic police shows the terrorist is dead”
-Show show the government exaggerates and villainies V while glorifying police
complete Evey’s and V’s conversation “I shouldn’t have…
…done that. I must’ve been out of my mind.” - Evey
“Is that what you really think or what they’d want you to think?” - V
“After what you…
…did, I couldn’t let that happen, so I picked you up and carried you to the only place I knew you’d be safe”
-V
Complete and explain, what does this quote mean? - “I dare do…
…all that may become a man Who dares do more is none”
- This is explaining that he is only doing what should be expected of someone who sees the government as a problem
- V
“People should not…
…be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people”
-V
“The building is a…
…symbol, as is the act of destroying it. Sybmols are given power by people. Alone a symbol is meaningless, but with enough people, blowing up a building can change the world”
-V
“Good guys…
…win, bad guys lose, and as always, England prevails”
-Prothero
What does the quote and camera shot show, “Quiet, dignified…
…death in his sleep” - Dascomb
- High angle shot
- shows how weak prothero really is and the horrific death he actually had
“Violence can be…
…used for good”
-V
“There is no court in…
…this country for men like prothero”
-V
“Artists us lies to…
…tell the truth while politicians use them to cover the truth up”
-V
what does this quote tell us about V’s beliefs about information “By the power of…
…truth I, while living, have conquered the world”
-Information is knowledge and knowledge is power, if people know the truth they have the knowledge to interpret their environment properly
“We’re both fugitives…
…in our own way”
-Gordon
“You wear a mask for…
…so long you forget who you were beneath it”
What does the scarlet carson, “believed to be extinct” show us?
The idea of hope is not gone and placing it on V’s victims is showing that the hope and justice of the lost voice of the people of England has come back for them
“I have not come for what…
…you hoped to do. I have come for what you did”
-V
“There are no coincidences…
…only the illusion of coincidence”
-V
“I see these chain of…
…events, these coincidences, and I have to ask, what if this isn’t what happened?”
-Finch
“If our government was responsible…
…for the deaths of almost 100,000 people, would you really want to know?”
-Finch
During Gordon’s special broadcast, what editing technique is used to show how the audience agrees with Sutlers mockery? How does it show this?
-Cross cutting between audiences in the pub, home, retirement village, audience etc. shows them laughing showing how they think the mockery of Sutler is funny
What is the meaning of this? “same basic toxicology…
…as prothero. You could get these poisons from any house in London”
- the cause of death for all of V’s victims stems from a common resentment that everyone else in London has for these people of power and that the ‘poison’ that corrupted these people can become abused by anyone in the same situation as there is a common cause
- Delia Surridge
What is used to show Evey’s fear at initially being held a prisoner?
- Dark background (lighting)
- Close up shot on her face shows she is trembling in fear (shot)
What in Valeries flash back suggests that the military events that occurred in London ended hope for peace and well-being for people?
- “Our place always smelt of roses. Those were the best years of my life” ~ happy times when there were rose
- “America’s war grew worse and worse and eventually came to London… After that there were no roses anymore, not for anyone” ~ no one has hope now that there is war as there are no roses
What is used to show Evey’s emotional transformation at the end of her jail sentence? “Thankyou, but I’d rather…
…die behind the chemical sheds”
- Close up shot shows that she is much more aggressive and calm looking (shot)
- Evey
What is and describe the moment when Evey experiences her inspirational moment, how does it link back to V?
- when Evey stands on roof top and is seen in mid shot relishing the rain because “god is in the rain” which inspires her to fight for Valerie as she said that as well
- cross-cutting to V’s moment shows the similarities between them (eg body position, sound effects [yelling])
Complete Evey/V conversation - “Do you know where…
…you’ll go?” - V
“No. that would have scared me before” - evey
What does V do when Evey leaves that shows he is upset with Evey leaving? what does it show?
- See V throw mask off (action shot) and V crying over her leaving (mid shot)
- V throwing off his mask indicates he is conflicted between his feelings for her and his necessity to fight for England and that he wishes he could remove himself from his identity so that do so
“I want this country to realise…
…that we stand on the edge of oblivion. I want every man, woman and child to know how close we are to chaos. I want everyone to remember why they need us!”
-Sutler
“some believed it was…
…the work of God himself, but it was a pharmaceutical company controlled by certain party members that made them all obscenely rich”
-Rockwood/V
“The end result, the true…
…genius of the plan was the fear. Fear became the ultimate tool of this government”
-Rockwood/V
Complete Finch’s/V’s conversation, what does it show? “what were you…
…waiting for?” - Finch
“Well, for you inspectory. I needed you.”
