Just saw V for Vendetta. For a long time a new flick that created some thoughts although, I must admit, I expected even more. A couple of ideas that I got:
Can we trust media anymore? Ok, the government may not write the news. But companies do. If journalists need to publish their feed 24hrs, it must be tempting to reprint company press releases as such. And in turn that must encourage press release writers to push for their political agenda. And so on.
Another is this basic dilemma: “one man can make a difference” but in the end you need the masses on the streets to execute it. How to ignite is the challenge for the agent of change. There must be thousands of would-be change agents around but only very few of them stand up. Skip their daily routine and start putting ideas into action. I’d sure like to be one of those guys.
Vendetta’s story and its context felt all the time somewhat familiar, but still distinct. The whole thing was basically a giant remix of british-american pop culture. According to the original comic strip author, with whom I cannot disagree, the cooking included:
“Orwell. Huxley. Thomas Disch. Judge Dredd. Harlan Ellison’s “Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman, Catman and Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World by the same author. Vincent Price’s Dr. Phibes and Theatre of Blood. David Bowie. The Shadow. Night Raven. Batman. Fahrenheit 451. The writings of the New Worlds school of science fiction. Max Ernst’s painting “Europe After the Rain”. Thomas Pynchon. The atmosphere of British Second World War films. The Prisoner. Robin Hood. Dick Turpin…”