Remember, Remember The Fifth Of November:
an analysis of 1984 (novel) and V for Vendetta (film)
an analysis of 1984 (novel) and V for Vendetta (film)
Big Brother, meet Chancellor Sutler: dictator of Britain in the film adaptation “V For Vendetta.” Just as BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, so is Chancellor Sutler’s government, police, and media. The 1984 slogan, “War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength” is not dissimilar to the posters displayed in “V for Vendetta”: “Strength through Unity. Unity through Faith.” V, the hero of the film, can be mirrored as a carnate reality of Winston Smith’s ideals and hopes; a manifestation of Emmanuel Goldstein. A turning point for all characters happens when V pirates the party’s broadcasting network—like 1984, it is available in all public and most private places. He delivers a speech in anonymity calling to the rise of the masses in search for freedom—a call not unfamiliar to the scribbles inside of Winston’s secret journal.
Alan Moore, creator of the “V For Vendetta” graphic novel, understood long ago the parallel between the rise of technology and the increase of surveillance. In the film, all of Britain operates under a curfew which is enforced not only by the party police, but by various cameras, monitors, and broadcasts. Winston cannot escape the dreaded telescreens of 1984. The book opens with an in-depth look at the telescreen’s features (page 1 – 3): one can dim the telescreen, but cannot turn it completely off unless you are part of the Inner Party. It not only broadcasts to the viewer, but records everything within its range of vision. The only rooms you will not find telescreens are among the proles.
Perhaps the most important, however, is the way the citizens of Oceana live based on the telescreens and lack of privacy. The narrator tells us that people lived “from habit that became instinct—in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized” (page 2). Characters not only live in a panoptic world, but mentally experience realities which are forever caged by the Thought Police and its cameras. Regarding panopticism, Michel Foucault philosophizes upon Jeremy Bentham’s very literal panoptic prison. Foucault then focuses on the idea of a people who govern those around them as well as themselves, due to the development of often unseen or unnoticed surveillance. One is more likely to behave—and make sure your neighbors are behaving—if they believe they are being watched. Power, then, becomes horizontal in nature. Out of fear of Big Brother, or Chancellor Sutler, we are forced to monitor ourselves and those around us.
Alan Moore, creator of the “V For Vendetta” graphic novel, understood long ago the parallel between the rise of technology and the increase of surveillance. In the film, all of Britain operates under a curfew which is enforced not only by the party police, but by various cameras, monitors, and broadcasts. Winston cannot escape the dreaded telescreens of 1984. The book opens with an in-depth look at the telescreen’s features (page 1 – 3): one can dim the telescreen, but cannot turn it completely off unless you are part of the Inner Party. It not only broadcasts to the viewer, but records everything within its range of vision. The only rooms you will not find telescreens are among the proles.
Perhaps the most important, however, is the way the citizens of Oceana live based on the telescreens and lack of privacy. The narrator tells us that people lived “from habit that became instinct—in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized” (page 2). Characters not only live in a panoptic world, but mentally experience realities which are forever caged by the Thought Police and its cameras. Regarding panopticism, Michel Foucault philosophizes upon Jeremy Bentham’s very literal panoptic prison. Foucault then focuses on the idea of a people who govern those around them as well as themselves, due to the development of often unseen or unnoticed surveillance. One is more likely to behave—and make sure your neighbors are behaving—if they believe they are being watched. Power, then, becomes horizontal in nature. Out of fear of Big Brother, or Chancellor Sutler, we are forced to monitor ourselves and those around us.
Why is this important? V speaks of Britain’s panoptic behavior and the consequences of it in his televised speech: “And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance, coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission.” The habit-turned-intuition that 1984 talks of becomes more than just paranoia; the systematic degradation of people through means of surveillance becomes slavery itself—an anti-freedom, a prison.
The line within the 1984 party slogan, “Freedom is Slavery,” loses its paradoxical nature and becomes a doublethink enigma when thought of in these terms. When O’Brein lectures Winston about being “a flaw in the pattern” (page 255), he goes on to talk about free will, resistance, and surrender: “We are not content with negative obedience…when you finally surrender to us, it must be of your own free will. We do not destroy the heretic…we convert him…” (page 255). As a nation which strives on oligarchical collectivism (as stated by Emmanuel Goldstsein), an individual who surrenders herself to the will of the oligarchy—who accepts slavery in replace of individuality—will essentially become “free.” In 1984 and “V For Vendetta,” the parties emphasize the importance of collectivism so that citizens will be free to surrender to a cause or culture larger than her own.