-Individual people have the power to carry out and deliver ideas (without even knowing it)
What does the dominoes that V placed represent?
V lined up all the events to happen, so he only needs to start it and everything will fall into its right place as it’s, “one long chain of events” (Finch)
What does the first domino placed coincide with? why is it the first domino?
- coincides with V sending out the, “several hundred thousand atleat” boxcars of Guy Fawkes masks
- stirring up public attention
What do the next multiple dominoes placed represent?
- “anarchy in the UK” is created and government responds by decreeing, “I want anyone wearing one of those masks arrested”
- represent the publics response and governments reaction
what event coincides with the shape of the object being identifiable (not complete)? what does this represent?
- Creedy agrees to capture sutler by placing a cross on his door
- shows how the internal fabric of the government is breaking down
What event coincides with a fully formed shape of the dominoes (completed shape)? What does this represent?
- when fingerman shoots girl and people fight back
- shows that the public will no longer accept their government
When V knocks over the dominoes, what does this coincide/represent and what the keystone piece that V picks up represnet?
- represents how his plan has now fallen into place and the people are fighting against the government
- keystone piece represents the final key part of his plan which is Evey
“There is a face beneath…
…this mask but it’s not me. I’m no more that face than I am the muscles beneath or the bones beneath them”
-V
“The choice to pull this…
…lever is not mine to make. Because this world, the world that i am a part of and I helped shape, will end tonight and tomorrow a different world will begin that different people will shape”
-V
What does this show about ideas “What you have are…
…bullets, in the hope that when your guns are empty I’m no longer standing”
-some ideas are limited to their input (guns) while others are limitless (knives)
“Beneath this mask, there…
…is an idea, Mr Creedy. And ideas are bullet proof”
-V
“I wish I wasn’t…
…afraid all the time, but I am”
-Evey
“This country needs…
…more than a building right not, it needs hope”
-Evey
Explain the meaning of this quote - “He was Edmund…
…Dantes, he was my father. And my mother, my brother, my friend. He was you, and me. He was all of us.”
- Shows that the ideas that V tried to get across were in all of us, that we all wanted freedom and justice
- Evey
Complete the conversation and what does it show - “You got to…
…me? You did this to me? you cut my hair? you tortured me? You tortured me, why?” - Evey
“You said you wanted to live without fear. I wish there’d been an easier way, but there wasn’t” - V
-Shows that V is a very literal person and takes extreme actions, believing that the end justifies the means
“I ask you to stand…
…beside me, one year from tonight, outside the gates of Parliament. And together, we shall give them a 5th of November that shall never, ever be forgot”
-V
What does this mean - “I’d only told them the…
…truth. Was that so selfish? Our integrity sells for so little, but it is all we really have. It is the very last inch of us, but within that inch we are free.”
- She is questioning why the truth about ourselves has to be hidden because our true identities are where we can be expressive about ourselves
- Valerie
What does the use of roses symbolise - “It seems strange…
…that my life should end in such a terrible place. But for three years, I had roses and apologized to no one”
- Shows how the thought of hopes symbolises her hope for a better future and clinging to the good memories of the past
- Valerie
What does this show about the government - “Doubt will plunge…
…this country back into chaos, and I will not let that happen. Gentlemen, I want this terrorist found and I want him to understand what terror really means.”
- government wants to eradicate the terrorist when they themselves are terrorists
- Adam Sutler
What does this show about V’s opinion on power - “words will always…
…retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning and, for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth”
- Words are very powerful because they speak the truth and can create ideas
- V
What does this show about V’s perception about life - “What was done to
…me created me. It’s a basic principle of the universe that every action will create an equal and opposing reaction”
-when something happens and good and back action will come out of it and he is just part of the grand scheme of life balancing itself out
Complete the conversation”What was done to
…me was monstrous” - V
“And they created a monster” - Evey
“all I deserve…
…is at the end of that tunnel.”
-V
Complete the conversation and explain how this and another scene shows similarities between V and Creedy - “You’re not afraid…
…of death. You’re like me.” - Creedy “The only thing you and I have in common, Mr. Creedy, is we’re both about to die.” - V
-Both of them will have the same fate and also, “a man seemingly without a conscience for whom the ends always justify the means” is similar to V’s who also believes that, “I wish there’d been an easier way, but there wasn’t”