It becomes important, then, for O’Brien to break down Winston as much as possible. In “V For Vendetta,” Evey—V’s sidekick, essentially—is put through torture in order to destroy her will for change. These two fictional works of art mirror the same realities brought forth by similar dystopias. Towards the end of 1984, O’Brein tells Winston:
The line within the 1984 party slogan, “Freedom is Slavery,” loses its paradoxical nature and becomes a doublethink enigma when thought of in these terms. When O’Brein lectures Winston about being “a flaw in the pattern” (page 255), he goes on to talk about free will, resistance, and surrender: “We are not content with negative obedience…when you finally surrender to us, it must be of your own free will. We do not destroy the heretic…we convert him…” (page 255). As a nation which strives on oligarchical collectivism (as stated by Emmanuel Goldstsein), an individual who surrenders herself to the will of the oligarchy—who accepts slavery in replace of individuality—will essentially become “free.” In 1984 and “V For Vendetta,” the parties emphasize the importance of collectivism so that citizens will be free to surrender to a cause or culture larger than her own.
It becomes important, then, for O’Brien to break down Winston as much as possible. In “V For Vendetta,” Evey—V’s sidekick, essentially—is put through torture in order to destroy her will for change. These two fictional works of art mirror the same realities brought forth by similar dystopias. Towards the end of 1984, O’Brein tells Winston:
“ ‘…still you would never escape from us. What happens to you here is forever…Never again will you be capable of ordinary human feeling. Everything will be dead inside you. Never again will you be capable of love, or friendship, or joy of living, or laughter, or curiosity, or courage, or integrity. You will be hollow. We shall squeeze you empty, and then we shall fill you with ourselves.’ ”
(page 256)
Another aspect of the two dystopias lie in the notion of history. History within V's world is a chain of events which spark other events. Guy Fawkes embarks on a mission in the 1600's to end the severe discrimination of Catholics by blowing up a very Protestant Parliament. This man inspired another man, V, to inspire a mass of people to rise up in protest. Within V's speech, he states that Guy Fawkes' "hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice and freedom are more than words—they are perspectives." In the beginning of part four, chapter one of 1984, the reader is offered deep insight into the world of history reconstruction: the effort of re-writing classics, yesterday's news articles, changing subtle facts, altering the reality of the past. History within Winston's world is non-existent. Winston finds it interesting that the Party could easily create dead men, but not living. During the creation of Comrade Oglivy, Winston realizes that Oglivy (a fictional solider) "would exist just authentically, and upon the same evidence, as Charlemagne or Julius Caesar" (page 48).
Towards the end of his speech, V reminds his audience of the promises of the Chancellor and the inherent wrongness of the world. He claims that Chancellor Sutler "promised you order. He promised you peace. And all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent." As in V's world, Winston also feels cheated. He is surrounded by a bleak, disgusting, broken down, mess of a world known as Oceana, where the disparities between poor and wealthy are obvious. As with both characters who live in dystopias, oligarchical collectivism and blind allegiance to the reigning party is not worth it. Winston uses his secret journal to express his feelings of hatred for Big Brother; V blows up the Old Bailey in order to get his point across to the masses. Both works of fiction display similar dystopias with alternative settings. "V For Vendetta" ends on an extremely optimistic note, where thousands of V supporters show up at Parliament on the 5th of November to fight for freedom. 1984, however, remains as cold and dreary as its setting as Winston proclaims his love for Big Brother.
Works Cited
Foucault, Michel. Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison. NY: Vintage Books, 1995. Pp. 195 – 228. Translated by Alan Sheridan, 1977.
Orwell, George. 1984. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1949.
V For Vendetta. Dir: James McTeigue. Silver Pictures. 2006.
“V For Vendetta (broadcasting from a captured TV station).” WhySanity.net. 6th December, 2006. 22 November, 2009.
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